Brakes clicking

myponyrocks · Nov 6, 2009

Figured I'd try here before I go all out and replace everything.

Long story short I bought Powerslot slotted rotors and Hawk pads all around. Only installed the fronts. Brakes are bled, and everything passed an inspection post install at the mechanic.

The problem is the front right has a mettalic rub which sounds like the pad not disengaging. However there is no different wear between sides. Occasionally the front right makes a ticking/clicking noise which increases with hard pedal pressure but dissapears with light pressure. The car stops fine.

When we did the inspection, 2 forward and one backward rotation made a similar click sound on the rotor/caliper, but all turns after that did not do it. The car also sounded fine driving for about 5 miles after the inspection. It was slightly wet on the roads that day. The next day, dry the car has been doing the noises again.

Any ideas? I have sourced nused (used, but new) calipers from a friend, but before I purchase them and have him ship them to the UK for me I wanted a few more thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Oh and yes I'm pretty sure I bedded the brakes properly and it doesn't seem to be a warped rotor. Also the car does pull to the left, but it still has the US alignment and the roads slope the other direction here in the UK

myponyrocks · Nov 7, 2009

Any one?

trinity_gt · Nov 7, 2009

Clicking like this is often caused by the pads rocking back and forth in the caliper and bracket because of run-out/warpage in the rotor (it doesn't take much) or worn wheel bearings. I'm assuming the rotor hat and hub face were thoroughly cleaned before reassembly and that all anti-rattle clips are present and accounted for in each assembly?

bhuff30 · Nov 7, 2009

I think trinity is on the right track. Keep in mind that rotors can be warped right out of the box.

myponyrocks · Nov 8, 2009

They didn't appear warped. I did not clean the hats, I never even thought of that.

There has been a small ammount of what I thought was grease from the shop inside the wheel, it could be a leaking wheel bearing I suppose.

How do I check if the rotor is warped? Is there a way to fix that or just send it back? Would it be worth it to dissasemble and clean the hat? I'm pretty sure there were only 2 anti rattle clips? I know one did fall out during the install and I put it back in place and it was the front right one which I'm 99% sure is the culprit.

Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for the advice.

trinity_gt · Nov 8, 2009

myponyrocks said:
They didn't appear warped. I did not clean the hats, I never even thought of that.

There has been a small ammount of what I thought was grease from the shop inside the wheel, it could be a leaking wheel bearing I suppose.

How do I check if the rotor is warped?

If you have access to a dial gauge you can remove the wheel and spin the lugs nuts back in place to hold the rotor tight. Use the dial gauge to check the rotor faces while rotating the rotor. One thing to remember is that you'll be checking things cold. When you get a lot of heat into a rotor, it can warp and then settle back when it cools again. These are complex shapes with uneven heating input and sink sources. The dial gauge test will only really show "static" warp when cold. Needless to say, if it's warped you'll need to replace or resurface the rotor.

When you resurface a rotor you remove metal and thus reduce its thermal capacity. In other words, it may be more likely to warp after resurfacing...

Is there a way to fix that or just send it back? Would it be worth it to dissasemble and clean the hat?

Just remove the rotor and inspect the mating surfaces for scale or rust. Often rust can develop on the hub face and cause a new rotor to sit awkwardly as the lug nuts are spun down. Both surfaces should be cleaned prior to assembly. I usually put a smear of high-temp anti-seize (something like Loctite 771) to help ease removal later but the key is to ensure the surfaces are smooth and flat.

myponyrocks · Nov 8, 2009

I really appreciate your advice, I'll give it a shot in a few days.

For what it's worth I went to the carwash a few hours ago and sprayed everything with wheel/brake cleaner then went through. No metal grinding noises and no ticking on stops. I'm sure it will do it again tomorrow dry though.

GDawg · Nov 8, 2009

Hey Greg! How are you my brother?

Not sure about the clicking, but you don't think it has anything to do with the rotor slots and maybe your pads are not correct for slotted rotors?

As far as "pulling"... Here in the U.S. we give more positive "Caster" to the right (passenger) side cause of the "slope of the road". Car's pull more to the side with less caster meaning that we stay straighter on a right side sloped road surface. In Brit Town I'm sure it's just the opposite, right? If you're driving on the left side, you're "Caster" should be set for more on the driver's side so the pull is back to the center of the road (to the right).

When the hell are you coming back to the Springs?

Gary

myponyrocks · Nov 8, 2009

Gary, I've got 3 more years here... then wherever they send me next. However my Wife and I would both love to retire in Colorado. I'd prefer the Springs but she wants something closer to Denver. We'll see where the works at

As to the camber yes, it's opposite here. I did find a flat road a bit ago and did brake checks and the car doesn't pull either direction during braking.

GDawg · Nov 8, 2009

myponyrocks said:
Gary, I've got 3 more years here... then wherever they send me next. However my Wife and I would both love to retire in Colorado. I'd prefer the Springs but she wants something closer to Denver. We'll see where the works at

As to the camber yes, it's opposite here. I did find a flat road a bit ago and did brake checks and the car doesn't pull either direction during braking.

I'm talking about Caster not Camber...

Having fun over there...?

myponyrocks · Nov 10, 2009

Had another friend take a look today and he's fairly certain that one of the pistons is sticking. Is that something easily repaired by a brake shop? I'm planning on swapping calipers, but I'd like to rebuild what I have now just to have a backup in the future.

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