Squeaky brakes???

Rusty12 · Post by **Rusty12** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 10:36 pm

What causes spreaky brakes? My brake pads aren't brand new, but they certainly aren't old and do not need changing.

???

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:28 am

Hi, i have the same problem!!?? except mine is worse, cause i just got new brake pads put on 2 days ago, and got the rotors machined also, and it still squeals. .. ahhh yuck.

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:29 am

Hi, i have the same problem!!?? except mine is worse, cause i just got new brake pads put on 2 days ago, and got the rotors machined also, and it still squeals. .. ahhh yuck.

MattG · Post by **MattG** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 6:44 pm

Squealing brakes can be cause by a number of things, such as:

1) A rock stuck between the brake pad and the disc (remove brake pads and have a look)

2) Brake dust (give a good clean / brush)

3) The material the brake pads are made out of (change brand of brake pads)

4) Worn pads (remove old pads and fit new ones)

M@

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 8:06 pm

thanks! do you recommend machining the rotors? i just got it machined, and if i get another set of brake pads, will it need to be machined again?

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 12:17 am

easy fix for squealing brakes

put a slight chamfer around the edge of the brake pad this should stop the squealing

you can use a grinder or a file, becareful when using a grinder not to take to much off

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 1:54 am

what is a chamfer? and i am not sure how to remove the brake pads. hehehe. is it difficult?

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 4:58 am

To Chamfer is :To cut off the edge or corner of; bevel.

so you would get the brake pad and file at 45 degrees all round the edge to make it a 45 degree angle from the brake disc instead of a 90 degree angle but you only need to do this for about 2 mm

elmo · Post by **elmo** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 12:46 pm

I think the most common cause of squeeky brakes would be glazing over. This is especially common in autos cause you got no gears to slow you down.
Basically both surfaces, the pad and the disk become extremely smoothe like glass and squeel when they rub. This is usually due to slow driving and only using light brake pressure, especially after a hot run.
The easiest way to fix it is to go out and brake hard from sixty a couple of times. This will shed the surface of the pad a bit. If it still doesn't work you may need to pull the pads off and rub em lightly with sandpaper to roughen the surface. Crude but effective.

You may need to change your driving style and brake slightly harder to prevent this from happening. My girlfriends car used to do this all the time but we trained her out of it.

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 1:09 pm

oh haha. damn. thanks to danny and elmo.

but it sounds really hard to pull the brake pads out?　hehe

elmo · Post by **elmo** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 1:23 pm

You sound like a pretty cluey kinda chick (unless that is just your tag), have you looked at the How to section on th UK site it tells you how. Give it a go you'll be ok.
Just take the wheel off and undo the two bolts holding the caliper on. Clean em up and put it all back the same and she's all good. Dont disconnect the brake lines and put a brick under the brake pedal so no one presses it. If the brake get pressed while the caliper is off you will have real dramas.
It's pretty easy if you got jack, wheel spanner and I think its 19mm ringy/open ender.
Good luck.
PS would try braking hard a few times first though to save some work.

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 6:20 pm

what site is it?
and also, i was lookiing at the mechanic when he changed my brake pads, he pulled off the brake line ?? is that required? you sound like it's simple? haha. and do i only need to undo the 2 screws to get to the brake pad? hehe thanks!

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 6:37 pm

and one more question, is there brake fluid in our FTO? if so, then where is it? i can't see it.

D-TRAIN · Post by **D-TRAIN** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 7:44 pm

The brake fluid is stored at the very upper left-hand corner of the engine bay - close to the driver's side strut tower. It has a white cap.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 9:52 pm

there is no need to disconnect the brake line you should be able to unbolt the caliper and pull it off replace the pads and put it back on, Just two bolts from memory.

Just checked the funky FTO website he has a great list of how toos there here is a link

http://www.funky-fto.co.uk/index3.html

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 12:18 am

no need for the rear also? and has anyone added any brake fluid in that place? i have not added any from 2 years of driving....

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 2:23 am

i would do a brake fluid change then

you should change your brake fluid every couple of years as brake fluid absorbs moisture over time and eventually the moisture starts to effect the inside of your brake master cylinder and your calipers causing corosion which then leads to damage to your seals and then brake leakage and then brake failure.
change fluid regular and you dont need to replace costly components

and the brake resevouir supplys fluid for front and back brakes

elmo · Post by **elmo** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:15 am

The reason your mechanic took the line off was that he was putting big new thick pads in the gap where the little skinny old pads were. To do this you need to undo the line and push the caliper back, letting the extra fluid out as you go. You will not need to undo it to clean the pads as they will be same size, if not smaller when they go back in. (as long as no-one touches that brake pedal while off.)
Brake fluid should be changed as part of the 80000k service. If you have never worked with brakes, leave it alone or at least get a mate who has bled a set of brakes before to help.
If you take off the line your brakes will need to be bled to get the air out, to stop the pedal goin spongy and stopping the brakes form woerkin. You will also need to do this with a fluid change.

YYgirl · Post by **YYgirl** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 1:56 pm

thanks!

but bad news, i can't even unscrew the nuts from the wheels, it's too tight!

when you guys have the brake pads first changed in the rear, do they lightly rub on the disc? because i can hear the pads scraping on the disk lightly. I would assume it would probably go away as the pad gets thinner? thanks

RallyMad · Post by **RallyMad** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 6:38 pm

Hi everyone, don't forget that there is also a possibilty that nothing is wrong, some brakes just squeal. For example my mechanic and I have tried to source the problem with my brakes (they've got Pagin pads) to no luck. My mechanic tells me that it's just the vibration between the piston and the brake pad and their is nothing to be done about it. Oh and my brakes only squeal at a specific pressure.

FTO AUSTRALIA

Squeaky brakes???

Squeaky brakes???

brakes

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brakes