NationStates Jolt Archive

I changed my front tire and rear tire brakes a few weeks ago, and I'm experiencing a problem when driving. It's hard to explain in words, but basically when I press down the pad seems to skip off the disc (it makes on and off screeching noises, and the noise is not due to the little screecher to tell you that your brake pad is worn, but is a lot "heavier") and sometimes when I press down it makes a noise similar to a submarine hull under pressure. :p

Anybody have any clue what I'm talking about? :rolleyes:

Probably what's commonly known as "Brake squeal", a more severe case.

Likely a result of poorly fitted brakes. Check if the pads and the discs sit stiff. Most likely some of them is loose and vibrates.
If that doesn't work, check if they're all smooth. The problem may subside in a while if surface finish is the problem, or can be corrected by sanding (doesn't always work). If it's a fitting issue, it may be fixable or not, but if the old brakes worked OK, probably it's the fitting.

go to a brake shop and get them done right.

I changed my front tire and rear tire brakes a few weeks ago, and I'm experiencing a problem when driving. It's hard to explain in words, but basically when I press down the pad seems to skip off the disc (it makes on and off screeching noises, and the noise is not due to the little screecher to tell you that your brake pad is worn, but is a lot "heavier") and sometimes when I press down it makes a noise similar to a submarine hull under pressure. :p

Anybody have any clue what I'm talking about? :rolleyes:

Did you do it, or did a shop do the work? Disc brakes, or drum? Ever done this before?

I think the magic that makes the wheels go round is running out.

Search for your local wizard in the yellow pages.

Alright.

First of all, does the pedal pulse while it makes this noise when you have your foot on the brakes?

I will continue after the answer to this question.

The board won't let me edit.

I'm a mechanic, so if you want, just shoot me a TG and we can talk through there.

There are a bunch of things that could be wrong. For the sake of sanity, I'll assume the repair went smoothly.

For one, did you replace the pads only or the pads and disc/drum? Was anti-vibration material applied to the caliper before installing the brake pads (only for disc brakes)? A little more abstractly, when was the last time your master brake cylinder repaired, replaced, or is it OEM?

A little more feedback on pedal feel and steering wheel feel during braking would be nice...

Alright.

First of all, does the pedal pulse while it makes this noise when you have your foot on the brakes?

I will continue after the answer to this question.
I'm an amateur mechanic, so I'm always looking for free education. In this case, are you looking for warped rotors?

I've always taken mine to get turned when I replace the pads because of other advice I got early on.

Weasels?

I'm an amateur mechanic, so I'm always looking for free education. In this case, are you looking for warped rotors?

I've always taken mine to get turned when I replace the pads because of other advice I got early on.

Exactly. You should always turn down the rotors and drums when replacing the pads. Sometimes (very rarely) putting new pads on uneven rotors (non-cut rotors) will cause them to warp from heat build-up (pads trying to seat with rotors). Also, if there are drum brakes in the rear and they weren't cut or replaced, they may be a bit out of round and that could cause a thump-like sound (submarine hull-type sound) as the shoes wear into the drums.

Did you do it, or did a shop do the work? Disc brakes, or drum? Ever done this before?

Myself, and both the front and rear brakes are disk brakes. This was my first time, but I had a friend, who had done it on his car countless times before, helping me. I did think I did the brakes fine; they work. But, my dad said that they aren't coming down evenly (he guessed).

Anybody know if you're supposed to oil the spring?


First of all, does the pedal pulse while it makes this noise when you have your foot on the brakes?


It does to a degree, and depend on how long the car has been driven for and how hard I'm braking. I'll press down and the brakes will make a very weird noise (kind of like a groan), and then will start skipping on the disk.

Could it be a warped rotor? When I take a look I don't really see anything out of the ordinary; should it be something is obvious to plain sight?

Myself, and both the front and rear brakes are disk brakes. This was my first time, but I had a friend, who had done it on his car countless times before, helping me. I did think I did the brakes fine; they work. But, my dad said that they aren't coming down evenly (he guessed).

Anybody know if you're supposed to oil the spring?



It does to a degree, and depend on how long the car has been driven for and how hard I'm braking. I'll press down and the brakes will make a very weird noise (kind of like a groan), and then will start skipping on the disk.

