Quick fix for squeaky disk brakes

[Stanley]

This is going to be old news for many, but new to me. When I rebuilt the front brakes a few years ago I didn't use the no-squeal grease, because I wasn't sure where it went, and greasing the brakes seemed like a bad idea. Anyway the brakes have been extra squeaky the last week.

So today I tried making a couple of hard stops (I don't usually break hard unless I have to). That fixed it somehow, no more squeals.

[Mark Maras]

Now that's a repair that I like. Nothing to tear down, just another good reason to go fast. I hope it continues to work for you. What brand brakes did you buy? It might help some of us to avoid the potential problem.

Mark in Portland

[rcb280z]

Rotors were probably glazed over. You may have burned it away with aggressive braking.

[Zed Head]

I've tried the same fix. Results were temporary.

[Stanley]

It's stock rotors and calipers, and street performance (IIRC) pads, all from MSA. And as I noticed today, yes, results were temporary, but repeatable.

[Mark Maras]

Pull the brake pads, Assuming everything is dusty, dry and looking good, lightly sand the pads & discs using 220 or finer sandpaper in a tight circular motion, The idea is to remove the shiny glaze and make it look swirly. The auto-parts stores have a product in a tube that you squeeze onto the back of the pads, It reminded me of Tool Dip when I used it. I don't remember the name but there are probably many similar products out there.

Good Luck

Mark in Portland

[Zed Head]

The factory-style steel shims that fit behind the pad will do the job. I had a set of pads that would not stop squealing until the shims were installed. Grease, the spray-on goo, chamfering the pad edges, none of it worked. Only the shims. You can get them at RockAuto for $1-4. "Brake Pad Shim Kit".

I feel like a Debbie Downer..

[Stanley]

Guess I'll use the grease, sandpaper and shims, then. But my next brake project needs to be the rear ones. When I did the front brakes about 5 years ago they were really shot. Discs badly scored, calipers sticking, and pads gone. Guess the previous owner figured 130K miles without a brake job was OK. I'm guessing it's time to do the rear brakes.

They didn't squeak yesterday so maybe the hard stop "fix" can last at least a couple days.