tuko

does anybody know why brakes squeak, and how to get rid of the squeak?

mtrai760

iTrader: (19)

No. You are stuck with it. Thats just the way they are. Or you could always read the FAQ and do a little research.

the_3d_man

iTrader: (1)

1. Make sure you put the shims on.
2. put antisqueal grease between the pad and shim and between shim and caliper. It is a red bottle you get at autozone or oreilly etc...

I am assuming you just changed the brakes and they are squeaking...
if you have old breaks check the pads for wear.
and even after doing those two things I still get some squeaks every once in a while...

ThisMaxIsTight

iTrader: (23)

no, he hasnt changed his brakes..anyone who asks why brakes squeak, LOL, the most basic question of all automotive, did not change their own brakes....he proly just drives around and listens to his brakes squeak and thinks OH, ill go post on the org instead of doing a little hw in the stickies....

either
1. your pads blow
2. your pads are worn out ....... BUY NEW OEM pads w/ shim kit

Stuntin' 101

replace with nissan pads and you will never have a problem. any aftermarket ones will eventually make some kind of noise b4 they wear out.

Mayhem King

iTrader: (1)

Performance pads make noise.

That is all.

If your pads need replacing, your brake fluid level will have probably decreased and your calipers will be sitting a lot closer to the rotors than when you first installed the pads. There are wear indicators built in that make a noise but it is a totally different noise than the squeak that comes from having performance pads.

Like with other parts, there is a trade-off for performance.

MaxKlinger

4th Gen Maximas tend to have squeaky brakes. I'm not even sure if mine sqeak now, either the last set of pads I put on are pretty good or I just don't notice it anymore. The brakes have been squeaky for most of the car's life though, and I've tried almost every type of brake pad out there.

Yes, your calipers will be closer, but not much. The change in fluid level will be pretty much negligable. Remember, the total amount of travel of the caliper pistons is very very small. Even when you have no pressure on the brakes, the pads are still pretty much touching the rotors. The objective of the pistons is to apply pressure to the rotor, which technically does not require any distance to be traveled at all.

Azwethinkweiz28

I tired to do my own brakes (with help from my boss who knows what he is doing) and realized that one of the back brakes was locked up and then I broke 2 of the bots in the front... one on each side. I had the car towed to Precision Tune and they charged me almost $800 for new everything in the back and some kit in the front. Now my brakes squeak and they say I need new pads in the front for $170 or some crap... When I said it sounds expensive they said, "Well It's a Maxima."

I don't know that much about repairs and prices, but I didn't think a '96 Maxima was an exotic car. Are they pulling my pants down? How much should this kind of work cost?

dontouchmymoney

Trust me...after trying to get rid of the noise in my old max and my new i30...just use OEM and have them shimmed properly (dealership or anywhere else, make sure they use the OEM shim kit along with the OEM pads) and the noise will be gone.

the_3d_man

iTrader: (1)

Don't be intimidated by doing the work yourself. The only thing that ever stops me from doing the work myself is not having the right tools or not having the time to do it. Brakes don't take more than a few hours to do and all you need is a ratchet, a few wrenches, sockets, a c-clamp, and that funny looking tool for the rear calipers ($12 at oreilly). You have to get a little dirty and you have to take things apart, but trust me they usually only go back together one way so it's really hard to screw up, and with a little common sense you might even be able to figure out what the problem is, and even fix it.

the_3d_man

iTrader: (1)

http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/300
Rear brakes are the same except you have to use the tool to rotate the piston in and you have to unbolt the parking brake cable from the caliper before taking it off.

Bobo

Buy a Haynes manual.

Mayhem King

iTrader: (1)

I'm just relating how I know when I'm due for new pads. Your Maxima may be different from mine.

I also mis-posted. What I probably should have posted is that I have observed the backing of the pads to get closer to the rotor as the pads wear. If I wait long enough, I will also observe the metal backing of the pad resting on the rotor.

Most certainly though, my brake fluid level sits right at the fluid line after a pad reline and decreases significantly enough to notice when I am due for a change.

My experience has been that I can simply pull the tires off and get a pretty good idea of my pad wear.

I also want to post that while I was a big fan of the OEM pads for many years, my experience has been that they are not as fade resistant as the Hawk HPS pads. The Hawk pads seem to be more heat resistant. This is purely anecdotal. I would love to be able to compare hard data of OEM pads and rotors vs. Hawk HPS pads and Brembo blanks.

I admit that I have used my brakes in a way that they were not designed for. Brakes are typically designed for the ocassional panic stop. In the past I have tended used my brakes in a way that is probably unadvised for street application. For people with a bit more common sense than I have, OEM is probably the way to go.