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Here is the situation. Replaced pads and rotors on front and new shoes on the rear drums. Shortly thereafter I had an emergency which I was in a hurry to get to and it was pretty tough on my brakes. Since then I have a high pitched squealing noise when braking but it only occurs just before the vehicle comes to a stop. Also when doing in town driving at traffic lights, stop signs, etc. apply the brakes at low speeds and the squealing begins. Brake pedal is full with plenty of brake. No problems stopping whatsoever. I replaced the pads and rotors again just because I thought I had burned them up (rookie mistake I know). It was after that I came across ETCG and the video on brake service. When I put the second set of brakes on, I lubricated the back of the pads (where they contact with the pistons) with a silcone lubricant and greased the clips that hold the brake pads with hi temp brake grease. Here is where I suspect my problem is. I lubricated the slide pins with the same hi temp brake grease used on the clips. It wasn’t until after I did this that I watched the video on brake service by ETCG.
My question is this. First is this my problem? If yes how difficult will to be to clean the hi temp grease from the caliper bracket slide pin holes? Or will an aftermarket caliper bracket work with the factory caliper. I can get a new bracket from Napa for 25 a piece, but from the dealership they are 120 a piece. Any help or guidance will he greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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Hello Andrew. Is the noise coming from the front? I assume that it is, since your post mostly concentrates on the caliper and bracket. I do not see any issue with using the high temp grease on the metal slides on the bracket. Did you use good quality pads? I have learned that the ten bucks you save on buying “economy” pads isn’t worth it. I try to get ceramic pads (my favorite is raybestos) whenever possible. I would remove everything, clean it thoroughly, and reassemble. Your bracket should not need replacing. Hope this helps… good luck!
Aaron, to answer your question, yes I went for the ultra premium pads for that very reason. Also I assume the noise is coming from the front because of the type of high pitched squeal I hear. Could it be the rear drums? It’s definitely hard to tell while driving the vehicle.
Good call on the premium pads! I agree that your issue is most likely to be in the front. You would be able to hear any rear issues in the rear so, I wouldn’t completely rule this out. Sound carries outside of the vehicle and can also vibrate through the body since everything is attached. I actually purchased a set of Matco wireless microphones that you can attach all four mics the the suspected areas and listen to each (in you case) brake components and listen to each channel individually while you are driving. Sounds can echo and vibrate all over the vehicle and these work great for me. Try having a friend dive the car back and forth and apply the brakes as you stand outside the vehicle and try to listen to each wheel individually. I can not stress enough to get a friend whose driving abilities are up to par… Don’t want to get your toes run over! You aren’t near Chicago, are you? If so, I can check this out for you at my shop (no charge… I am not on this forum to troll for customers!) Good luck, Aaron
There was a TSB on this concern. GM wanted you to apply a good quality “Disc Brake Quiet” material to the back of the brake pads to reduce/eliminated this concern.
One other thing I would address is make sure all brake hardware fasteners are tighten to specs including the caliper to bracket and bracket to spindle.
If you don’t have any success you have a good Tech in Chicago I’m sure that will repair it.
If you can,let me know the fix.
Update on the brake problem. My best friend’s dad worked at a chevy dealer growing up. He drove it to help me diagnose. He did the one thing I did not think to do. He stepped on the parking brake and the squealing started up again. turns out it was the rear brakes the whole time. The shoes I had put on the rear drums were not the highest quality. I guess they were ruined when I was in that emergency situation and braking very heavily. I tried cleaning the shoes, drums and backing plate as well as reapplying anti-seize to the contact points. After about a day of normal driving the noise was back, just not as bad. The shoes themselves did look pretty rough even though they did not have much age on them. Cheap friction material in my opinion. My drums looked a little worn but in my opinion not bad enough to replace at this point. I ended up biting the bullet and buying a set of the ultra-premium ceramic shoes from Napa. After pulling a trailer and another day of in town driving, the noise is gone for now. Lets just hope it stays that way. thanks for the help!
Glad you were able to nail it down to the rear. In fact, I cover this very scenario here as well as how to isolate front and rear brake issues.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-brake-problems
You don’t need to buy any new parts for the front but I would recommend cleaning everything up and doing the job a little differently this time.
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