Squeaky brakes

[venomx]

25 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

If you use sandpaper should be for wood silica based , sizes 120 -240 for example

Which grit level ? Halfords do a variety, up to 2000. I heard 1500 to 2000 is ok

I have a sanding block.

 

Edit: Oh right you mean 120 to 240 grit ?

[TonyHSD]

13 minutes ago, venomx said:

Which grit level ? Halfords do a variety, up to 2000. I heard 1500 to 2000 is ok

I have a sanding block.

 

Edit: Oh right you mean 120 to 240 grit ?

Yeah, these grit sizes from 120 to 400, but again a good wire brush will do it. You are looking at making the shiny surface rough again and let the pads bed in better. No hard braking after that. 👍
 

[Stivino]

You don't even need brake cleaning spray. I've never used it, ever.

[venomx]

Whilst I'm cleaning should I hang the caliper up so it won't fall or detach from the brake cable? 

[TonyHSD]

7 minutes ago, venomx said:

Whilst I'm cleaning should I hang the caliper up so it won't fall or detach from the brake cable? 

Yes , attach to the suspension spring with a hook or something. Brake cleaner spray is very helpful, Holts perhaps is one of the best ones , cleans everything ( oil, grease, brake dust without risk of any damage to plastic parts. 👍 use this to finish you cleaning job, ideal for pads and disk, spray thoroughly on them. 👌

https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/p/holts-brake-cleaner-600ml-552996910

[venomx]

Right. some developments.

First time ever even jacking a car up and I managed to clean the pads and discs thoroughly with a wire brush and brake cleaner. Considering the calipers and pads are brand new, there was a serious amount of muck in there, mainly from the large amount of copper grease they'd put on there. 

The only issue I ran into was one of the sliders was actually in really firmly, overtightened likely from the mechanic. Eventually got it out, cleaned it, lubed it with some silicone and got it in as far as I could, wouldn't go in the whole way and neither does it want to come back out again ( just spins and spins ) so I'll leave that job to the mechanic when I get the MOT in a month.

The retaining clip was a real pain. Took about one hour to get it back into place  with a hammer head screwdriver and lots of swear words( this photo is from before I'd connected it back up, just so you know which type of clip it was )

 

Some pictures attached of after cleaning with the wire brush etc. And a picture of the faulty slider. Thankfully before I put the tyre on, I ensured the caliper was firmly in place, and so were the pads.

The only thing that looked off was the slider, so maybe that has something to do with the noise. As said. I'll leave it alone and let a mechanic look at it.

 

[venomx]

Before cleaning, look how much grease they'd used

 

[Cyker]

Ahh the joys of DIY car maintenance  

Yikes that thread looks like it needs re-cutting...! I've 'fixed' things like that before by getting a correctly sized nut and just running it over the affected area until it's 'right' again, but that was for something not safety related so not sure if that's something you can get away with the braking system!

[venomx]

11 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Ahh the joys of DIY car maintenance  

Yikes that thread looks like it needs re-cutting...! I've 'fixed' things like that before by getting a correctly sized nut and just running it over the affected area until it's 'right' again, but that was for something not safety related so not sure if that's something you can get away with the braking system!

Now I understand why it takes to long to get my car back from the mechanic, when minor things like this prop up. 

Do you think that has been caused by over-tightening ?

As said. Everything is tight and working correctly, I got that slider in as far as It'd go. Getting it out wasn't easy, I had to screw it back in, then back out again. Better idea would be order new sliders and not put that one back in, oh well lesson learnt.  Not bad for my first job on the car.

It may have even damaged the caliper slightly due to the threads being messed up. I'll get a different mechanic to have a look come the MOT in a month 

[Stivino]

It's been caused by someone cross threading it at the start, trying to turn it in, then realising it wouldn't go in and having to take it out again. It will probably clean up good enough but best to replace it. 

Coppaslip is not grease, it's an anti-sieze compound.  As there is nothing to sieze on the back of a pad, it's not advisable to put it there as there is nothing to be gained. 

[corradovr6]

I would replace those pins but be careful refitting the new ones as they may have spoiled the thread in the carrier. Use red rubber grease on the pins - it doesnt cause any swelling of the rubber boots.

Warmest congrats on doing these yourself, i bet you feel chuffed! Before you know it you'll be taking the whole car apart comfortably

[Guest]

10 hours ago, corradovr6 said:

I would replace those pins but be careful refitting the new ones as they may have spoiled the thread in the carrier. Use red rubber grease on the pins - it doesnt cause any swelling of the rubber boots.

I would too. Aftermarket are available much cheaper and as good as the originals. Silicone grease is o.k. too. As Hasan writes, don't force the threads whether new or the existing pins.

Well done for having a go yourself. Yes, those springs can sometimes be challenging and frustrating to refit!

