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Squealing brakes while stopping

3K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  amc49 
#1 ·
1 of the few problems i have with my car is the brakes. I had abs brake work done when i purchased my 03 ZX3 focus over a year ago and they seemed to work fine but around the last 6 months or so, about 50% of the time when i am coming to a stop there will be a squealing noise when under 15mph. I can tell by looking at the car the rear drums are rusted to hell, but i am not sure if thats the main priority to fix right now, or if its the front brakes. And if so, what is causing the squealing? rotors, pads, drums??
 
#2 ·
Usually worn pads will do that. Check your front rotors while you're at it - the insides of them might be grooved now, which would mean they're junk.

Decent pads and new rotors will set you back about $100 if you do it yourself.
 
#3 ·
The squealing is usually not caused by the actual action of pads on rotor, its that the pads are shaking in their mounts. When you do a brake job, you can get some brake-glue that you put on the back of the shoe. Its basically a rubber layer that prevents the shoe from moving around when the brakes are applied, thus preventing the squeal.



It works great, and has no effect on braking performance.
 
#5 ·
The front rotors look in pretty good shape... i am not sure about the brake pads.. i would guess the squealing is coming from them. As for the drums how can i tell if they need to be replaced, and could they be the cause of the squealing??
 
#8 ·
are your rotors shiny or dull? You may just need a turn and buffing or replacement of the pads.

shiny rotors and glazed pads will squeak like crazy when you're stopping. Keep in mind brakes that are worn far enough to allow the "squeakers" to touch the rotor will only squeak when the brakes are not being applied... that's how it is supposed to work anyway. In the real world, your pads will be glazed if there's anything left and the rotors will be shiny.
 
#13 ·
If you drive fast and ride brakes hard you will get squealing... Drum brakes get over polished when you ride them hard and will resonate. nothing you can do other then replace the drum with OEM, DO NOT BUY EBAY!! I cannot stress that enough, I went thru 3 cheap drums on ebay then just bought OEM and lasted 3 more years..


this is commonly known as Glazing..

Pads to make a difference..
 
#17 ·
I've had this happen. You can try to change pad brands, that usually fixes it. The disc brake quiet goop you put on the back of the pads also can help in some cases.

But, you might want to leave it alone.

Where I live, people glare at you if you touch the horn - no driver uses their horns, it's considered bad form, I guess. I can live with that - except that at every street corner pedestrians constantly walk out into the street - in front of cars - against red lights - you name it.

I found when I approached a stop sign that if I lightly touched the brakes the things would squeal the loudest - so I would get them screaming a block or so away - and by the time I got to the sign the noise would have cut through to even the most stoned/high/moronic pedestrian and they would be backing away from the curb, not running out in front of me.

It was a sad day when those pads wore out - and I have never been able to get replacements to scream like that.
 
#18 ·
If you grind off the right angle 90 degree corner to a 30-45 degree bevel where the pad material ends the noise will disappear for good. Dust makes it worse but not the cause, relubing the shoe rub points makes it better but not the cause. The right angle corner digs in to let the shoe snag and go forward until it snaps back to repeat at very high speed, the reverberation turns into squeal. I've fixed several now doing this and permanently. Will even fix the loudest squealing you ever heard. Takes two-three minutes on a bench grinder to do it. The Ford backing plates are too thin and ring that vibration like a bell.
 
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