[JellyBeanDriver]

Originally Posted by Joe1234

how did you measure how much they were dragging before and after? Just jack the wheel up and spin it??

Yes, and no.

It started with me noticing the left rotor was hotter than the right. This lead to me rebuilding both calipers. Rotors were now even in temp but still a little warm and when jacked up, they didn't rotate freely.

Then I had the pleasure of working on my buddy's Metro and his were VERY free - and had no shims installed. The light bulb turned on.

All my life I've used the CRC brake squeal goop - it's dries rubbery. Little did I know that it was keeping the pads pre-loaded against the rotor.

Figure if the pistons only retract so far by design, you don't want anything compressible between the caliper and the pads if you want the pads to 'float' more.

As an added bonus, my brake pedal is firmer (maybe it's my imagination).