My brakes had been squealing like a pig in heat even after changing the pads twice. A while back, it was mentioned on here that grinding down and beveling the sides of the pads might help.

I purchased a pair of pads last night and they were identical to the ones I had before but guess what... the sides were beveled and no squealing! I was going to get some of that goop you are supposed to put on to prevent squealing but the salesman advised against it as the newer brake pads have shims to prevent noise. So far so good.

Now one question... My front brakes still make a different noise, I would call it chattering or binding, but ONLY right before the vehicle comes to a complete stop or if you let up on the brake just a little. Any ideas what that might be?

But no more squealing... YEEEHAAA

 

what brand are these new breaks and where did yu get them? mine are squeaking a bit, and my bmw had the same problem even after changing the break pads.

 

Well... I hesitated to mention details because I know some of you will hate me but they are from O'Reileys. But hey, at least it's not AutoZone!

The brand is Wagner and I know the name has quiet in it but I do not recall the exact product name. And I got organic instead of semi-metallic which is supposed to be easier on the rotors? Just be sure they are beveled on the two shorter edges.

Eventually I will get some real brake pads/performance rotors but these do the job for me. The old car still stops on a dime.

 

Spray some Brakeleen around the entire braking system, inside-out, and through all the crevases. This will remove all the rust and grime that builds up in your brakes. You'll see the fluid spray out clear, drip off black, and know it's working.

 

Did you do this yourself? If you did, make sure all the bolts that you tightened are at the specific torque. There are a lot of other tings that could be the problem such as suspsenion, brake discs warped, brake discs thickness worn out, etc.

 

Nobody mentioned this, so I thought I'd mention it.

The first time I ever did my brake pads, I did all the work myself. Used brake cleaner, etc. After I was all done, I noticed two packs of some blue gooey stuff. Drove the car and the brakes squealed. Took brakes back off and put the blue stuff between the pads and the shims as the instructions said. Voila! No more squeal.

Sometimes something as easy as putting the anti-squeal "glue" between the pad and the shims work too. Costs $2 (if they didn't give it to you) and works wonders. Always used on mine to prevent squealing.

 

Resurface all four disks? If not you might have problems later on usually on the front driver side.

 

This is slightly off-topic, but not everyone agrees that the rotors need surfacing every time the pads are changed. (Of course, all service advisors are unified on the "always resurface" side.)

Not having the equipment to do so, I've never resurfaced my disks when I change pads, and neither car nor driver is any worse for it so far. I've read all the arguments about why you should always resurface, but I remain unconvinced (but now that I've said this, I'l bet I'll hear a few more ).

 

Rotors only need resurfacing when they are warped. Anyhow, squeaking brakes isn't a sign of a warped rotor unless your pads are also worn to nothing.

 

Actually, rotors also need resurfacing if you allow the brake pads to wear down to the metal backing plate. That "grinds" a rough surface into the rotor and if you don't resurface, the rotor will prematurely "grind" away the new brake pad, and cause uneven braking.