Brake problem - your thoughts needed!

PurNrG · Post by **PurNrG** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:00 pm

So I decided to paint the calipers on my 2000 - no biggie. I've done the brakes on it before, so the assembly/disassembly is not a problem. In order to have easy access to the areas I wanted to paint, I pulled the rotor and caliper. After putting them back together, using the same pads and rotors installed in the same locations they were removed from, I get a clicking noise from the drivers side when I brake at about 40% or harder. The speed of the clicking decreases as the car slows. There is no noise when I am not braking. The noise did not exist before I disassembled it, and I disassembled the caliper and rotor to make sure the surface of the hub and rotor were clean and everything was seated/assembled correctly. After reassembling it, the noise was still there. I have always torqued my wheels down to 100 lb/ft in two stages (first to 75 then to 100) and have never had this problem before today.

Have any of you experienced the problem of a vibration appearing after doing brake work? Everything was cold when it was disassembled and reassembled. I lubed the guide pins before torquing them down. I didn't put a lot of lube on the painted surface where the pads slide - but everything seemed to move okay. Is it possible for the rotor to warp during the assembly/disassembly process?

Any help you can give me is appreciated. Thanks!

kicknaoffroad · Post by **kicknaoffroad** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 12:06 am

really old post with no replies but this is my problem exactly. i replaced my oem pads and rotors with ate power slot rotors and ceramic pads, then had the problem. and have had them apart and back together twice since with no luck.

OverDrive418 · Post by **OverDrive418** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:49 am

Same happened to me but I dissassembled them to find that I pinched the rubber boot when tightening the top bolt on the caliper which apparently was enough to put the caliper out of alignment with the rotor and cause uneven brake force.
I drove around for a few months before I tore it apart to find the problem because it was more of an annoyance than anything major (I thought). The pad was all worn on one end, the rotor would wobble a bit from it which was felt in the steering, and the rotor itself had uneven wear grooves in it.
Ended up replacing rotors and pads on both side$, this time being VERY careful about the boots. No problems since then.

Incidently a few months ago a friend of mine had the same symtoms with his truck which turned out to be (according to the shop) from the same boot/bolt problem.

May not be your fix but it is an easy place to start. Good Luck and let me know what you find.

pyro · Post by **pyro** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 10:49 pm

I had a clicking just like that(with wheel speed) on my moms PT right after I did the brakes/rotors/and calipers. After I swapped sides to verify it was the rotor I did a careful inspection of the offending new rotor. It had been stamped with the part# on the edge and had swelled into the swept area of the rotor. Kragen gave me another new one. Problem solved.

Did you have the rotor off and possibly drop it on its edge? Or even bash the caliper into it accidently? It wouldn't take much to do it, they are pretty soft.

titansxt · Post by **titansxt** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 11:23 pm

I get this on my SXT, but its in the rear. Just started to happen and my brakes were done almost a year ago. Driver side rear, what could it be in the drum?

kicknaoffroad · Post by **kicknaoffroad** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 12:00 am

thanks for the input guys! pyro, i did have the rotors off but i was very carefull with them and dont think i could have put a ding in it but i will check. i'm planning to tear it back apart this week and will check the boots as well. i'll let you guys know what i find out or if i get the prblm solved.

OverDrive418 · Post by **OverDrive418** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:31 pm

So...ever figure it out or should we have someone ride by your house and see if your still alive?

kicknaoffroad · Post by **kicknaoffroad** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:38 am

OverDrive418 wrote:So...ever figure it out or should we have someone ride by your house and see if your still alive?

well i'm still alive haha. but i havent quite figured out the prblm. the noise is happening less and less (that or i'm just getting used to it) haha. and since it seems to be going away i havent had a whole lot of motivation to take it apart with the beautifull ohio weather we've been having. i have access to a heated garage but i hate working on my car when its got road salt all over everything. it would be nice to have a winter beater! but untill i can afford that, i'll just continue to spend hours underneath my car every spring with oil and a wire brush to get all the rust off before it gets bad.

chad4359 · Post by **chad4359** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:02 pm

I have had a problem similar to this for quite a while and just can't seem to figure it out. I get that clicking noise and I can feel that the rotor is wearing uneven on the right side. I can see that the arms of the pad are rubbing grooves into the mounts, which I assume is the cause of the clicking when the uneven part of the rotor comes around. I have been dealing with this for a long time. Any ideas?