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Quick fix for squeaky disk brakes

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This is going to be old news for many, but new to me. When I rebuilt the front brakes a few years ago I didn't use the no-squeal grease, because I wasn't sure where it went, and greasing the brakes seemed like a bad idea. Anyway the brakes have been extra squeaky the last week.

So today I tried making a couple of hard stops (I don't usually break hard unless I have to). That fixed it somehow, no more squeals.

Now that's a repair that I like. Nothing to tear down, just another good reason to go fast. I hope it continues to work for you. What brand brakes did you buy? It might help some of us to avoid the potential problem.

Mark in Portland

Rotors were probably glazed over. You may have burned it away with aggressive braking.

I've tried the same fix. Results were temporary.

  • Author

It's stock rotors and calipers, and street performance (IIRC) pads, all from MSA. And as I noticed today, yes, results were temporary, but repeatable.

S
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Pull the brake pads, Assuming everything is dusty, dry and looking good, lightly sand the pads & discs using 220 or finer sandpaper in a tight circular motion, The idea is to remove the shiny glaze and make it look swirly. The auto-parts stores have a product in a tube that you squeeze onto the back of the pads, It reminded me of Tool Dip when I used it. I don't remember the name but there are probably many similar products out there.

Good Luck

Mark in Portland

The factory-style steel shims that fit behind the pad will do the job. I had a set of pads that would not stop squealing until the shims were installed. Grease, the spray-on goo, chamfering the pad edges, none of it worked. Only the shims. You can get them at RockAuto for $1-4. "Brake Pad Shim Kit".

I feel like a Debbie Downer..

  • Author

Guess I'll use the grease, sandpaper and shims, then. But my next brake project needs to be the rear ones. When I did the front brakes about 5 years ago they were really shot. Discs badly scored, calipers sticking, and pads gone. Guess the previous owner figured 130K miles without a brake job was OK. I'm guessing it's time to do the rear brakes.

They didn't squeak yesterday so maybe the hard stop "fix" can last at least a couple days.

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