Front brake squeal

**sills1** · 03-02-2006, 12:13 PM

Just before I went on deployment, I had to purchase new rotors for my car. I didn't realize it until it was too late to wait for an order to come in. I was forced to by Autozone specials because my wife had to use the car while I was gone. Well, now I'm home for emergency leave for a couple of weeks and I still have this horrible squeal.

I was wondering if anyone knew of something that might be causing it. I've already greased the area where the pads touch the caliper and also roughed up the rotor a little with sandpaper hoping that would fix it. Well it did for about the first 3 red lights that I came to, but it's back again and I don't know what else to do.

**BIG D's SS** · 03-02-2006, 12:33 PM

My crossdrilled and slotted rotors with a few thousand miles squeal.

**sills1** · 03-02-2006, 01:01 PM

I've heard somewhere that you can put a piece of padding, a rubber or paper type of material, in between the caliper and the pads. The noise supposedly comes from the pad moving back and forth across the caliper piston creating the squealing noise. I don't know if that is true or not but it could be. Has anyone else heard of this?

**02z28ls1** · 03-02-2006, 01:13 PM

Most of your brake pads on the market today come with "shims" already in place on the back of the pads. This is for noise control. You can take and sand the rotors like you've already done, and rough up the pad surface also. This will give a new surface to both of them and can cure noises. It's quite likely that the rotors weren't cleaned enough when installed-in which case there is a contamination on the pads causing the noise. Scuffing them up can sometimes be enough to cure this,depends on how bad the contamination. Sometimes it's better to replace pads and rotors at the same time so they break in together,on a quality pad there is a special coating on the surface of the pad to coat the rotor with for better break in. You need to cycle new brake pads also,Braking from 30 to 0 w/30 second cool downs in between. Ideally 12 - 15 times when first installed. If broken in right they will last longer and work better and quieter for their lifespan.On new rotors take brake clean and hose them down-then soap and water in the sink until really clean for best results.

**BIG D's SS** · 03-02-2006, 01:19 PM

Hell all mine was new. I haven't gotten around to cleaning mine an scuffing mine up since I installed them.

**sills1** · 03-02-2006, 01:27 PM

Mine were new also, pads and rotors. I guess I'll have to scuff up the pads while I'm home to see if that cures the problem. Thanks for the info 02z28ls1.

**YoMommasTA** · 03-02-2006, 01:47 PM

go to any auto store and buy a bottle of brake stop squeal.apply it to back of the pads and no more noise.

**dunn9927** · 03-03-2006, 07:06 AM

Could it also be possible that the brake pads are semi-metallic?? I also have a squeal when braking at low speeds, and have been told by my dealership that the pads are semi-metallic. As the brakes are used more often and begin to wear the pads are leaving tiny metallic particles on the rotor, thus causing the squeal at low speeds. Anyone else have semi-metallic pads? Should I switch to a ceramic pad, or back to the OEM pads?

Cheers.

**sills1** · 03-03-2006, 07:19 AM

That sounds like the dealership just doesn't want to stand behind the work they do on brakes. I know for a fact that some cars come from the factory with semi-metallic and they never squeal until it's time to change them. That is why I don't let a dealership touch my car. I can't stand the way they sling information around and expect everyone to believe them just because they are the Manufacturer Liscensed DEALER. Sorry to seem a bit aggrivated, but I've had more than one dealership try to take advantage of people I know just because they had no clue. Not that this is the case with you, just with people I've known.

**02z28ls1** · 03-03-2006, 09:55 AM

You can get BS at any shop. Not defending the dealerships here -just a fact.Like I was saying-if you don't break in the pads properly they can have a noise problem that won't go away. He's already put stuff on the back of the pads so buying something to put on the back of the pads isn't going to change anything per se. Take them off,scuff them up,sand on the rotors,If installing new rotors clean and degrease them. Then bed the pads in as described. Ceramic pads can be noise free and dust free,but they don't always work well for every situation. All brakes make noise all the time they are applied,you have to try to tune it into a frequency humans can't hear. In certain temperature and humidity conditions any brake setup can make noise,all you can do is try to minimize the problem. As a side note-IMHO-dealership guys don't know as much about brakes or alignments as the shops that specialize in this stuff. They have their strong points and weak points like any tech does.

**keliente** · 03-03-2006, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by YoMommasTA

go to any auto store and buy a bottle of brake stop squeal.apply it to back of the pads and no more noise.

What he said. Anti-squeal is a lot better than grease.

**sills1** · 03-03-2006, 12:32 PM

I just picked up a can of the stop squeal. I will update the thread with the results after I have completed the tear down and reassembly.

**BIG D's SS** · 03-03-2006, 12:51 PM

Gonna do mine this weekend also.

**occamaroz** · 03-03-2006, 07:22 PM

My front brakes alway squeak to. I installed Powerslots with Hamk hps pads and broke them in according to there directions. They only squeak a low speeds, 20mph and under. I have taken the brakes apart and cleaned everything and used anti squeal on the back of the pads and regreased the caliper pins. The brakes were dead silent for 1 day and then it came back. One day I did some very high speed hard braking and the brakes stopped making noise until the end of the day. After washing the car and cleaning the wheels the squeak goes away for the first few stops.

**02z28ls1** · 03-03-2006, 08:43 PM

Another possibility-if you spray tire cleaner stuff on your tires or cleaner on your wheels it could be contaminating the rotor surface. This can cause a greasy substance on the rotors to ruin the pads with. And if you've never tried Silglide or similar high heat brake lubricant on the back of the pads-give it a shot. I highly recommend it. It is a greasy substance,I was assuming that's what he meant. If you are using the spray paint like stuff on the back of the pads-make sure you let it dry -like a long time-fully dry!! I stress this because I see guys spray it and assemble it and the stuff doesn't work very well then. While you have the pads off,scuff them on some concrete or sandpaper. Sometimes just stopping harder than usual can stop the noise also.