chirp driving me nuts!
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Southern Louisiana
chirp driving me nuts!
my right front caliper froze about 2 months ago. replaced that along with pads, not long after whenever brakes are applied front end vibrates and brakes started "chirping". sounded like a warped roter so i replaced that too. even with the new roter the dang thing still does it. the noise is coming from the passenger side (the side that froze up) and as far as i can tell thats where the vibe is coming from also. vibe and noise are greater the harder the brakes are applied. no change in 2 months except that it is driving me nuts. no loss of performance either. thanks in advance for any help. i coulk live with it but hope not to.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: New Jersey
Hi bigdayyII,
I just went through almost the same thing. 1996 F150 4X4. When i applied the brakes the entire front end started to shake. My first instinct was to get the rotors cut and install new pads. I did that and the noise did not stop. I then spoke to a mechanic and he told me to check the radius arm bushing. When I got under the truck I saw that the drivers side bushing was toast. I bought a grinder grinded out the rivets replaced the bushing and still no correction of the brake problem. I then decided to check the back brakes. Before I pulled the brakes apart I took a vise grip and clamped off the back brake hose above the pumpkin (brace the truck, do not have the parking brake on and be careful not to damage it). Sure enough when I took it for a test ride the noise was gone. I pulled off the rear drum and the break linings came off in the drum. Replaced the back brakes and everything is fine. I could not believe that all of the noise and vibration in the front was caused by the back brakes.
Check your radius arm bushing and back brakes.
I just went through almost the same thing. 1996 F150 4X4. When i applied the brakes the entire front end started to shake. My first instinct was to get the rotors cut and install new pads. I did that and the noise did not stop. I then spoke to a mechanic and he told me to check the radius arm bushing. When I got under the truck I saw that the drivers side bushing was toast. I bought a grinder grinded out the rivets replaced the bushing and still no correction of the brake problem. I then decided to check the back brakes. Before I pulled the brakes apart I took a vise grip and clamped off the back brake hose above the pumpkin (brace the truck, do not have the parking brake on and be careful not to damage it). Sure enough when I took it for a test ride the noise was gone. I pulled off the rear drum and the break linings came off in the drum. Replaced the back brakes and everything is fine. I could not believe that all of the noise and vibration in the front was caused by the back brakes.
Check your radius arm bushing and back brakes.
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Southern Louisiana
i spoke to my mechanic and he told me the same thing. that same thing happened to a chevy, but i thought chevy/ford diffrent problems right? anyway i just wanted to get kind of an outside opinion before i put more money into it. i cant justify spending a bunch of money to find this problem and that problem. thanks for the info. he said that the back brakes werent stopping the truck properly and was putting the load on the fronts.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 133
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From: New Jersey
There is not that much money involved to fix the back brakes or the radius arm bushing. The cost for the pads, either have the rotors cut ($16.00 each) or new rotors ($40.00 each) and the time to do it. The radius arm bushings go for $20 to $30. This will take some time to do since you have to remove the rivets. Simple job but just takes a couple of hours. All of the parts should not go over $150.00. A lot of information on this site on how to do it.
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Southern Louisiana
thanks for the info guys. i took the back tires and drums off, and the drum on the passenger side is scored and the pads are glazed over. the drivers side looks to be okay. i bought a set of brake shoes and am currently looking for a place nearby that turns drums. my bushings are still on good shape and was changed 30k ago. apparently a problem before and that was the quick fix. will wait a week or so to do the job as i want to do it right and be done with it, and cant afford all of it right now. once again thanks for the info.
