Brakes squeal when not pressed...

[2Fast4U86]

About 3 days now, my brakes (actually, I think just the right front disk) have been making a grinding noise whenever they're not depressed... If I push them in even lightly, the noise goes away...

Haven't quite established the below as a rule, but it seems like it... anyways - if I push the brake pedal lightly a few times while driving, it feels as if resistance in the brake pedal gets higher, and the noise disappears, even with the pedal released.

So, not sure what's going on... I'd think if the pads were bad, the noise would happen DURING braking, not the other way around..

Any ideas what I should do?

Thanks,

2Fast

[rizalxi]

We'll actually sometimes when they get REALLY bad they do this sqealling thing..
Usually its the little metal tab that lets you know when your brakes are bad most of the time when it gets this bad the rotors need to be resuraced.. not sure if this is the case but im sure you should deffaintly take a look at your pads/rotors. ..oh and somtimes the capilers lock dup. Ive had a few girlfriends that have let there brakes get so bad the ribbets that hold the pad onto the metal made a nice circle almost cutting the rotor in half.. anyway I hope it isn't quite as serve in your case.. good luck... and hope you get your problem sorted out... latter

[SiR]

Almost sounds like there is some play in the hub or the rotor is loose from the hub, which seems unlikely. Check if the caliper is loose from its mounts. or if the pads are loose from its brakets.


Rooz

[Coitis1]

that happened in my old car, but it had tons of brake problems so i don't know what exactly caused the squelling, but i think that is caused by ur brake sticking

[ACCORD EX]

check your pads and clean them ( sand them ) and clean the rotors ! you can use some anti squeel stuff !

MIKE

[anchovies]

Like the others said, check the pad thickness, if that's good, then just spray some brake cleaner on it.

[rutterg]

I had the same thing when i just got my car. i cleant the brakepads, caliper and disc with brake cleaner. no improvement. it turned out that the piston was stuck, i assume because the car had stood still for a while. worked on the piston so it moved in and out again, assembeld everything back and the squeeling was gone.

[2Fast4U86]

So I took apart the caliper yesterday, and it appears the pad was pretty low... there's roughly 3mm of material left... what was making the noise was a "clip" dealie on the top of the outer pad... imagine a "u-shaped" metal part, with the top of one of the legs rubbing against the disk, and the other top being secured to the pad. I assume that tab is there to let the driver know that his brakes are coming to an end... So, long story short, I don't think it's a big deal, just gotta switch them pads soon...

While I've got a thread open - any advice as to how to push the brake piston out once I've got a thicker brake pad in there? I tried to mess with it with a c-clamp, and it seemed to be a bitch... any know-how tips?

Thanks,

2Fast4U

[anchovies]

Yes, you are right with the metal indicator on the pads. Change the pads soon if not it'll make score marks on your rotors and you've to turn or get new rotors.
Yes, just use a c-clamp to push back the piston. You can use your brake pads on top of the piston and then use the clamp to push the pistons back so you won't harm the piston. You might want to open the bleed bolt a little to let the brake fluid out.