should front wheel freely spin when car is raised with jack?

[Desert Panther]

Hi all, I got yet another flat tire on my CD today and when i jacked up the car to remove the wheel for a new tire, I noticed that the wheel & tire really doesn't even spin for a complete revolution when you casually rotate the tire by hand. How much should this wheel freely spin? Is this an issue or are the W123 set up like this? This is the drivers side front. The car does not pull to either direction while being driven, has perfect alignment and tracks straight going down the road, even at freeway speeds without issue. No pulling to one side even when on the brakes hard either. It seems to drive normal, but I cant help but think that something isnt right here. Are the wheel bearings needing attention or something along those lines? I honestly dont drive the car all that much, so its hard to have a baseline for acceptable parameters for its performance.

[BWhitmore]

Your CD has disc brakes which will create a drag when the wheel is turned. You should be able to turn the wheel with light to moderate effort. You might want to check the other front side but chances are you will get the same. Given that the car is seldom driven, a front wheel bearing service is probably a good idea. You can also check each wheel after driving for 10 miles or so. Touch the center of the hub caps/wheels and feel for excessive heat. If you feel quite a bit of heat that probably means that you have a wheel that is dragging, caused by either a brake caliper that will not release or bad/overtight wheel bearing.

[meltedpanda]

the wheel should spin, and as mentioned with a slight , very slight drag. If you had just put brake pads on , the drag would be more , but only temporarily while they seated. Your symptoms IMHO do not point to wheel bearing issues
I suspect you may have a brake line or lines that are collapsing within. That situation allows for the calipers to work , but they release very slowly, at some point , they may not release. If you are having this on all wheels , look further upstream to the master cylinder , when was the last time the brakes were serviced?

[Desert Panther]

Originally Posted by BWhitmore

Your CD has disc brakes which will create a drag when the wheel is turned. You should be able to turn the wheel with light to moderate effort. You might want to check the other front side but chances are you will get the same. Given that the car is seldom driven, a front wheel bearing service is probably a good idea. You can also check each wheel after driving for 10 miles or so. Touch the center of the hub caps/wheels and feel for excessive heat. If you feel quite a bit of heat that probably means that you have a wheel that is dragging, caused by either a brake caliper that will not release or bad/overtight wheel bearing.

Yeah, I was wondering about that (the front wheel bearing service), who knows how long it has been since they have been inspected/repacked. Probably due or even overdue.

Originally Posted by meltedpanda

the wheel should spin, and as mentioned with a slight , very slight drag. If you had just put brake pads on , the drag would be more , but only temporarily while they seated. Your symptoms IMHO do not point to wheel bearing issues
I suspect you may have a brake line or lines that are collapsing within. That situation allows for the calipers to work , but they release very slowly, at some point , they may not release. If you are having this on all wheels , look further upstream to the master cylinder , when was the last time the brakes were serviced?

I've never even heard about that "brake line collapsing within" scenario, but I am certain the brakes haven't been serviced in at least 5 years, so yeah... probably a good time to flush the fluid at least and see if any improvement. The pads themselves looked fine: plenty of meat left on them still. Also, I've not noticed any "hot brakes" smell coming from the car at all, which is a good thing, right? This car gets driven less than a thousand miles a year, so its not something I spend a lot of time driving, LOL. I sure hope I don't have to replace brake lines, heck I hadn't even considered that as a possible scenario! Approximately how much in parts cost would these brake lines & related expenses be?

That is what i really love about this forum - I gain knowledge from others prior experiences working on these cars!


Thank you both for your input, I really do appreciate it!

[meltedpanda]

is the effort to push the brake pedal normal ?
I would start with a flush, but I suspect lines or dirty , sticking calipers. Brake fluid absorbs water over time, non use does not help calipers either . all of this is a DIY type job. lines are cheap, it is usually the rubber lines from the metal to the caliper . One of the first things I do when refurbing an old car, drain line, flush , replace rubber , make sure caliper retract easy ...ect

[Skid Row Joe]

Always.