Could it be a warped rotor? When I take a look I don't really see anything out of the ordinary; should it be something is obvious to plain sight?
Since we have a real mechanic, here, I'll defer to whatever he says, but I'll give you my opinion, too.

I alway put a little lithium grease (white grease) on the spots where the pads slide on the mount. Some brakes have anti squeal springs, but that doesn't sound like what you're missing.

Maybe the rotor is just warped. If there's a worst side, or worst wheel, I think I'd take it apart and see if parts are seating properly. You won't be able to tell about the rotor warp without a dial indicator, but if you turn the wheel, you might hear the high spots scuff on the pads.

Yes, when I turn the wheel I do hear noises sometimes.

It does to a degree, and depend on how long the car has been driven for and how hard I'm braking. I'll press down and the brakes will make a very weird noise (kind of like a groan), and then will start skipping on the disk.

Could it be a warped rotor? When I take a look I don't really see anything out of the ordinary; should it be something is obvious to plain sight?

It wouldn't have to be, no. Sometimes brake warpage is fairly obvious and noticeable, but often, since the entire assembly operates within a few millimeters of the rotor, even a small wobble in the rotor could produce the symptoms you're hearing and feeling.

Did you put new rotors and pads on, or just new pads? If you put a new rotor on, then you most likely don't have this problem, unless the manufacturer of the rotor packaged a pretty bad one. More likely, if you didn't replace or turn the rotor, it could be warped and could be causing your problems.

As you drive your vehicle the brake piston automatically adjusts to brake pad wear. If you did not fully compress the brake piston when you changed the pads you will have the squealing and "hopping" since the brake piston is to far out for the new pads.

Yea, I only replaced the pads. I remember that I had my brakes "changed" about two and a half years ago (I then moved to Spain, so nobody really drove the car while I was gone), and the guy (next door neighbor) claimed that he took the rotors to get polished and changed the pads. I came back from Spain about eight or nine months ago and drove the car fine for about six months, and then had to change the brakes.

I changed the front brakes first, and the pads were completely worn to the metal. I got lazy and decided to not change the rear brakes, and I changed the rear brakes finally like a month ago. The problems started after I changed the rear brakes, but the problem feels like it's coming from the front brakes.

Given my lack of mechanical knowledge (I mean, pretty much my capabilities come to changing breaks [well, apparently not], changing the battery, changing the tire, changing the air filter, oil and that's about it :p ), I'm thinking of just taking it down to some Mexican shop. One of my neighbors sells cars he fixes up, and he knows a couple of good Mexican mechanis (not to stereotype or sound racist; I mean Mexican mechanics, who have a bad rap this close to the border - my next door neighbor is Mexican himself, while at least ... you know... being Spanish I'm almost a vato :p ).

Well are the rear brakes disc brakes or drum brakes? If they're drums, then as I said before, they're probably out of round and that's why you're getting the pulsing and most likely a "whomp whomp whomp" sound. The pulsing comes from the drum pushing the shoe back into the wheel cylinder, the wheel cylinder pushes on the brake fluid, and you feel the fluid pushing back in the pedal.

If they're disc brakes, I'm assuming they are single slab (that's my term for having no vents in the middle like the fronts do). Single slabs are fairly easy to warp with new pads, especially if you don't cut them. You usually can't get a cut out of them though and have to buy new. You sometimes get a "whomp" sound from discs if they have drums inside the disc for emergency brakes.

On last thing, make sure that you didn't install the pads the wrong way. As in the pad that touches the disc is facing out, instead of towards the disc. That could cause a screeching along with warped rotors, heh.

The board still isn't letting me edit, or even use emoticons. WTF.

But I just wanted to say, if you feel the pulsing (it will be slight most likely) in the steering wheel while braking, then it is a problem with the front brakes.

As you drive your vehicle the brake piston automatically adjusts to brake pad wear. If you did not fully compress the brake piston when you changed the pads you will have the squealing and "hopping" since the brake piston is to far out for the new pads.

If he didn't completely compress the piston in the caliper, he wouldn't have been able to put the caliper back on. It's basically impossible for a piston to cause squealing and "hopping" since the piston only pushes on one pad while the rest of the caliper moves on slides.

I don't mean to be a dick, I just want to clarify wrong information.