Brake squeal

[J. Olenko]

My '02 Trac had the front brake pads replaced in January. Rotors were fine so nothing was done to them. Now I seem to be getting some brake squeal when the brakes are applied. I'm not sure if it is front or rear brake squeal. The squeal doesn't seem to appear until after I drive it for a few miles. Is there any cause for concern yet? Is some brake squeal normal?

 

[Todd Z]

Brake noise is not normal...... Some cheaper pads loose their chamfer and then start making noise..... Some pads DON'T get any kind of anti squeal and some do..... i would listen good for it and check that wheel......



Some times they need to just be cleaned and some lubricant applied.



Todd Z

 

[Richard L]

Todd is correct. most often the squealing is caused by not lubing the various points where the floating pads contact the caliper and caliper mounting frame. The contact points are the pins and the little tabs on the front and rear of the metal backing plate of the pads should be lubed with a high temperature brake grease.



If the pads do not have the camfered leading and trailing edge, it is possible to put a slight camfer on the pad material with a file or coarse sand paper, but only on the first 3/8" of the leading/trailing edge of the pads.



Some of the cheaper pads do not come with isolation pads on the backs of the brake pads. The isolation pads consist of a softer (aluminum) or plastic like material) pad that is bonded to the back of the pad, or comes as a self adhesive, stick on pad. These pads keep any vibrations of the brake pads from transfering to the calipers, etc and creating a squeal. If you do not have these isolation pads, they do make a high temp silicone like RTV that can be used to coat the back of the pads and reduce or eliminate the squealing.



...Rich

 

[Tommy VanNess]

I also just had this problem. I had the front end rebuilt in March or so, and part of the job was new rotors, pads and bleeding of the brakes. After about a month or so, I had a really bad squeal. I put up with it for about a month or so hoping it would go away. I tried the lubricant CRC (looks like pepto) and that didn't work. So, I took it back to Ford since they warranty yhr work and parts for 12 months.



The solution was new brake pads. They said the ones put on earlier had a higher metal content. I don't know if that is true or not, and I really don't care. But the squeal is gone with new pads. I hope it helps. Seems like we got new brakes around the same time.



Tommy

 

[Todd Z]

I have also taking pads that were 1/2 worn and the chamfer was gone and grinded a NEW chamfer on them and the problem was solved.....



I think i did a post on this back in 2004 or so...



Todd Z

 

[scott degroot]

Brake squeal is misunderstood by ALOT of people. The squeal happens when the pad starts vibrating at a frequency that we can hear. There are alot of reasons pads start to vibrate, from worn out caliper hardware that is meant to hold the pads firmly in place to poor rotor surface adn everythinbg in between. The key to silent braking is to ALWAYS replace the hardware when replacing brakes, resurface the rotors no matter how good you think the surface is, make sure that the face of the piston or pistons are clean adn true adn make sure that the slide pins are adequately libed adn that tehy are tight in their bores. Always, and this is key, use quality pads adn use quality rotors when replacing them. Everyone has their own idea of what brand constitutes quality parts so I won't get into that arguement but be warned that all pads or rotors are not created equally. take for instance a rotor that is too hard, sure it won't warp but it also creates a different frequency when used that leads to squealing...rotors are meant to be consumed during braking.

 

[Richard L]

l1tech,

I agree that pad vibration causes brake squeal. However, it's where the pads contact other components that makes the vibrating pad create the noise. The slide pins, the little lugs on the backing plate, and where the pad backing plate contacts the caliper body and piston are the common sources of the noise.



I agree that using new or properly turned rotors and replace damaged or missing anti-rattle springs, etc is an important part of a good brake job. However, even if you replace all the hardware, install new rotors and calipers, you can still get some unavoidable vibration in the pads that can cause squealling.



Simply lubing all the contact points where the pad backing plate touches anyother stationary part of the braking system will cure squealling 99% of the time.



Remember that squeaking and squealing are just metal parts that are sticking and slipping at an audible frequency. I have found that inspecting the tabs on the brake pads and the contact points on the calipers to insure there are not burrs, nicks, or rough surfaces where the parts meet. If there appears to be any problems there, I will use a small file to remove any irregularity that might prevent the pads from sliding smoothly. Then add a dab of hight temp brake grease when assembling and I never have a squealing brakes.



...Rich