I had the wheels off a little while ago to do shocks and noticed that my front rotors were VERY hard to turn. Are the calipers seized? What could be causing this problem?

Also, how much could this be hurting my performance and gas mileage?

 

Mine are like that too. It's the calipers sticking. (not retracting)
I think I lost 2-3 MPH in the 1/4 mile because of it. Replacing them with some LS1 brakes this spring.

 

Well I damn sure can't afford LS1 brake upgrades, so what should I do? New calipers?

 

At least have them rebuilt. My front brakes, especially the front driver's side, are in serious need of replacement. I'm replacing them with C5 Vette brakes which is a little more than 2x what LS1 brakes cost so thats out of the question for you. So a simple rebuild should be good enough.

 

It should be kind of hard to turn the front rotors by hand, there is a little drag of the pads just by design. Also, your using a very short moment arm there. The way to test for a seized caliper is to put the wheel back on, and if the caliper is seized you honest to goodness will not be able to turn the wheel even a little bit. You might not have a problem here so maybe you can save yourself some money.

 

do a search i told someone on hear a while back on how to test the brake system and stuff.

 

Recall that the calipers are "floating" on guide pins. Over the years the caliper pin grease can dry/wash out and cause the rotors to not retract after the brakes are applied. Remove the caliper and regrease the pins. Use grease specifically for this that is sold in all parts stores. Always regrease these pins when pads are replaced, most repair shops are in a big hurry and don't do this.

I'm not sure if this is your problem but it should be checked.

 

Well I can turn the tire pretty easily, so I might just try what Don said and just regrease the pins.

Can anyone tell me how to do this? Are there any websites with info on it?