Ok, so I had a rattle in my front end and the front brakes were squealing a tad. Found the backing on the pads had came off, so I ordered the Lts Hawks and lubed everything up. Brakes work good ,but still have a rattle when I go over bumps or potholes. Now if I apply the brakes while going over the potholes the rattle stops. Wtf? I guess I should have turned the rotors as well because my steering wheel shake's when I apply the brakes. Maybe there warped. Anybody have any advise on this or have heard of a similer problum? The bushings and ball joints look ok as far as I can tell.

Tom

 

I know this may be a little too late, but I had the same problem.....new pads, new rotors, still same rattle. Turns out my anti rattle clips on both sides were gone, I picked some up at O'Reillys for $12 a side. Hope this helps.

 

Move to Florida. We don't have potholes here. :-)

 

+1 on the clips - you are most likely missing one or more which is causing the noise. For the 'warping' - did you notice anything prior to the switch of the pads? There is a chance what you are experiencing is material transfer instead. With the Hawks (and most brake pads) you need to bed them in for best performance. It does a couple of things - outgasses the pad itself and transfers a bit of material to the rotor for best performance which prevents glazing.

From the Hawk site:

Q: What is the proper procedure for braking in new brake pads?
A: Brake pad break-in procedure.

1. After reaching medium speed engage brake pedal to slow car without coming to a complete stop. Release pedal quickly and do not drag brakes. Repeat four or five times.
2. At higher speeds engage brake pedal to slow car without coming to a complete stop. Release pedal quickly and do not drag brakes. Repeat five times.
3. At or near race speed engage brake pedal to slow car without coming to a complete stop. Release pedal quickly and do not drag brakes. Repeat three times. Allow a few seconds between brake engagements while car is in motion.
4. Do not hold brake pedal. Park car for approximately 20 minutes or until brake rotors are completely cool to the touch.
5. If during the above steps the brake pedal becomes soft or brake fade is noticed, park the car immediately for approximately 20 minutes. Do not hold brake pedal.

 

Tom,
Take a long hard look at your front stablizer bushings. Take a small screwdriver and gently poke around on them, if they are flakie then that very well my be the problem.
If the stablizer bushings are worn and a little loose that stablizer bar will transmitt sounds all around the front end and at the oddest times.

 

Make sure all your bolts are tight on the calipers, etc.

 

Right after I posted I figured it out. N spring clips. Got a set at Ford and all is well, except I do have warped rotors:-(>. I did bed the Hawks in after install,just as they specified. Thanks for the help Guys.

Tom

 

To update again, it wasn't the spring clips, it was the brake pad spreader spring's that were missing. All 4 of them. They weren't there when I changed pads, and I didn't have any extra parts when I was done,so I figured it was done properly. The spreader springs actually fit into a very small hole in the brake pad itself, and wedges against the brake caliper. I can see why someone thought they would skip this because it is a little tricky to get them in place. The Hawk pads come with these small holes as well as Ford pads. If your changing pads be sure to open the box before you leave the parts counter and see if the pads have these holes, otherwise you won't be able to install the spreader springs. The Ex is very quite now. Dang that rattle was killing me for months. Have had it over all of the mountain roads around here many in fair to poor shape, and not a rattle one. Happy camper here.

Tom