brakes squeal
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From: marlborough mass
brakes squeal well i did a brake job on my car the other day...pads rotors etc...and on the right side i could not get them to stop screaching for the life of me..it was even when i wasnt applying the brake ...and i did use plenty of brake grease on the pads shims ..but it wouldnt stop at all...so i took off one of the shims and it stopped ...so im running minus one shim on the right side.....is this gonna hurt my brakes ?? am i runnin the risk of throwing a pad?? i mean its on tight and all i dont think there is to much danger right ?
I usually pull the shims off of the backs of the pads. Many pads (Hawk HP+ are good for this) will pull those shims loose and start to wad them up against the pad abutment bracket (the frame that holds the pads) as the pads move under braking. So, I've torn off a few wrinkled up ones, and now I just pull them off when I install the pads. You can run without them and it will be just fine. You don't have a slider pin that's stuck and causing this problem, do you? Did both of the sliders move freely on each caliper mount and did you use brake caliper grease and lube them when you changed the pads?
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Spring Hill, TN
You're OK without the shims, except they are there to prevent squealing. (go figure). I've had a lot of trouble on my van on the side that I removed the shims from. In your case the shim is causing it, so it's a no brainer to remove it.
