Brakes Front Brake Issues

Hello all,

I just replaced the front pads and rotors on my 2000 GT. After taking it for a test drive I noticed the front rotors are pretty hot. After re-lifting the vehicle I noticed neither front wheels will rotate freely (Somewhat difficult to rotate).. seems the top of the pads are touching the rotor

Checking over everything
- Caliper pistons seem to move in and out freely with a c-clamp
- Slide pins are greased and move good
- Pads move like they should

After looking everything over, It seems the clip that goes in the middle of the caliper is missing on one side and is messed up on the other side. It looks like the clip holds the pads? (Its the two large clips at the bottom of the picture) Could that be my issue?

View attachment 142801

Thoughts?
Rotors are Napa's, Pads are Motorcraft

mransr said:

the inner and outer pans are different; the alignments are not the same...if you have them in the wrong way they may very well be dragging

If I am understanding which clips you are referring to they are just anti-rattle/anti-squeak parts

Click to expand...

Yes, The first thing we checked was inner and outer pads. They are correct.

Hmm, Maybe the calipers are getting hung up

update: I pushed the pistons out pretty far and then I bled the system. A lot of black fluid came out (This is the third time i've bled the system) The pistons now slide very nicely. But the brakes still stick... They stick a lot less than before. I can rotate both wheels with minimum force but you can feel the drag. I am beginning to think it may be the flex hoses. Its cheaper than calipers at this point ~$20 vs $75