Very odd, brake noise...

[Sublimewind]

Hi all,I want to start off by saying, I've been doing brakes for a LONG time, i do most all of my own maintenance along with most of my families. I have this noise coming from the passenger front brake area, that has not only me baffled, but a mechanic friend of mine as well.... I haven't had the car in the air yet to look (if only we had 48hr days, right) do my mechanic friend hasn't gotten under it either... We spent some time driving it and doing a quick once over, but, he's still stumped as well....Ok, driving the car, coming to a stop, with Moderate to LIGHT pedal pressure, i get a popping noise, if you push harder on the pedal it goes away, if you let off, it goes away. There is NO pulsing on the pedal and no other "feeling" to indicate anything, nothing in the steering either... It's related to the rotation of the wheel and seems to stop, say above 30mph, as least it can't be herd at that point... Any thoughts from my good crew?? Thanks,Aaron

[Kamikaze]

Sorry man, without seeing and hearing it myself, I can't tell you what it is, I wish I could say I've heard of that before and have an answer, but I don't.

[nygiantzz1]

the dust shield might be loose or broken.

[DavidPIL]

Yeah, something similar happened to me but it was at the rear wheel/brake See this link. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=13383 There were a few other pop related hits when I searched as well.I don't know if the cure was listed in that particular thread but what it ended up being for me was a loose brake pad or caliper. Bled the brakes and the popping went away. It's starting to pop a little now again and not sure if it's the front or rear but bleeding the brakes will be my first action.My caliper was loose. I could push the inside caliper away from the rotor all the way to where it would be seated against the caliper bracket. Basically telling me there was little or no brake fluid in that line. As the wheel went around and I lightly pressed the brakes, there wasn't enough pressure at that caliper to press evenly so as the rotor went round, it jiggled the pad causing a ticking or popping sound.I also attributed the repetitious popping in correlation with the speed of the wheel to a slightly warped rotor caused by lugs not being evenly tightened. I've double checked the torque now for the past 2+ years every time some shop takes the wheels off... My neighbor, who helped me bleed the brakes, said that those calipers tend to leak and let in air. Now, I've never heard that before nor have I heard about it since but that seems to be the case.Dave

[kostby]

(2003 Base, Automatic, non-ABS, 55000 miles)The brakes functioned quite normally, no noises, pulsing, or problems, but dealer said the pads were worn and needed to be replaced. With 55,000 miles of mostly city stop & go traffic, I agreed it was probably time. They turned the rotors.THEN, within 200 miles of driving, I started to get a popping noise from BOTH front rotors, sometimes together, sometimes one at a time, sometimes alternating! The brake fluid was at the 'full' mark in the reservoir, and brake performance was normal, just noisy, as you noted, under light, partial pedal.Didn't do it at all when cold, like starting up in the morning for the first two or three miles... The noise only happened when the rotors were hot (way to hot to touch with a curious fingertip-ask me how I know! Took it back to the dealer...Uh, twice. The first time they said the front brake assembly just needed to be lubricated. So they did, and turned the rotors again.The same popping noise returned every time the brakes were warm, driving in stop & go city traffic for a few miles. Braking was still completely normal. No pulsing. No fading, just VERY noisy.I got the brakes nice and hot and had the Service Advisor drive the car around the neighborhood with me. He now understood the problem. When they took the rotors off, they supposedly discovered that they had been somehow been "TURNED crooked" when they did them the first time. I'm not sure how a rotor that wasn't warped could become warped in the lathe, but that's what they said!The dealer paid for my new rotors. That popping noise has not returned.

[Sublimewind]

Thanks for the info fellas... Now to find the time... I need a huge breaker bar to, i tried looking at them a few weeks ago and COULDN'T get the lugs off, even with my beat torque wrench OR my impact...

[Sublimewind]

Found my noise.... I had one of the passenger front brake caliper slide pins almost completely seized in the caliper... Fisked...

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Found my noise.... I had one of the passenger front brake caliper slid pins almost completely seized in the caliper... Fisked... I was about to suggest something with the caliper, or a pad shifting. good to hear you fixed it.

[Sublimewind]

Well, i knew it had to be something to do with the caliper, the noise was brake dependent... I just couldn't get the lugs off prior to this weekend cause i didn't have a breaker bar... I had to STAND on the BB for a few of the lugs... !!!!

[Vibe_dude]

would u be able to post a pic of what part u are talking about..i to have a noise coming from my front passanger side.....it might be the same thing.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by Vibe_dude »would u be able to post a pic of what part u are talking about..i to have a noise coming from my front passanger side.....it might be the same thing.Here is the whole tutorial... http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=30457Look at the slide pin picture 8-9 down...

[09Red_Se]

When re-installing caliper WATCH the SLIDER PIN. It's kind of oval where it mates with the bracket on the spindle. The bracket has a bump, and if the slider pin isn't rotated right, the ends sit on teh bump, vs the sides of the pin clearing the bump and lying next to it.Result is one or both ends of teh caliper sitting at a slight angle to the plane of the rotor.I think i explained that clearly. Close inspection and this heads up will be obvious. You can't just slap the caliper against the bracket and insert the nuts. Well you can, but you could have a problem.Noises, wierd rotor wear - oh yeah. Don't even ask how I know.Rear drum popping/clunking with rotation? Drum holes larger than studs. Drum moving eccentricall due to pad c'entres' and clunking with rotation. Had that too, but with cheapo drums on a Lumina.