My brakes have started making a Grinding noise every once in a while when i feather the brakes going down hill...

The sound is heard like its coming from under the car, kinda like if there was loose rocks in the brake pad grinding up against the rotor, kinda like the noise when you go to far in a parking space and the bottom of the frame slides on the concrete sidewalk...maybe not that bad, but the same kinda noise..

It is coming from the brakes, but i dont know what is wrong, i did look at the pads (they are brand new, along with the rotors AND shim kit). I did notice that the pads were wearing diagonally a lil bit, but then again they havent even been worn past the angled part of the pad yet, they are BRAND new! (raybestos QS)

Could this be signs of uneven pad wear? i thought that was more squeeking than a grinding noise...

help me out peeps, like i said this normally happens at really low speeds below 8 MPH, and it happens alot more when i feather the brakes going down hill, and it goes away once i start braking a higher speeds...

 

mine were doing that, then i replaced them all, but mine were real, real real bad...

 

I was hearing a grinding noise, speed-related, meaning the faster I drove, the faster the noise was. It also wasn't always there and other times it was real bad.
Turns out a rubber cover on the right front axle had torn, dirt had gotten in and was grinding it down. Needed to have it replaced.
Doesn't really sound like your problem is this, but you might try looking under your car at the axels to see if you can find any problems there.
Good luck

 

what did you replace mclarke? how did you stop the noise? new pads?

 

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i replaced pads and rotors... nothing special on the rotors and some axxis metal master pads... all a.ok..

 

do you use the shims that come with the pads? or do you use the stock shims? cause the stock ones didnt fit really good on the Raybestos QS pads i got.. i think its causing the pad to move...i dunno

I noticed that the NEW pads i got were wearing at a sliight angle for some reason.. they havent even worn past the angled part the pad. so they are REALLY new...is there a way i can preserve this pad? or are they wearing unevenly and need to be replaced?

 

listen...when you put brake pads on a car the #1 thing is keeping the pads CLEAN and CLEANING the rotors really really good with brake clean or in a parts washer....and contamination on the pads can make them squeak...you can take your pads off...clean the rotors really good, scuff up the brake pads with some sand paper or somethin to get the ish off...and LIGHTLY grease any spot metal touches metal and the bad of the pads..being careful to keep the ish clean...and you 90% of the time wont have that stupid annoying squeal

 

I have the same problem, new pads, shims... they grind like they're being chewed on by a horse.

 

if the pads are wearing at an angle..i would take it apart and check it out if i was you...cuz thats pretty strange unless maximas are 2 piston caliper??? not sure, just got mine last week ..

 

yea i know... they are kinda slanted like they get locked in place or something without being able to move.. so they dont wear flat, but at an angle....

can i fix this without getting new pads? is this possibly because i didnt grease the shims or the shim kit that the pad clips into?

 

If yours pads are wearing at an angle, you did not assemble the brakes correctly. Although brakes are easy to do, you have to pay attention to this simple details.

1. As already mentioned, keep things CLEAN, make sure the pad surface does not get any grease/grime/anti-squeal/etc. on it... don't even take the pads out until you are ready for assembly and wash your hands before installing them. If you are reusing the shims/retaining clips etc. scrub everything clean with a wire brush/brake cleaner - so that the pads can be pushed completely against the rotor and there is a nice flat surface between the shim and the pad surface.

2. You have to make sure the rotor is seated flush to the hub - best to use a couple of lug nuts to make sure the rotor is sitting flat.

3. Once the rotor is flat, make sure you seat the pads nice and flat against the rotor... then put the caliper over the pads.....

4. Once the wheels are back on, first things first, press the brakes firmly - several times, to make sure that the pads are sitting firmly against the rotor surface - and flat... somtimes the pad will get stuck at an angle and keep wearing at an angle - then there is no way to re use those pads... unless you manage to make the pad surface square again via sanding/grinding etc.. still unlikely you'll have it perfect.

If anyone's pads are wearing at an angle - you are going to have all sorts of problems down the road, shaking during braking, pulsing brakes, squeaking etc. etc.

Sorry for the long post - but I've seen one too many posts about brakes not working quite right - and I wanted to put as much information out there as possible to help the other DIYer's.

Cheers
Nirav

 

oh yea and one more thing..break the brakes in first if that makes sense...go 30-45 miles per hour and slowly pump the brakes to a stop a few times to get the pads to seat correctly

 

kewl thanks for the info. really helpfull..

 

ohh and for future information, maxs are single piston... not dual <insert swear words here>