I posted on this in the 87-96 forum, but haven't had any luck over there. Hopefully someone here has experienced a similar problem.

My 93 3/4 ton is intermittently making an annoying rubbing noise. I wouldn't quite call it screeching, but it is somewhat high in pitch. It's very difficult to pinpoint where it's coming from (i.e. front of back of truck. This is due not only to it being intermittent, but also because I can only hear it when the windows are down. And, I think I'm actually hearing the echo of the noise off of objects I drive past (buildings, barriers, etc.) The only thing at all constant about it is that the minute I apply even the slightest pressure to the brake pedal, the noise disappears.

Does anyone have an idea what could cause this? I've never heard of pressing the brakes eliminating this type of noise, only causing it.

 

I dont know if this matters now but It sounds like the brake pad wear indicators.

 

I thought the brake pad wear indicators made noise when you applied the brakes, not the other way around.

Am I mistaken?

 

No if your pads are low enough they very lightly squeel, at least on my 92 f-150 the disk pads up front work this way.

 

My 92 F150 has the same intermittent noise which seems to be coming from the front end and stops with the slightest pressure on the brake pedal. I have replaced, rotors, pads, bearings, bearing races and 4WD hubs and still the noise occurs at random. I have heard that the less expensive remanufactured calipers still might drag and that might be the problem, but I would like to be assured by someone else's experience before I put more money and time into the this very annoying problem..

 

Are the wear indicators the same hardware as the anti squeal clips that attach to the inboard (piston side) pads on the bottom...?

 

Don't know if this will help at all ,but my 96 Bronco made kinda the same noise from the drivers side front. Had it checked out and they could not find anything. But after elk hunting and driving in four wheel drive for a while it went away. Now it has started slightly again. I think mine has something to do with not keeping the front drive axles spinning often enouph to keep them lubed . Can't wait for elk season this year.

 

might be something b/t the pad and rotor! i have had that happen before. next time you get a chance get going about 65-70 mph and then slow down as fast as you can. a lot of the time the rotor will heat up enough to either melt or expell whatever was in there. if that doesn't work then it could be brake pad wear indicators or a loose spring in the caliper allowing the pad to drag the rotor.

-cutts-

 

In the past couple of weeks, I too have noticed a high pitched sound that seems like it might be metal on metal. What's confounding me is when it occurs. Unlike my previous experiences with low brake pads, this doesn't occur during braking and then go away. It occurs sort of at random, but I do notice that steering in either direction can alter the sound. I'm fairly sure it's not in the steering system, though, I can't see anything that might rub.

Someone above alluded to the possibility that brakes might make a noise under such circumstances...I guess I was hoping to sanity-check this with the other minds here. At nearly 50K miles, it's probably time to do the pads anyway, but if I do, I want to "do it right." To this end, a few questions come to mind:

- who makes good brake pads for our vehicles? I'm looking at Brembo and Performance Plus; are there others I should know of?

- same question for rotors...I notice that mine are flaking inside the cooling channels cut into the circumference of them, so I'm game to replace them, too.

- finally, has anyone gone whole-hog and actually replaced their calipers? Any stories/recommendations come out of these experiences?

Thanks for any input...this isn't a subject I take lightly...

mz

 

Raybestus makes good pads. Most auto parts stores sell them.