I have had screeching brakes for about the last two weeks. So I went to Autozone and bought some stuff called disc brake quiet. It is almost like a blue spray paint that you spray onto the back of the pad.

So I took the calipers off. Front, easy. Back, not so easy. The parking brake levers make the caliper remover a pain. They make putting the caliper back together impossible! I dont know how you guys do it.

Anyway, I took the car for a ride. The squeeling was gone without a trace. However, I could tell the brakes were sticking. By the time I got home the rear brakes were smoking! The front rotors were cool to the touch. The rears were ready for frying eggs. I couldnt even touch the lugnuts they were so hot.

I deduced it was the parking brake. So after taking the parking brake levers off at the rear brakes and putting them back on several times, I finally found the adjustment nut for the hand brake. Incidentally, if you pull up the hand brake and look at the base, there is a little nut in there. I didnt have a long socket that would reach it, so using my dremel, I cut away the plastic base around the nut so I could get at it with an end wrench. Loosened it several turns.

After that I decided to bleed the brakes, since alot of people here suggested doing that. Well me, the mechanical idiot I am, decided that the bleeder valve was under the hood, not on the brakes themselves. Oh no, wait, that's the clutch bleeder valve! So now I have no clutch!!!!
So I had to bleed that and refill it, and decided, forget it, the brakes dont need bleeding.

After all this, and 6 hours of my day shot, the end result is that parking brake is fine now, I have a freshly bled clutch that is as good as new, and four brakes that make no squeeling, or any sound at all for that matter. Super quiet.

So if you are having squeeling brake problems, use the disc brake quiet spray, dont replace the brakes. Just make sure you dont screw it up like I did.

by the way, is there something I didnt do right that I had so many problems with the parking brake?

 

Good story.

Heh, heh ... DIY is satisfying though! Just thank your self that you're not a pro mechanic, or else you'd be starving.

Good for you though to be able to troubleshoot and fix your own stuff.