Brakes are loud

[AM3Gross]

Just put new rotors and pads on, went with powerstop.. drilled and slotted rotors.. never had them before so I dont know if what i am hear is normal.

While driving, there is a scraping sound coming from the front. I jacked the car back up and took the front wheels back off just to make sure nothing is actually installed wrong. Nothing sticks out as far as that goes. When I spin the wheel, you can hear where the scraping sound is coming from, which is in one spot as the rotor goes thur the caliper.

Any advice?


-Mike

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[Paddles]

Are you still on first few miles of driving with them? Have you performed any kind of bedding or break in procedure yet?

 

[AM3Gross]

I followed the procedure on the box

 

[TonyT930]

They will take a couple hundred of miles to fully bed in properly. Be patient, they can be a bit noisy at first especially that they are slotted and new. I just installed a set on Powerstop slotted/drilled rotors with pads on the front of my Tundra and experienced the same thing.

 

[sk47]

Hello; Some things come to mind. First is to check the new rotor for runout. Requires a specific but simple tool. The tool has a probe which touches the face of the rotor. The probe moves in and out if the rotor is warped. Tool also has a dial face which shows how much the rotor may be warped. Also has a magnetic base so it can be mounted to a solid base somewhere.

If the rotor does show being out of true will not automatically mean it is actually out of true. There can be mounting issues. First I look for are surface rust where things such as rotors/ wheels and such touch. May be the old stock rotors touch the hub in different places and a possibly some rust or crud has built up. Such could throw the rotor out a bit. Clean up any such spots some how then re assemble.

Next could be if you had to use shims to get the calipers centered over the rotors. Did you use the same shims on a side of the caliper mounting bracket? Different sized shims could cock the caliper just a bit. Again make sure surfaces are nice and clean.

Not so much likely, but di you hand tighten the lug nuts or use a power tool? Even if I have a shop do a job I then loosen the lug nuts when I get home. I then use a clicker type torque wrench to hand tighten the lugs in a pattern.

If you do not have nor want to buy a dial indicator type tool as I first mentioned you can eye ball to a degree. Tak a wheel off. Put two or three lugs ond tighten enough to hold the rotor in place. The take some looks at different angles. You might be able to see well enough to get a clue. Before i bought a dial indicator I would rig something so a pencil or other such pointer just touched the rotor. Spin the rotor and watch to see if the pointer gets kicked away.

Does the brake assembly have a splash shield behind the rotor? I have found such a shield to be a culprit of such a noise. Just bent it back a bit.

All this said might be something very different. On my brothers Ford pickup the front rotor was part of the bearing hub. Made changing rotors both much harder and more expensive. The torque on that hub nut is a lot. If your setup is similar you might want to pull the pads so the rotor spins freely in the air with nothing to touch. It would be a shame to find the new wheel bearing is making a noise.

Good luck and consider I am just guessing.

 

[sk47]

They will take a couple hundred of miles to fully bed in properly. Be patient, they can be a bit noisy at first especially that they are slotted and new. I just installed a set on Powerstop slotted/drilled rotors with pads on the front of my Tundra and experienced the same thing.

Hello; Another possible thing to do and so much simpler than my suggestions. I personally have not had such an experience after doing rotors and new pads but I also have not done slotted/drilled rotors much, maybe once on an old Porsche.

 

[AM3Gross]

Thanks for the reply!!

I worked in a machine shop and just happen to have the dial indicator you speak of.

the rotors are not apart of the wheel hub assembly, so if it is a wheel bearing, it happened to go bad the same day i changed the rotors, which i find unlikely, but I will take a look.

Is it possible that brand new rotors are warped??

 

[sk47]

Thanks for the reply!!

I worked in a machine shop and just happen to have the dial indicator you speak of.

the rotors are not apart of the wheel hub assembly, so if it is a wheel bearing, it happened to go bad the same day i changed the rotors, which i find unlikely, but I will take a look.

Is it possible that brand new rotors are warped??

Hello; New rotors ought not to be warped. I would be some surprised if that is the case. But I guess such is possible.
Also seems unlikely a wheel bearing went bad at the same time you replaced rotors.

Over the years I have done a lot of guessing but still had to get into a problem to solve it.

If the rotors are not directional and you remain stumped might try switching sides to see if the noise goes with the rotors. A lot of extra work.

Good that you know of dial indicators. If you do get an out of plane indication when checking the suspect rotor, might be worth it to pull the rotor and check the hub itself. This also seems unlikely as you ought to have had some feeling with the stock stuff.

If you still have connections with a machine shop you might be able to check the rotors on their equipment.

 

[sk47]

Hello; did you check the new rotors for stickers or some such? I am trying to recall if the new rotors for my brothers F-150 had such we had to remove. I think they did and it was on a mounting surface.
I also talked him into counting the tone ring notches to make sure the new matched the old.

 

[sk47]

Hello; Another odd thought. best as i can figure from memory most, if not all, wheels & rotors get centered two ways. Partly by the lugs and taper of lug nuts and/or partly by the center of the hub. The hole at the center of a wheel or rotor may need to fit on a small lip of the hub. The sort of thing we take for granted and may not fit check.
Time to give up tonight.

 

[TonyT930]

Question, did your power stops have a wear indicator?

Thanks for the reply!!

I worked in a machine shop and just happen to have the dial indicator you speak of.

the rotors are not apart of the wheel hub assembly, so if it is a wheel bearing, it happened to go bad the same day i changed the rotors, which i find unlikely, but I will take a look.

Is it possible that brand new rotors are warped??

You know i was thinking... Do your new pads have a wear indicator arm on them? Is it possible that you bent them when doing the install or put the pad with the indicator on the inside of the caliper when it should be on the outside?

 

[Optimum Performance]

Make sure you don't have a pad in backwards. You would be surprised how often that happens.

 

[AM3Gross]

Thanks all for the replys!! Once I get back home here in a few hours I will put it on the lift, stand by for the findings

 

[AM3Gross]

Ok, made it home, and put her up on the quick jack.

All pads are installed correctly.

Measured out the rotors and no major differences stuck out.

Took the new rotors off and made sure there were no burrs, no dirt, and that both surfaces were clear and free from any debris.

Bled the front brakes, no air.

The tabs are on the outside of the rotors, not bent.

Took it for a spin, and it is still doing it. Put about 100 miles on it the last 2 days. I will drive it for the week and see if it quiets down at all.

Thank you to everyone for the help and pointers here. I have done probably 25 brake jobs in my life time and this one has be stumped!

For now, she will just be a screamer!!

-Juice

 

[Paddles]

If all looks well then pads probably still just mating to rotors, I'm thinking TonyT930 nailed it and they just need more miles

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