I just had new pads put on the rear brakes in my maxima. The mechanic said the rotors could not be turned anymore, because they are close to their minimum thickness. He said that he had the same squealing problem on his 5th gen max, and he ended up having to replace the rotors to fix it.

I have seen other posts about people having squeals after replacing their rear brakes (something to do with clips). What should I do. If I need to replace the rotors, what is a good oem replacement, reasonably priced? I plan on going with ceramic pads from now on. They would have been installed this time, but the mechanic said with the rotors the way they were, it wasn't a good idea. Any information is appreciated. Thanks

 

Well, is it a fog horn like sound? Mine does the fog horn thing, but only when I back up and brake and only then for a sec.

I don't think you have to get new rotors for this. I think, from what I hear from other .org members, it is just something that the rear brakes do.

I got front rotors OEM at a parts store for like $20 a piece. I would try www.rockauto.com. they are really good, and cheap too.

 

Since yours is a 95, Nissan has a TSB out for the 95 and it says that a new hardware kit (it has the "clips" and stuff) is available for the brakes. I have some brake noise too and I'm planning on replacing the pads and rotors this summer using the new hardware kit from Nissan. You can replace them and see if it fixes the noise since they don't cost that much.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=267096

 

the noise isn't a groan it is a squeal. It is the same noise that the brakes made a couple months ago, when the pads were down to point were they start to squeal. The weird thing is that when I apply the brakes hard, the noise doesn't occur. However, when driving through town and casually applying the brakes, the noise occurs. For now, I can deal with it, but if anyone has had this same problem under the above circumstances, and you solved it, let me know.

Thanks guys

 

yeah, my brakes squal....i really don't know if its the front or rear but it only happens when applying brakes in general driving. like you, when i stop hard there is no squeal.

 

i just replaced all my brake rotors with zinc platted, slotted brembo's and replaced all my pads with axxis ultimate ceramic pads, my rears squeal only under really casual light braking as well...i used the brake quiet stuff (the blue crap) but didn't make a difference....still squeals under light braking...coming only from the rear i think....but it's annoying and didn't do this with my old pads or rotors...so I am thinking either the pads need to brake in some more or when I took the caliper off and put it back...something is not on or set right...anyone else have this problem and found the solution to it?

 

Yeah I had that exact same thing. Squealed just like you described. I checked the pads myself to see which ones needed replacing. When I checked the rears, I only looked at the outside pads. They looked brand new. So naturally I thought the fronts were bad so I replaced them. I got in may car and drove for no more than five minutes and the exact same symptoms started again. Turns out that I had a sticking caliper on the rear so the pads were not wearing evenly... one of the inside ones was completely shot. So I replaced the rears. Problem solved.

My guess is that you may have a similar problem on one of the front calipers. Those inside pads can be a b**** to check so mechanics like to judge the inside pad's condition based on the outside pad... obviously I'm guilty of the same thing

If you would like to keep in good social graces with your mechanic (if he/she is not the kind of person that likes being questioned) you might want to find this out for yourself. If you have access to a jack AND jackstands... jack each front corner up, pull a wheel, grab a good flashlight, stick your head inside the wheel well and look at the inside pads. You should have at least 1/8 (an estimate of course) inch left. if not, your "feelers" on the pads are probably rubbing the disc. Feelers are there to tell you that the pads are worn out and should be replaced before they gouge the rotor (I've done that too ) They tell you by making that obnoxious screeeeeching noise. You probably already know that though.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

D

 

so it has nothing to do with the clips...or pins or whatever...it has to do with the piston in the caliper itself being stuck? then why does this sound go away when you brake hard? my brakes are only 2 weeks old, so if I catch it now, i think i won't have to replace anything..well maybe i need the hardware replacement kit and replace the clips that push the pads out from the rotors...

 

I'm saying that IF your caliper is sticking one of the pads would wear a LOT faster than the other. Having a worn out brake pad can cause the sound you are hearing. I'm thinking this might be your problem because you said that the sound did not change from before you took the car in.

And you saying that the noise goes away when braking hard leads me to believe this is your problem. I had the same thing. Brake hard, noise goes away. Brake soft or not at all, I get noise from the brakes.

Here is my explanation of why this happened to me (insert grain of salt):
If the inside pad is thin and a lot of force is exerted on it by way of a single piston (like we have on the max) the brake pad will arc very slightly... because the force is concentrated on the center of the pad, the pad does not heat uniformly (heats the disk side first) and the the OEM pad material is pretty soft. This bowing of pad will lift the feeler off the disc so the noise goes away.

If you can verify that all of your pads are not thin and your feelers are not rubbing, then you can ignore all of this.

D

 

i had all my pads replaced and they still squealed. whats up with that

 

maybe my feelers are rubbing the...cause I have brand 2 week old pads and rotors...and they started squeeling after one week....so it has to be something else...i used a ton of that quiet stuff crap, so it couldn't be that....maybe the feelers/shims one of them is bent or something or not on right...i'll have to take a look at 'em...or maybe even perhaps that tiny copper wire spring that pushes the pads away from the rotor when not in use.....here is a tip if any of you can help me from it, when I put my rear end in the air and take off the wheels, etc. with the hand brake off, my pads are still locked against my rotors....is this normal? shouldn't they have springed back away from the rotor when I take off the hand brake?

 

My repor with my mechanic is good, and he won't mind the question. I am going to print some of this out and take it to him and ask some questions. Maybe they missed something. Thanks guys, especially sleepermaxima

 

just do it yourself. I have known mechanics to not be that good with little stuff like that. I mean, they might just not care that much, because it seems minor and demeaning to them. It is not that hard to just check yourself.

Refer to this thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=274201

Plus, if you are not out of pad, and the pads are new, it might be the compound of pad. I mean, some squeal more than others. Why do you think there is so much discussion on here about pads? Also, a certain amount of squeal is to be expected when braking lightly....depends on humidity, angle of pad, compound of pad...etc.

 

so my pad angle might be off?