Squeel like a pig

[5thhorsemann]

Man, I've been trying to get rid of a NASTY front brake squeel for a year now. I put drilled and slotted rotors on, changed pads, cleaned and cleaned again. It's fine for a day or two, then SQUEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLL. It's getting embarrasing, any ideas on how to quiet the damn things?

[Zed Head]

The shims that go behind the pads don't seem like much but I could not get rid of the squeal on my stock 280Z front brakes until I found a set and reinstalled them. Do you have shims on your setup?

[5thhorsemann]

Yes, and they LOOKED ok, not all malformed and cracked, but the pads I installed didn't come with new shims, any idea from whence yours came?

[Arne]

Brake squeal is high-frequency pad vibration. I'd replace not only the shims, but also the retainer pins and tension spring. Look for a "front brake hardware kit", such as this:

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/SBC04/24-5301

[5thhorsemann]

Thanks guys, parts on order this week. If I'm going that deep, I might as well put a good set of pads on while I'm in there. Any suggestions for pads for the drilled and slotted rotors.

Edited August 22, 2011 by 5thhorsemann

[Jetaway]

Earlier this year I replaced the front pads with cheap generic pads. The "anti-squeal shims" were twisted and wrecked and have not been replaced since. They started to squeal, moreso once they had a few stops on them, so I used a "stop squeal" product, which worked for two or three days. Got really bad, so I used the same product again and scrupiously followed the instructions for use. Quiet for a week, then started again. Another two weeks later it was so damn embarrassing (hot or cold, light, heavy or medium pressure) that I replaced the pins and spring. Just as bad.

Bought a pair of PBR ULT pads for $29.95 (I suspect on clearance by a local store). They are ceramic aftermarket pads. Ummmmm... WOW! First off, the pedal feel was 400% better, and remember this isn't a comparision with worn-out pads, but relatively new, albeit inexpensive pads. Second, no squeal. Well, no squeal for the first month and a slight, intermittent squealing since, without using the aforementioned "stop squeal" product. In practical terms, no squealing.

The company compares their pads on about a dozen dimensions at

http://www.pbrbrakes.com/

then click on Aftermarket Parts in the side bar.

Relatively speaking these will chew through my rotors (also slotted and cross-drilled) faster and are dustier than their other pads. I don't have enough miles to remark on rotor wear but they are much dustier than the old pads or the new generic pads I installed. Cleans off with slightly less difficulty than the dust produced by my 2001 Aztek with stock pads.

If you've read other of my recent posts on Drum ID please, if you suspect I have about 3 wheels of braking power, you are probably right, but with these ULTs I seriously doubt that maximum braking performance is much worse as is than with generic new pads _and_ new drums and shoes. In short, I love'em.

Chris

[robftw]

Silly question but did you use brake pad grease on them?

[Jetaway]

Silly question but did you use brake pad grease on them?

Me?

Yes, on the pins. Along with the pins and springs was a purplish pillow of Ceramlub 2800 (degree) F. I'm pretty sure this was a store-made kit.

Two thousand eight hundred degrees? Isn't that Space Shuttle tile reentry temperatures? Don't think this stuff will break down under heavy breaking. At least not before the rest of the assembly has been reduced to its constituent elements.

Chris