s7ven

I cannot figure out what is causing my front right brake to squeak or cackle. . I have what I believe to be stock calipers with an unknown brand of drilled/slotted rotors and brake pads on the car when I bought it. Issue only occurs under slight/medium brake pedal pressure; full or no pressure does not result in noise.

This issue has been happening since a few months after buying the car. To attempt to resolve the issue I recently installed new caliper bracket, pins, and rubber boots on that wheel due to having to forcibly remove a stuck pin in the bracket a few months back. All pins, and brake pad back plates were installed with high-temp grease.

I thought it was fixed after replacing the bracket, pins, and boots but the issue resurfaced after about 1 day. I did notice the inner pad on that wheel had uneven wear, the side of the pad closer to the rear of the car was visibly more worn thant the front.

The only thing I have left to replace is the caliper, pads, and rotor. Could the uneven wear be causing the noise by allowing uneven contact to the rotor? And more importantly, should I risk installing new pads assuming it was the previously stuck pin that caused the uneven wear when it actually could be a bad caliper not producing even force between the two pistons?

Thanks

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Are you sure its the brake an not the hub assembly?

fleetmgr

Have you put any anti squeal goo on the back of the pads?

s7ven

How would I determine that? I'm able to jack up that corner of the car and spin the wheel by hand. The wheel will spin for a long time and I don't hear any noise.

s7ven

I slathered a good amount of silicone grease on the backs of the pads. Never heard of antisqueal goo but something I did notice is that the backs of the pads have a layer of foam type material that's deteriorated.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

When my hubs went bad, I could only feel/hear the problem with the wheel, brakes, and rotor off.

You might be able to jack it up and test it for side to side play.

If the noise happens consistently with the same brake force and in the same speed range, then that might indicate a hub problem. If it were a brake issue, I'd expect the problem to be similar at any speed.

How many miles do you have on the car and hubs?

fleetmgr

Get the grease off there before you kill someone. Go to any parts store and ask for it. You can get a little package of it for probably a buck. Put it on the backs of the pads, let it set up a bit and reinstall the pads.

The other possibility is your brakes are worn to the point that you're hearing the squealers (there to tell you the brakes are worn) built into the pads.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

If it's something like SylGlyde, the OP should be OK safety-wise. That was all we had back-in-the-day, but it didn't always get rid of the squeal.

I do much prefer the newer synthetic stuff, though. It seems to last a lot longer. (Probably a good thing since modern brake pads do, also.)

s7ven

I've always used the packs of grease that come with brake pads on every car I've owned. Is there a particular reason why its unsafe..?

Regardless I'll definitely give the anti squeal stuff a try. I'll report back rather or not it helped.

s7ven

Almost 80k and I bought the car at 70k but I don't think they've ever been changed.

fleetmgr

The grease is for the pins, not the pads. Get that stuff on the pads and you'll play hell getting the car stopped.

s7ven

Got it, I won't drive it until I've got that resolved then. Thanks for the info

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

You are right at the window where the hubs start to get tired, so a bad hub would not be unheard of. If you are going to tweak the pads again, I'd suggest taking off the caliper and rotor. Then spin the hub by hand. If it sounds or feels like a meat grinder, it's probably time for a new one.


Every pad set I've ever gotten instructs to lube the back of the pads, even if it comes with shims.

s7ven

When I go to put the anti-squeal goo on the pads I'll be sure to check this. Thanks for the info.

s7ven

Bringing this thread back to life, I am still having this issue and it seems worse than ever. I have pretty much replaced every brake part on the offending wheel and the issue persists. I put the 'anti-squeal' stuff on the back of the pads and it didn't make a bit of difference.

I guess my next step will be to check the the hubs. Changing the oil tomorrow so I'll jack it up, take the rotor/caliper off and give it a spin. How much friction should I expect or how long should I expect it to spin freely?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

You won't be able to tell much by spinning it unless it makes noise. My last bearings made noise, but I had to take the brakes off to really hear it. The other indicator of a bad hub is wobble in the wheel.

s7ven

How expensive is a new hub and would it be something I could tackle myself without special tools like a press? Still haven't had a chance to get the brakes and wheel off yet but I will test this soon. Just for the hell of it I spun the wheels a bit today when I had it lifted bleeding the power steering system, I noticed grinding on both sides but I'm nearly certain it was the brake pads rubbing the rotors. It was cyclical grinding noise that occurred once per revolution.

Anyway, I'll post back when I actually have more info.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I like buying good parts here. You should expect to pay around $250. ($125 per hub - you typically do both sides at the same time.)


The hardest part is taking the brake caliper off. If you can do that, then you have the skill to replace the hub.

You get the hubs in an assembly. They attach to the car with 4 bolts and just have one electrical connector to un-clip. (for the ABS speed sensor) The only special tool you need is a good torque wrench. Getting the right torque on these bolts (and the brake caliper bolts) is essential.

s7ven

Awesome, sounds pretty easy considering I have had my brakes apart about 10 times now. I have a good torque wrench already so I'll try to tackle this soon. With 80k miles on the hubs I suppose it can't hurt to replace them.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

That's about how long my original set lasted and seems to be a common number for many folks here.