my front brake pad on the moving side of the caliper is draggin on the rotor. the pads are aftermarket and really thick on that side, i guess thats why, but the caliper CAN move out enough, it just doesnt seem to wanna move back that far after using the brakes.

i did a search, and the only thing mentioned to fix this was cleaning/replacing the slide pins.

did that, and then compressed the caliper as far out as it went and reinstalled. now the wheel spins freely.

after a few days of driving, im gonna check if its gone back to dragging again.....ive got a feeling it will be.....if so, how can i fix this permanently?

 

if it continue's, you might look for a damged or pinched brake line going to that wheel.

 

happens to both fronts.......guess i should check the rear too.

with the 6spd in neutral, and the parking brake off, the rear should spin freely right?

 

it depends on how you define "freely"? disc brakes have no spring like force that withdraws the pistons/pads away from the disc after you let off your brake pedal. therefore, other than any out-of true {warp} in the rotor pushing the pads away from the disc as it turns, the pads stay lighty in contact for the most part with the rotor. with correctly operation hydraulics, there is no pressure holding the pads in on the rotor, but the drag of just the light contact of the pads on the rotor will produce 'some' resistance. so you won't be able to spin the wheel like you would a bicycle wheel for instance, but you should be able to turn the wheel with your hands without excessive force.
the fronts will be easier to turn because the rears, even with the tranny in neutral and the parking brake off have more resistance due to the fact that when you turn the rears, you also are turning the bearings and gears in the rearend, the weight of the driveshaft, and the output shaft and output shaft bearings in the tranny.
so to hopefully answer your original question, the pads are suppose to 'drag' on the rotors and the calipers will not retract any further than is required to release clamping pressure on the rotors.
those slide pins can cause a problem if they don't allow the calipers to "float" as this will not allow the clamping pressure to release fully due to mechanical binding, but they are not suppose to allow the caliper to retract fully when the hydraulic pressure is released.
another thing that can also cause this same type of binding is if the caliper piston is sticking within the caliper cylinder. usually if you have either of these problems, it will likely be impossible to turn the wheel by hand without excessive force
another thing that can cause excessive drag is if the hydraulic pressure is not fully realeasing. this can be caused by a damaged or colapsed or pinched brake line as i mentioned in my first reply, or by faulty, clogged, or dirty orfices or valveing in the calipers, proportioning valve, ABS cicuit or master cylinder{or maybe possibly by the traction control circuit on cars equipped with it as this is an integrated part of the ABS}.
sorry about the long reply and you probly already know all this, but i can't think of a good way to define "freely" on the internet.

 

thanks Mike!

excellent info (i'm getting ready to do LS1 brake swap)

 

actually, i didnt, so thanks! i thought the caliper was supposed to totally withdraw off the brakepad when not in use.