Installing brake cylinders, alignment has more to do than just prevent squeal.
 

I remember somebody saying here on the board that one should align the brake cylinders to proper angle to stop squealing. Well, angle has more to do than stop squealing.
If you install the cylinders "wrongly" the brake pads might start wearing from the other end only, this causing the brake pads to bind to the position you press them.

This happened to me. My brakes (driver side rear brake actually) were binding all the time and sometimes the wheel was so hot that one could not even touch it. I took my brakes apart and noticed that the pads were not evenly worn, and they were pretty stuck to brake caliper.

The little notch on the cylinders was in wrong position, pads were worn like this / when they should have been like |

The cylinders were 180 degrees off.

Changed the brake disc, brake hoses, drained all the bubbles out -> Now the car feels totally different, it actually rolls now :) (Before one could notice that the car slowed down very fast when gear on neutral or clutch pressed down)


If your brakes bind, check the alignment of the cylinders :)

The real reason for the 20 degree position is that the puck then is in the proper orientation to bias the puck forces to one side of the pad rather than the other...promotes even wear. See related posts on this re: 20 degree angle, calipers, picks, etc...

---Wil Ferch