Brake squeal & thump...

Bing

Bing

The Legend
 Exiled Scot in Maidstone
I have had a little bit of brake squeal from the fronts for a while, however today (during the Kent hoon, worsening afterwards) it has reached embarrassing / worrying levels of volume at low speed <10mph. There is also some sort of thump happening from the nearside when in reverse. This is weird, so I shall describe what happens as I have just bemused my neighbours by spending 10mins going forward and backwards real slow in our street...

- go forwards slowly, brake, squeal (from both sides), stop
- into reverse, release brake, travel a metre or two slowly, then brake - small thump from the nearside front brake, and a small judder, as if something is catching and moving slightly
- if I release the brakes, reverse a bit more, then brake... It doesn't happen :?
- it also doesn't appear to happen on a slope
- when putting the car in the garage I also noticed that when I brake going forwards I seem to be able to hear the brake mechanism working.
- I get no judder when braking

To be clear, the front bushes, discs and pads were all replaced at approx 68k miles, I have now done 84k, so 16k miles. The rears make no noise, neither the discs or pads have been replaced in my ownership (since 59k miles).

So, I get out to have a look and notice some scoring ; I also burn my fingers feeling the discs - to my surprise they feel very gently ridged all across the face. Looking closer, the pad appears to be frayed / ridged in matching places. Some pics below :

Offside disc :

51dcefdfdaf21220884a876edd29473c_zps3dbcfa45.jpg


Offside disc and pad (not sure what has dripped down on the disc - I suspect this is just corrosion from being parked up after washing) :

e30647d48b8898d8f48f38a7c6027942_zpsd3004323.jpg


Nearside disc :

42b683199a18768b94959b107f0f6f85_zps0f31f922.jpg


Nearside disc and pad :

d692026d8962be4a4288d35225d713d6_zps43fb3db4.jpg


There *looks* to be plenty life in the pads - but how many miles should they last ? Do I just not know what I am looking at ? I am pretty sure that the discs should at least last much longer than 16k miles.

Is it normal for discs to be ridged in any way ? If not, what causes it ?

Should I be able to hear the brake mechanism working (like a gentle clap-squeeze noise) at low speed, i.e. in the garage ?

Any other ideas, before I take it to a man who is qualified ? Worth saying that I am not 'strip-them-down-and-have-a-look' level of competence. Bit worried to be honest, could do without a big bill for the Z right now... :cry:

Thanks :thumbsup:
 
Wasn't there someone on here with a similar problem (albeit just the squeak) who solved it with some copper grease on the back of the pads?
 
Had similar in my e46 -turned out to be the pads moving forward and backwards depending on going forward or reverse in the calipers making a 'clacking' noise-just a thought mate?
 
markeg said:
Wasn't there someone on here with a similar problem (albeit just the squeak) who solved it with some copper grease on the back of the pads?
Click to expand...

Thanks mark... Will have a look. But - taking brakes apart :cry:

andysat said:
Had similar in my e46 -turned out to be the pads moving forward and backwards depending on going forward or reverse in the calipers making a 'clacking' noise-just a thought mate?
Click to expand...

How did you get it fixed Andy - new pads ?

I am really worried about the ridging...
 
Took it back to the indy that fitted them -after a long faff they agreed to change them -solved it!-worth a try with copper grease tho first.
 
markeg said:
Wasn't there someone on here with a similar problem (albeit just the squeak) who solved it with some copper grease on the back of the pads?
Click to expand...

Yep was me. Cant link threads as im on tapatalk...

I was getting a horrible and to be honest embarrassing squeak from my wheels. Likewise didnt seem to be as bad on a slope. I changed the pads first off. Like yours the pads still had life in them but it was just the easiest things to do.

he squeak was still there though so after a good inspection I again came to the conclusion it was the lip on the disc. I think just comes from where the pad doesnt sit exactly flush to the edge so wears down a millimetres inside the edge of the disc. You could try sanding it smooth or angle grinding it flat, it wont do any harm I wouldn't have thought.

In the end I stripped the breaks down and cleaned them all thoroughly then took great care in putting them a back together (it seems non oem pads dont fit as smug and perfect as they could so keep it all tight) and applied f**k loads of grease to keep it smooth. For the first few days this meant grease getting all over and making a mess but it soon beds in and gets everything running flush and smooth again. And im pleased to say the breaks are now silent. The lips still there on my disc similar to yours like.

Good luck fixing it and hopefully it can be solved with a good strip down and clean.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2
 
Mark - :P

Ste - thanks for that, useful post. Hmmm. Maybe time to learn how to strip my brakes down...what kind of grease, and where ? And did you grind the lip or leave it ?

Is the gently ridged / non flat face of the pad normal then ?
 
No idea what the thump type noise is though, again could be to do with the pads not being fitted absolutely perfect if they're not oem as I mentioned previously. Really does sound like your first point of call should just be to reassemble the breaks taking care to get it all tight and greased up though.

Heres my disc with the aforementioned lip.

And une8ybeg.jpg

And some remnants of the grease:

e3azatet.jpg

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2
 
Ste's discs look a lot smoother than mine...

srhutch said:
Could be a sticking caliper.
Click to expand...

Same solution, strip down and clean ?

Back at home now, so will have a proper search on here...
 
So I have had a wander round the forum and it looks like it maybe sticky callipers. On both sides though, which is weird. Might go out and do a little handbrake-only stop test I found someone suggested if I can find enough empty road / car park.

Can using wheel cleaner or other solvents make this happen by washing the grease that's in there away ? Just occurred to me that I used degreaser on both the engine and the arches a couple of weeks ago... Now I didn't spray it on the brakes, and was very careful when rinsing it all off... But it is possible some got on the brakes - could this have buggered them up ?
 
I'd be inclined to strip down clean and re grease. It's not as hard as it sounds. Once the pads are off you'll be able to inspect the face of the pads
 
One thing as silly as it sounds is to be sure its the fronts. Due to the driving position in the zed you're actually a lot closer to the rear wheels and alot further from the front wheels then you sometimes think. I spent ages searching for what i thought might be a pin or nail stuck in my front tyre only to find it was a small stone embedded in the tread of the rear one.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2
 
Not done anything yet Ste - going to at least whip the wheels off and have a poke / wiggle to establish if there is anything obvious wrong today or tomorrow. If not then I will decide if I think I am up to the task of stripping the brakes down or not :D
 
Morning, you said a small thump from the rear. Understand the handbrake operates from shoes inside the rear discs, not the rear pads themselves. My handbrake's had the annoying affliction of slight movement when applied.

Could it be one of these shoes has come loose? Otherwise copperslip on rear of pads as mentioned before is the miracle cure for squeal
 
Jembo - the thump is definitely from the front. Could be loose pads as some have suggested... Could be anything to be honest, needs wiggled without the whees on I think.

I get the normal creak from the handbrake when it is on, and the handbrake is crap, so all seems to be fine with that :lol:
 
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