Anybody know why my caliper touches my rotor?

dawn404

I know that sounds ridiculous and impossible. I replaced both front rotors, and pads back in August (3-4 months ago) and one day two weeks ago I started to hear some squeaking coming from the driver front. At first I thought it was just time for new break pads again. Then I noticed that the sound was happening most when making a sharp turn. We took the tires, breaks, and calipers off and couldn't see anything wrong and everything back on. The car drove great for about an hour of solid driving then the squeaking came back. It gets really bad to the point where it screeches going straight down the road. When we took everything back off we realized that the caliper is actually hitting the rotor. It doesn't make sense how because there are no broken bolts or mounts. The problem seemed to be that the bolts had sucked the caliper in just enough so it was out of place. We put two washers in and that gave it enough clearance to fix the issue. Two weeks later the squeaking was back. Two more washers went in. That was 5 days ago and the problem is back. Any suggestions? (2007 PT Cruiser Touring Edition, made in May)

stanhudson

At that age you could have a seized caliper. Did you torque to 90 ft-lbs and 20 ft-lbs for the bracket and guide bolts, respectively? Do the pads have springs? Is the rotor scored? Since parts are so cheap on the internet now, why not replace the rotor, pads, caliper and guide bolts?