New rotors and new pads were installed. If the car rolls slowly and I lightly touch the brake pedal, I get a metal to metal grinding noise from the front wheels. When I apply the brakes at normal speed, there is no noise. The mechanic can't figure it out. The noise appears whether the brakes are hot or cold. There are no marks on the rotors that would indicate any damage. What could be the cause and the solution?
2007-03-31 15:17:39 · 12 answers · asked by joe c 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Ford
you can go 2 pep boys or any other parts store and there is a thing called squeal medic....just spray that on the rotors and it will stop the noise until the brakes break in for you i just changed my front pads and rotor on my focus...i put ceramic pads and cross drilled rotors and Brembo brake calipers and they were making a grinding noise...i put the medic stuff on it and it went away and hasn't came back in 3 months.
2007-04-08 06:14:21 · answer #1 · answered by ken c 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, did you know that your REAR brakes can be grinding and it may sound like they are coming from the front. When you check the front brakes, YOU visually check the brakes and make sure the rotors are smoother than a baby's rearend. If perchance they look like they got grooves then you have a sorry mechanic who took you for a sucker. Then check the back brakes too. You can check these yourself. Get a jack and jack one side of the read up and take off the tire. Get a hammer and knock the drum loose. Check the brakes and drum out. Have a plat tip and toward the bottom center is a round notched wheel that you turn to put the brakes in or out, in case the drum is TOO HARD to put on. Then turn a few notches till the drum slips on.
Also, did you check the brakes or just the mechanic. You are not the first sucker to be robbed. Especially if you are a woman. They are the worst to get it.
Also check out the bottom of the URL from above. On the bottom of the page you see this.
1974 and later original equipment pads and GM replacement pads have an integral wear sensor. This is a spring steel tab on the rear edge of the inner pad which produces a squeal by rubbing against the rotor to warn that the pads have reached their wear limit. They do not squeal when the brakes are applied.
So
Get a Haynes Repair manual for your vehicle make and year. It has troubleshooting tips, wiring schematics, and how to fix about everything in your vehicle.
Did you know you could have done the front brakes yourself.
1. Take off wheel
2. Get 4" clamp (bought at dollar store) and clamp the piston. See URL for pic. Same principle and procedure FOR ALL VEHICLES. Except the tool for taking out the pins are different size.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/11/2f/ea/0900823d80112fea.jsp
3. Take out pins.
4. Take off new pads, one at a time. Replace the old with new pad. They are different so replace one by one and match up.
5. Then get rotor off and take to machine shop to turn. Lot of time people will not do this if it is smooth, but the smoothness is from being glazed which is what you do not want. Besides does not cost that much.
6. Put rotor on.
7.Slip the brakes on with the new sleeves if furnished and put the pins in. and you are good to go.
This is it more or less and with the book and pics it is really easy, With the C-clamp, there is really no need of bleeding the brakes. The rear are more trickier but then all you need is a pair of pliers and a screw driver, BUT you take off one side at a time. So when you try to put everything together you have the other side to tell you how to do it. lol
With hex wrench (bought at auto zone for your vehicle and with the haynes book to guide you)
2007-03-31 18:15:33 · answer #2 · answered by Big C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Seen this many times, especially with the cheaper pads. The first thing to do is to bevel the leading edge of the brake pads. Knock off a 45 degree angle with a file, so you have about a 1/4 inch face. When installing the pads, put a layer of rtv silicon where the pad contacts the calliper on the outside and a little on the piston lip on the inside. This will stop the pads from vibrating at low pressure applications.
2007-03-31 18:05:33 · answer #3 · answered by shopteacher 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How long ago were they installed. Brakes have a brake in period, its where the two friction points need to make a mating paturn. This can take anywhere from 50 to 500 km, depending on the vehicle and driving habbits. If they were just installed, drive them for about a week, and then see how they are. I work in a brake shop, and get this as a frequant come back complaint. I always make a point to tell the customer this, so they are aware of what to expect while the brakes wear in.
New rotors make this noise worse, as the rotors have a very fine patturn in the casting, the pads have another patturn in thier casting as well, eventhough they feel smooth. For the first wile its like taking two pieces of stone and rubbing them together. At first they will be rough and abbrasive on each other, but after a wile (a long wile) of doing this the two surfaces will wear smooth. This is the same principal the brakes work on. The pads and rotors, have to wear thier casting paturn off, and create thier own mating paturns.
2007-03-31 15:28:23 · answer #4 · answered by gregthomasparke 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
maybe he put on really hard brake pads and they are giving you the noise, they will wear better but sometimes you get brake noise from better pads, did they resurface the rotors? have your mechanic take and sand the rotors with some sandpaper, sometimes resurfacing rotors you will get a rough surface and they need sandpapered down a little.
2007-03-31 15:30:48 · answer #5 · answered by mister ss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Something similar happened on my rear brakes. My mechanic looked at the car a few times and couldn't figure it out. It went away, but I got rid of the car soon after, and bought a Mustang. Hopefully it will just go away for you as it did for me.
2007-04-01 09:21:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give the brakes a chance to break in. He may have used metallic pads that are harder and will wear longer. Just give them a chance to seat and you should be OK. If they still do it and it annoys you, take it back and have him check it out.
2007-03-31 17:26:50 · answer #7 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It does not sound Like the Brake Shoes were really installed or they just were not any good. Make the mechanic give you what you paid for.
2007-03-31 15:21:48 · answer #8 · answered by donna_honeycutt47 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You have metallic pads installed,(lots of metal content) if it is annoying try another brand,if you can live with it & the car stops fine don't worry about it.Good luck
2007-03-31 15:37:31 · answer #9 · answered by giff01 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've had that too on mine. Took it apart a couple times and found nothing. I think it's small asphalt or tar covered rocks that get stuck on top of your caliper. They eventually dry up and fall off.
2007-03-31 15:25:20 · answer #10 · answered by denbobway 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