New to board, but I have a brake issue....

[Q in Sac]

2001 Accord EX with the Hi Pro 4 banger (sarcasm:) ) with 23K ABS, blah, blah, blah.

Driver complanes of "intermittent squealing" during driving, braking and making right hand turns. I took it for a test drive to dupe the problem. I hear the "intermitttent squealing" in the front. Pulled wheels off, pads were down to 1/16" needed to be replaced. Put OEM pads on, go for test drive, the "intermitent squealing" arises. Hummmmmmmm.


Check to see if the backing plate or the anti rattle clips are rubbing. Shiny spots. No clear cut signs. Took off the clips, cleaned them up. Reinstalled them, Cleaned the brakes with brake cleaner, put wheels back on. Go for another test drive, the "intermittent squealing" surfaces again. But, not as bad.

Check the rears, pads are good. I'm puzzled. The brakes works fine. But the damn "intermittent squealing" is puzzling. I'm missing something here or what. Please advise. Thanks.

Here's something interesting, when I took off the pad for front drivers side, uneven wear??? Top part had more pad than the bottom. Hummmmmm. Weird. Need more thoughts and direction.

Q in Sac

[Inspector1]

Did you do anti squeal on shims ? I'm guessing yes..

Possible rotor issue, hard spot.... You could try cross hatching with scotchlock pad on die grinder to see if that stops....
If their is a hard spot you could have rotors machined and cut out spot maybe....
You may possibly have to replace rotors to clear up noise completely.....

Just my thoughts
I1:)

[princess]

First, Welcome Q!

I looked for anything the Honda network may have on the issue & nothing seems to be there. So I'll do what I do next..... ask my prince! He won't be here for a few more hours though. I'll have him read this & see if he has a thought on it. 'K?:)

Does this noise happen when actually applying the brake or just coasting to a slow?

[Q in Sac]

Coasting and right turns. Weird. Look at my last edit, its interesting.

Q in Sac

[princess]

Those are the fun ones!!

I take it that this isn't your car, but you're the one having the pleasure of fixing it.

If I didn't already know what kind of day he is having, I'd text or call him...BUT....so I'll ask when he's here. Hopefully he'll have some ideas on where to point, what to look for. He's run across some pretty strange stuff through out the years!;)

[Inspector1]

Uneven pad wear would indicate a binding issue with the caliper...
did you inspect and lube mounting bolts/pins?

Is the noise coming from left front(drivers side)?

I1:)

[Q in Sac]

Originally posted by Inspector1
Uneven pad wear would indicate a binding issue with the caliper...
did you inspect and lube mounting bolts/pins?

Is the noise coming from left front(drivers side)?

I1:)

Yes, plus I relubed them. Bizzarre......


Q in Sac

[princess]

The uneven wear would be binding caliper pins, try recleaning them on the outside using a wire wheel or someting similar. Also clean the inside with a wheel cylinder hone. Brake clean alone isn't enough after it's binding.

Binding calipers will cause hot spots & make the rotor glaze. If it was better, but not gone then that would indicate the need for resurfacing the rotor.

What kind of lubricant are you using? We usually use an axel grease instead of a
moly or anti-seize. The lighter one doesn't gum up as much.

Good luck & keep us updated!

[Q in Sac]

Originally posted by princess
The uneven wear would be binding caliper pins, try recleaning them on the outside using a wire wheel or someting similar. Also clean the inside with a wheel cylinder hone. Brake clean alone isn't enough after it's binding.

Binding calipers will cause hot spots & make the rotor glaze. If it was better, but not gone then that would indicate the need for resurfacing the rotor.

What kind of lubricant are you using? We usually use an axel grease instead of a
moly or anti-seize. The lighter one doesn't gum up as much.

Good luck & keep us updated!

Using multi purpose grease, Valvoline. What I will do is resurface the rotors and see what happend. I'll update Friday.

[Q in Sac]

Well, I resurfaced the rotors. Used brake cleaner to clean the brakes. Took it for a test drive. About 2 mins into the drive and hitting a "bump" a squeal arises. It last, maybe 2 to 4 sec. Then goes away. I accelerate to 40 mph, then brake, accelerate to 30, then brake. No squealing. Drive normal, 30-40 mph, hit a dip in the street, squeal, then it goes away. Weird.

This is what I checked:

Anti rattle clips, resurfaced rotors, replaced pads, lubed caliper pins. Did a visual of suspension componets, ball joint, control arms and bushings. Nothing. I'm stumped. Help!!!!

[princess]

Did you remove the rotors for resurfacing or was this done on the car? We usually do them on the car. If they weren't removed, it sounds like a small rock or something could be wedged between the rotor & the backing plate.

Have also seen/heard a slightly bent ....couldn't tell by looking.... backing plate make the same sound that you're talking about. It rubs against the front rotor.

Keep us updated!:)

[Q in Sac]

Originally posted by princess
Did you remove the rotors for resurfacing or was this done on the car? We usually do them on the car. If they weren't removed, it sounds like a small rock or something could be wedged between the rotor & the backing plate.

Have also seen/heard a slightly bent ....couldn't tell by looking.... backing plate make the same sound that you're talking about. It rubs against the front rotor.

Keep us updated!:)
I took the rotors off, i thought maybe they are slightly bented or something jammed inbetween the rotor and hub. Checked the backing plate. I pulled that back just to make sure. It's weird. Any othe suggestions. Also I lost a lug nut for the above, what is the correct size? Thanks.

Q in Sac

[princess]

You definately have a strange one there! We've seen small rocks get missed, but if you took off the rotor & checked for that stuff, I guess that's not it. Without seeing or hearing it, I'm out of ideas. Sorry. Hopefully soon others will be baCk from their weekend & see this thread & have some other ideas for you. We've all had different experiences with our cars, so maybe someone else has had this one!

[Q in Sac]

Thanks for your advise. I really appreaciate you input and advise. I will check this thread for any updates. Again, thanks.

Q in Sac

[princess]

My prince has been a Honda tech forever (about 25 years) & it's not often that he's stumped. It's so much different online than in person though.

He has replaced pads, then have a squeal that tracked down to a little wedged rock. He's had several slightly bent plates, that weren't visably damaged, but pulling them out a bit made it go away. If something else pops into his head & he lets me know, I'll pass it on.

Good luck on this project!

If you find it has any other symptoms, pulling or something it could help pinpoint where the problem is. So let us know if you run across anything else!:)