so recently i posted about the torque specs of the strut bolts because i was hearing rattling. turns out struts are as tight as can be. so i took the wheel off and found that im able to actually wiggle the front rotors(which i just recently replaced). im almost positive this is what i am hearing rattle too because i can feel it in the peddle if im braking goin over bumps in the road. so with that being said...anyone know any tricks to get the rotor to stick on better (besides the obvious tightening the wheel)? thanks a lot guys!

EDIT: for example, is there anything i can apply to the back of the hub to have it adhere better? (please, dont be a bag of duesh and say "superglue" or something along those lines)

 

when you torque the wheel on it cinches the rotor pretty darn tight. I'd be surprised if it was rattling. are you sure it couldn't be something else? maybe your pads rattling around? did you install shims?

with your wheel installed, try to push on the rotor with a tire iron or broom handle or something. you can get at it through the wheel spokes.

 

yea, youre right. rotor was pretty tight. i tryed moving the pads too tho and they didnt budge. if by shims you mean those little metal pin thingys yea, i did install them. someone in the other thread said i may have blown my struts, which i thought was highly impossible since theyre only 3-4 months old, but i did the bounce test anyway. car went down, up, stop. so theyre good. but i heard a creaking noise as i bounced it. springs?

and whats a good way to make sure pads are on tightly? take the wheel and caliper off and double check everything?

 

the creaking noise can you be sway bar endlinks/ bushings.

the shims are applied the back part of the pad it goes between the pad and caliper pretty much. the pin thingy's are your pad hardware.it just keeps the from moving one way the shims keep the pad from moving the oppsite way.

if you have a rattle it is probaly not your rotor.

 

I feel your pain! I just replaced rotors, pads, hardware, calipers, CVs, struts, springs, mounts/ bearings, boots/ stops, and brake lines. I inspected the ball joints, tie rods, control arm bushings, wheel bearings and sway links which all were in perfect condition. I noticed the sound too when finished. But only when shifting in/ out of gear. But nothing in bumps, turning, et cetera. I jacked up the car and had my stepdad shift it and the noise was coming from my rotors and not the trans (whew). Since the old rotors were rusted on, I figured this was the problem (since nothing loose).

I even went as far as going back through and re-torquing everything just to be sure. Wheels rebalanced/ rotated and car realigned as well afterwards. I have zinc plated rotors now, so they will not be rusting in place anytime soon unfortunately. But as the saying goes, "beauty is pain."

I thought about trying a VERY THIN layer of gasket sealer on the back face of the rotor OR the hub face to 'help' reduce/absorb the sound. Skeptical if it will work though, should in theory. As long as it is a thin coat, should reduce it and not affect the mount at all. If I get a chance, I will try it and let you know (school is a little too much right now for R&D).

 

shims are the flat metal (or rubber, or composite) pieces that cover the backside of the pad. they act as a buffer between the hard surface of the pad and the caliper. this helps keeps the pads from moving around when brake pressure is lifted, and helps prevent squeal. I usually use a bit of brake grease, or that red anti-squeal compound in addition to the shims. it also helps to grease up the pad retainer clips and caliper slides. if the slides are sticky you'll have all sorts of problems.

you can inspect your pads without even removing the wheel. just position the spokes so as to expose the caliper, and have a look-see. probe around around a bit to see if anything is loose, etc.

to check for proper caliper slide you'll have to remove the wheel and physically push the caliper body back & forth.
EDIT.... I'm not talking about the caliper piston here, I'm talking about the entire caliper body. it should slide back & forth on the slide pins inside the caliper bolt housings.

 

do the shims usually come on the back of the pads? i used pro-stop pads and on the back of the pad was a metal plate (shim?) which i applied the brake antisqueel grease to. and the caliper body slides good too. hmm im kind of starting to think it might just be that GR-2s are stiff and not absorbing too much of the shock. i wish there was a way i could get an audio clip of it. or if i could mount a camera under my car to see what was going on...thatd be sweet too..

and where is the sway bar? i know what it does...i just dont know what it looks like/where it is lol. ill check out the bushings once i find it to see if theyre dryed out or not

 

I used ceramic pads from AZ (it was there best) they have them too.
You can take them off w/ some pliers, but I wouldn't that helps prevent squeeling and chattering. plus [may] void warranty of the pad.
The sway bar is about 1"-1.5" thick. Comes around and bolts to A-arm(control arm) with a bolt and bushing from the back of the engine compartment, by the tie rod and rack. Check those bolts on each side, the bushing or bolt may be bad. They are easy to replace though, you'll see when you see it.

 

cool man thanks. ill have to check it out tomorow.

 

just had my car up on jacks and was trying to shake anything and everything i could and nothing would budge except the rotor(with tire off, but like turtle said, the rattle probably isnt the rotor). the sway bar seemed good. i couldnt even loosen the caliper bolts at all so i know its not the caliper. pads didnt seem to move either. control arm was on solid. tie rod was tight. one thing i did notice was that i was able to ever so slightly twist the top part of my spring where the strut mount is back and forth. is that normal? i checked the strut tower bolts again, and with my tire iron i was able to tighten them barely (like 1/4 turn on 5 of the 6 of them.). would 1/4 turn on those bolts cause struts to beable to rattle around?

i took it out for a quick test drive and i heard the rattling but it wasnt as violent/loud anymore. im not sure whether tightening those bolts did anything or not though because before tightening them i would only occasionally hear the rattling. as i drive more ill beable to figure out if it helped or not hopfuly. i also hear a creaking over bumps which im pretty sure is my springs because those rubber sleeve things are wearing out and falling off.

 

what kind of springs do you have? you should not be able to bude factory springs. loose rotors while the wheels are on = wheels about to drop off. the sway bar is fine but how is the linkage between the sway bar and the control arm? can you move that by hand? rusty and swollen?

 

i have factory springs with kyb gr-2s. rotors are only loose when wheel is off, so i dont think they are the problem. ill have to check out the linkage to see if it is loose but i did not see any rust anywhere.

it seems tightening the strut tower bolts did help reduce the rattling but there is deffinaty still a rattle noticable. and there is creaking/squeaking when i go over bumps which im pretty sure is my springs.