Todd,

There's certainly a problem, and continuing to drive with dragging brakes
won't do any good to your wheel bearings. I'd pull a caliper and make sure
it's possible to retract the pads enough to really clear the rotors - since
some aftermarket parts may not be quite right. If you have enough mechanical
clearance at the wheels, be sure you've also changed brake fluid and flushed
the system. A buildup of crud inside the cylinders could cause binding - and
with new pads and rotors the pistons will be pushed farther back in the
cylinders than they have been for some time, so there may be crud back there.
If it feels like the piston is dragging when you press it in you should pull
the calipers, remove the pistons and clean and inspect. Corrosion in the
cylinder can occur from moisture in the fluid; but most often it's just
deposits of crud.

Tom
Austin, TX
'87, '91, '97

>----------
>From:  Vanagon mailing list on behalf of Todd Last
>
>I just replaced pads and rotors on my '88 Vanagon. (Girling brakes) I thought
>that I had done everything according to the manual, and even made sure to add
>caliper grease to all the sliding areas on the calipers.
>
>However the brakes are always dragging, never fully releasing. If I take a
>drive of 10 miles or so, I can get out and smell the hot brake pads, and the
>alloy wheel is hot to the touch.
>
>Any suggestions? I've never had brakes that worked too well before...