inside passenger side rear brake pad worn away - why?

[RichMason]

So I had my 914 on a lift to replace some leaking o rings and I noticed that the inside passenger side rear brake pad was worn away while all three other rear pads were good. According to the PO, he rebuilt the rear brakes just before I bought the car 10 months ago. Any clue as to why this pad would wear faster than the others? Sticking piston? Is the ebrake too tight? I'm guessing that I need to take off the caliper and rebuild it when I do the brake job but I wanted some confirmation first.

Thanks,
Rich

[HMeeder]

Hmmmm,

Each side has its own P-brake cable and adjuster (the 2 adjuster nuts are under the car right behind the driver's butt.) If I had to guess, it would be that the one side was incorrectly adjusted and the car was dragging that one pad. OR the venting clearance for that pad was cranked too tight and the car was dragging that inside pad. OR the rebuild didn't go well and that pad never retracted to it's resting position (maybe the piston had rust or crud on it that never got properly cleaned up, though that seems less likely.)

IMHO replace the pads with a new set (all 4 pads,) set all 4 venting clearances to .004" (Haynes says .008" but several of us on the BBS agree that the tighter clearance gives better pedal feel, reduces pedal travel and as long as you periodically pay attention to your brakes and pads, shouldn't be an issue.) Then adjust the P-brake adjusters to where you need them.

Then put a hundred miles on them, jack the car up, release the P-brake and see if that pad is still dragging. If not, one of the first 2 situations may have been the culprit. If it still drags, then the last one might be your problem and you will have to go through the rebuild again.

Good luck