squeaking at front caliper

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Jul 20, 2009 | 08:52 PM

paultech6

Thread Starter

New User

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 5

Likes: 0

squeaking at front caliper

Driving me crazy drivers side caliper squeaks when slowing down at light only when brakes applied. I have removed the two Bolts/pins and have lubed them with antiseize. it lasts about a month . I know they are supposed to be lubed because of sliding calipers. Do you think maybe a high temp antiseize may be better ?.It almost seems like the regular or silver antiseize is breaking down and not lasting.
Other than that I have no idea why it does it in the first place. The antiseize takes it away ,there is no abnormal wearing of brakes or parts.I did replace both bolts .

Jul 20, 2009 | 11:04 PM

shorod

Logistics Pro

Joined: Jun 2009

Posts: 4,819

Likes: 83

From: Cedar Rapids, IA

Is it continuous while the brakes are applied, or only when first applying pressure to the pedal? If the slide pins are really the issue, I'd expect you'd only hear it when first applying pressure. If it's continuous while the brakes are applied and the vehicle is still rolling, I suspect your noise is actually due to a non-smooth braking surface. Often there will be a rust ridge and over time the pads wear enough to start contacting the rusty surface and set up a squeal. Take a close look at the inner and outer circumference of the rotors, can you see a ridge that has a polished edge to it? If so, that's probably the source of your noise.

I'd also suggest you stick with a synthetic brake grease rather than anti-seize.

-Rod

Jul 21, 2009 | 03:38 AM

paultech6

Thread Starter

New User

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 5

Likes: 0

ER: Shorod

I understand what you are telling me about rust at ridge but thats not it.
This definetly is the bolts . When I put fresh anti seize on them it goes away.
Just trying to figure out why its just the left front and why whatever I put on the pins its wears off or breaks down and squeaking comes back.
You only hear the squeaking at the very last few turns of the wheel as you stop .
Definetly pin/caliper issue..
My understanding is that normal anti seize is silver but there is a high temp version that sorta looks like copper colored.
My thinking is that caliper rotor assembly is hot enough to break down regular anti seize.
When I use it now it lasts about a month

Jul 21, 2009 | 06:51 AM

shorod

Logistics Pro

Joined: Jun 2009

Posts: 4,819

Likes: 83

From: Cedar Rapids, IA

Quote:

Originally Posted by paultech6

You only hear the squeaking at the very last few turns of the wheel as you stop .
Definetly pin/caliper issue..

This comment though leads me to say it's not the pin/caliper. By this point, the caliper has already moved on the pins. If the rotors are true, the caliper slides when the brakes are first applied and won't move much as you continue to slow. Can you hear the squeak if the truck is sitting still and you apply the brakes? If not, I don't think it's the pins. Are there polish marks on the pins? Have you tried synthetic brake grease?

Another interesting experiment would be to just remove, rotate the rotor, then reinstall the wheel and see if the noise temporarily goes away.

Also, if the dust boots over the slide pins are not cracked or split, try cleaning off the anti-seize and using silicone brake grease that won't be as likely to break down over time.

I had a very similar issue on my wife's Lincoln LS. Every couple weeks the brake noise would come back. What I ultimately had to do to get it to go away now for 3 months was to clean the rust ridge from the inner and outer circumference of the braking surface. I picked up the kit I used from Harbor Freight on clearance for $5. For $11 per rotor I could have had O'Reilly Auto Parts machine them, but I didn't want to remove that much material from the rotors.

You could also just have noisy brake pads if somewhere along the way less expensive pads were installed and still on the vehicle.

-Rod

Aug 24, 2009 | 10:55 AM

aquanaut20

Cargo Master

Joined: Aug 2003

Posts: 3,263

Likes: 92

From: BC Canada

If the grease on the slides gets dry in a short period, check the heat of the hub after driving for a while.

Aug 26, 2009 | 01:00 PM

Wagion

Posting Guru

Joined: May 2003

Posts: 1,362

Likes: 2

From: Juneau, ALASKA

Use syn break grease instead of anti seize. Also might want to try taking the rotors off and sanding them a little to see if that helps.

Your sure it is not the wear indicators on the breaks?