Hello Guy's, I replaced my rotors on my 01 f350 the other day. Fixed the vibration in the steering wheel when braking perfectly, now I have a squeal when I first apply the brakes. Any way to get rid of this? The pads are new in the last 4 months. The rotors are from NAPA. Your tips and help would be appreciated.

 

did it make the squeal right away? did you add the shim on the pad that the pistons press against? does it squeal from one or more wheels? are just the fronts new?

 

Seems like just the front left squeals. It started squealing about a day or two later. All the pads were replaced in november. I removed the caliper and replaced the the rotors, very simple no problems. I did not shim anything.

 

it could possibly be the pistons pushing on the pad of there isnt a shim in place to reduce the noise.... or maybe one of the "wishbone" springs is not sitting quite right.... thats where i would start.

 

Well how many miles has it been since the brake pads were replaced? You may need to remove the brake pads and lightly scuff the pad surface with some fine grit sand paper to remove the glaze. When brake pads are replaced most of the time you get the rotors machined so the brake pads and rotors can "break in together" as well as get rid of any grooves and runout the rotor may have. Also it may be the quality of the Napa rotors. I had problems with my 93 F-150 squealing with Napa rotors. Also you may try applying an anti-squeal lube to the back of the brake pads. I work on Hondas and they make stuff called Molykote we apply to the backside of the brake pads that virtually eliminates brake squeal.

 

This squeal remover gets put on the back of the brake pad? Do I remove the pads or just apply some while the pads are in the caliper? The brake pads have avout 4000 miles on them.

 

Sorry, I guess I should have been more descriptive. You apply it between the backside of the brakepad and the metal shim. You can apply them while in the caliper but it much easier to remove the brake pad. I would also use something like a 200 grit sandpaper on the frontside (rotor surface) of the brakepads lightly to remove any glaze to give it a "like new finish"

 

I think I will try the sandpaper on the rotor trick. Just a light rub of the rotor with 200 grit sandpaper? I do not want to ruin anything.

 

Well I wouldn't use sandpaper on the rotors I meant on the rotor side of the brake pad itself and apply the anti squeal to the backside (caliper side of the brakepad)

 

you could also try a streak of anti-sieze to the surface of the rotor. it has worked for me before

 

Ah yes the rotor side of the brake pad (guess I was reading a little quick) , I will give that a try. I have had this brake off a couple times now trying to solve this, I am thinking I should have spent a little more on the new rotors. NAPA guy told me premium are not worth the money and he sells mostly the ones I bought. Oh well good learning experience. Thanks for the help.

 

What brand of pads did you use? I have found certain brands are more prone to squeal than others. Sometimes, you can do everything right and still have some noise.

Modern pads have lots of metal in them. It's good because they last longer because they are harder, but the harder the pad, the more likely they will squeal.

 

What???!! Antisieze on the rotor? That doesn't sound right. Seems to me the antisieze would cause the brake performance to drop, maybe dangerously so.

Most manuals recommend not putting ANY lubricant on the rotor or pad surfaces. In my mind Antisieze is a lubricant of sorts.

What I have done is use that blue brake goo, anti squeal stuff on the metal back surface of the brake pads. Let it dry a bit before putting it into the caliper. I have had mixed results with this stuff, usually good for only a few thousand miles in some cases.

Others have recommended anti squeal lubricant also on the back metal surface of the pad. I haven't tried that stuff.

I think properly seating the pads and making sure the springs etc are tight and the surfaces clean and smooth is more important. Also seems to make a bigg diff on what kind of pad material is used. The last set of pads I bought for my former car, was the mid grade pad (all they had) and it made tons of black powder and squeeled like heck after a few thousand.

So, in short, Good quality pads, a properly surfaced rotor, clean metal surfaces and maybe some anti squeal goo will usually, but not always keep the squeal away.

Jim Henderson