Help my brakes squeak
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 68
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From: San Antonio Texas
Help my brakes squeak
Help my breaks are driving me crazy. I have the car for 400 miles now and they have been squeaking the whole time. I have tried all the common fixes on the FAQ portion of the site with no improvement. This is a 56,000 dollar car and should not happen. Am I in my right as a customer to go back to the dealer and insist they put on different pads? Any advice would help. Thanks
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 169
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it's dust build-up.
It's that 99.9% of the time.
I get a can of aerosal brake cleaner at an autoparts store and clean off the rotor.
It's perfectly safe.
If it keeps squealling then you have brake dust pasted on the rotor or pads. This may require a bit of elbow grease.
With the finest steel wool you can find and the forementioned brake cleaner gentley rub down the rotors to get all the dust off.
You might want to use some fine sandpaper on the pad faces while your at it.
Don't feel too bad, many hi-po cars have this issue. My last 2 cars did, both BMW's.
If you have the Z51 rotors the holes just make it worse.
While the pound the rotor method sometime works, it can permentantly adhere the dust to the rotor. Then you'll need to have the rotor turned by a pro.
It's that 99.9% of the time.
I get a can of aerosal brake cleaner at an autoparts store and clean off the rotor.
It's perfectly safe.
If it keeps squealling then you have brake dust pasted on the rotor or pads. This may require a bit of elbow grease.
With the finest steel wool you can find and the forementioned brake cleaner gentley rub down the rotors to get all the dust off.
You might want to use some fine sandpaper on the pad faces while your at it.
Don't feel too bad, many hi-po cars have this issue. My last 2 cars did, both BMW's.
If you have the Z51 rotors the holes just make it worse.
While the pound the rotor method sometime works, it can permentantly adhere the dust to the rotor. Then you'll need to have the rotor turned by a pro.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 169
Likes: 0
Ceramic is a good idea just a few things to keep in mind:
1. Ceramic pads use cooper rather than steel fiber along with ceramic fillers. These do dust less, but a lot of that is the color of the dust. It's a lighter color dust. So you do still need to wash the wheels on occasion. Though unlike steel, cooper does not oxidize onto the wheels.
2. Ceramic pads actually squeak like hell, you just can't hear it. It's at a frequency beyond human hearing. Free trivia
3. Some people, including myself, think the pedal feel is diminished and smooth modulation is more difficult. This is purely subjective. And this is why I don't use them.
4. Ain't Cheap!
5. Not all "Ceramic" pads are ceramic pads, some just have some ceramic material. So, do your homework.
1. Ceramic pads use cooper rather than steel fiber along with ceramic fillers. These do dust less, but a lot of that is the color of the dust. It's a lighter color dust. So you do still need to wash the wheels on occasion. Though unlike steel, cooper does not oxidize onto the wheels.
2. Ceramic pads actually squeak like hell, you just can't hear it. It's at a frequency beyond human hearing. Free trivia
3. Some people, including myself, think the pedal feel is diminished and smooth modulation is more difficult. This is purely subjective. And this is why I don't use them.
4. Ain't Cheap!
5. Not all "Ceramic" pads are ceramic pads, some just have some ceramic material. So, do your homework.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Performance Car = performane brakes = dust and squeeking. Thats life.
Brake harder. Ceramic pads will reduce the dust and noise but will also reduce braking power.
The squeeking tells you your brake work and work well. Go out and drive the car hard and brake hard. help remove some of the dust.
Brake harder. Ceramic pads will reduce the dust and noise but will also reduce braking power.
The squeeking tells you your brake work and work well. Go out and drive the car hard and brake hard. help remove some of the dust.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 169
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by FIG
Do i need to take the wheeles off and spray the cleaner? Will it hurt the polished rims? The noise is rather loud and is anytime the brakes are applyed. Thanks for the help.
Well I don't see how you can get all the rotor without removing the wheel. But if you can, go for it. Remember the inboard side.
Read the back of the can, there are those that are stronger than others. Most are harmless, but a few aren't.
Personally, I remove the entire rotor and clean it on the bench. Then I wash the rotor in warm, soapy (Ivory) water and dry it with a hair-blower. Wear latex gloves to keep skin oils off the rotor surface.
Think I'm a bit ****?
You can try this, but only if you feel comfortable doing it in a safe and controlled manner!
3 consecutive stops from 60 to 30 mph. The stops should be pretty aggressive (without engaging ABS) with no cool down between the 3 stops. After 3 stops in a row, allow the system to cool by driving around and avoiding hard use of the brakes for several minutes. Do this up to ten times, if the noise doesn't go away.
Do not allow the brake rotors to get hot enough to have the pads start transferring material to the rotor.
You can see that you need a lot of space to do this safely.
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