michaels'max

My brakes have been squealing ever since I had the brake pads replaced, and I was wondering if I could get some insite to the problem. I've tried the whole stopping abruptly thing to remove any dust or particles that could be on the rotor causing squeeling. And that was no help, countless mechanics have told me that it is not a big deal if you can stand the noise. Well, I just don't like the noise. My break bads when I last had them replaced by "just brakes", which I don't really trust all that much, had uneven wear on them. The mechanic there told me that it was due to having some missing parts on my brake assembly. They never told me what was missing. But, they wanted to charge me an arm and a leg for new calipers to solve the problem. Well, I've been reading online a bit, and I've come to think that the problem may be a missing brake shim or anti squeal clip, or whatever you call them. There are so many different names. Do max's come with these stock, or are they built into brake pads or what? If this could be the problem, where might I find these? I've been looking online all over the place and I can't find any place that will sell them.

thanks.

nelledge

iTrader: (6)

Brake pad squeal can be caused by numerous things: cheap parts, debris, out of spec tolerances. Friction is the guilty party here. Want to get rid of the noise? Get rid of the friction. Sounds a little weird, since, by definition, brakes need friction. Eliminate friction outside the pad to rotor contact area. Shims(anti-rattle clips) are used to fill voids that will cause sonic resonance. I bought Nissan pads/rotors from the dealership and there were no shims included. I was informed Nissan no longer made them. I didn't press the point, but I think they do. Anyway if you don't have shims from the old pads and the new ones were bare, I have had luck with NAPA's Wagner books. They make different shims you may be able to use on your Max. I went without the shims because I was in a hurry. Just use 'Disc Brake Quiet' on every contact the pad makes with the caliper, bracket, or piston. 6000 miles later, no squeal. And if it eventually does, I'll open her back up and put some clips in there.

Edit: I definitely could have made that shorter. Sorry.

Tom

You're right. It's the shims. When I bought some Akebono ceramic disc pads, it came with some generic shims, but the factory shims are best and they fit perfectly. You can buy them from the dealer or you can buy them online from Courtesy Nissan, which is what I did. See the link below. It's the one listed as "Brake Hardware kit - Front".

These things do work. In 169k miles on this car, I've never had brakes squeal.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/J30_brakes.html

kcidmil

I remember when I changed my brake pads... cheap parts was my problem. In fact, the semi metallic I used ate up my stock rotors. So I changed over to my brembo slots... now they're eating the pads . Of course, it'll sound like a dump truck when I brake lightly. But it's a price to pay.

michaels'max

thanks a lot you guys, I'll try gettin' some shims.

robdog

So your brakes squeal because of the brembo rotors? I bought all four brembo drilled/slotted rotors for my max too and now i have a squeal from the front brakes. Is it the rotors? Will that brake squeal lube stuff work for this too?

kcidmil

Mine is from cheap Napa brake pads. I replaced the shims when I put the new rotors on. It's not as loud as when I had the stock ones on.

The lube might work, the sound doesn't really bother me. I pay more attention to my intake than I do my brake squeel...

Try it out and let me know.

robdog

Do your brakes stink also? When i'm driving around I notice that I can smell my brakes, even if I'm not driving like a maniac. Do you think this is from the brembos?

Tom

Get your brake calipers checked to make sure it's not sticking/binding (and dragging your brakes).

robdog

Thanks, I'll check that out.

kcidmil

Thanks Tom... I haven't read up on this thread for awhile. No my brakes don't drag, and I don't get burnt pad smell. Your pads definetly are sticking.