[venomx]

Thanks guys. MOT soon so I'll get a mechanic to check out the sliders. Hopefully they can get it out, when I tried, it would just spin and spin. It it doesn't then I'm sure they can saw through it as due to the design of ATE calipers you can see the pin through the top.

Main thing is, car is driveable and the brakes are nice and sharp. When the slider wouldn't get fully in  I panicked a bit as it would be a right pain having to get someone out to have a look whilst my car is propped up on the included scissor stand.

 

As far as the noises are concerned, could that slider have something to do with it ? Thankfully it's a bit less now, maybe it will stop at some point, can only hope 😁

 

[venomx]

Should have binned the bad one, put it back together, bought some new ones and then installed a fresh one.

I agree yes it may have messed the thread on the caliper, however thankfully before putting it back together I ensured everything was tight with no movement whatsoever.
Braking and the pedal feel perfectly fine.

To be safe though would it be best to take it to the mechanic ASAP or can it wait until the MOT in a few weeks ?

[Cyker]

Sounds like it should be okay - If it wasn't working you'd soon find out from the car being yanked to the side when you braked  

 

BTW, you might want to invest in a proper hydraulic jack and some jack-stands if you don't already have some - Those scissor jacks are not designed to be used repeatedly and I've never liked them as they don't feel stable!

 

[Bernard Foy]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Sounds like it should be okay - If it wasn't working you'd soon find out from the car being yanked to the side when you braked  

 

BTW, you might want to invest in a proper hydraulic jack and some jack-stands if you don't already have some - Those scissor jacks are not designed to be used repeatedly and I've never liked them as they don't feel stable!

 

I would advise even more strongly don’t use scissor jacks for doing anything on your car other than an emergency wheel change when you have a puncture. Even then ensure that the base of the scissors jack is on very stable ground. Take Cyker’s good advice if you want to do DIY maintenance on your car. I personally knew two people who lost their life working on their cars using only a scissors jack.

[TonyHSD]

Good job done 👍

Have you cleaned the hub and the wheel off these nasty grease? Also the sliders are not good not only on the tread part but on the working surfaces, if you use these gain they need to be abrasive cloth cleaned back to shine without any lines on them. The amount of cooper grease used is unbelievable, and I think they had used in between the hub and the discs which is also wrong and can lead to problems ( noise and vibrations). If you do diy jobs on your car best to buy hydraulic jack and stands, they are more secure and easier to lift up the car . 👍

[venomx]

On 8/9/2022 at 3:42 PM, TonyHSD said:

Here another tip how you can eventually sort the things without dismantling anything. Just wash your car with plenty of water and don’t drive overnight. Leave the discs to get light rust coating and take the car for a short drive next morning, use brakes gently to let the pads clean the rust and bad glaze. It did worked for me few times previously. 👍

 

I'll give that a go when the weather has cooled down as I'd rather not be sanding anything.

Does that method work well ? Fairly sure the discs are glazed as they feel almost glass like.

 

Thankfully most of the squeaking has stopped. At least it doesn't sound like a tweeting bird any more 

[venomx]

Still a bit squeaky but definitely quieter. I would be interested to know exactly what they did at the service which caused this noise because I am baffled. They did clean the rear shoes at the same time, but I later got these replaced too so unlikely that.

s per @TonyHSD advice I have been spraying some water in the evenings in the hope it will help with the glazed discs. They do feel less glazed now but I've only been using small amounts of water, maybe I need to give it more time ?

 

There's a fair scratch mark all the way around the passenger side disc, which I would assume was from a stone. The noise from here has subsided so hopefully that is sorted.

 

Still got the tweeting noise to deal with but thankfully its quieter.

[TonyHSD]

7 minutes ago, venomx said:

Still a bit squeaky but definitely quieter. I would be interested to know exactly what they did at the service which caused this noise because I am baffled. They did clean the rear shoes at the same time, but I later got these replaced too so unlikely that.

s per @TonyHSD advice I have been spraying some water in the evenings in the hope it will help with the glazed discs. They do feel less glazed now but I've only been using small amounts of water, maybe I need to give it more time ?

 

There's a fair scratch mark all the way around the passenger side disc, which I would assume was from a stone. The noise from here has subsided so hopefully that is sorted.

 

Still got the tweeting noise to deal with but thankfully its quieter.

Well my opinion is that the cause of your issues is as a result of using cooper grease where should not and the pads are likely to be not premium brand. You can use traffic film remover (tfr) or any pre wash Snow Foam. Spray thoroughly over the brake discs, callipers and pads, let is seat for 5 min if the car is parked at shadow and not under direct sunlight, then you can use soft valet brush to clean and use water from  jet wash or hose to wash away  the dirt and grease. Any degreaser can also do but some maybe harmful to paintwork or plastics around, so better just tfr car shampoo or Snow Foam. 
Let them become yellowish and then use gently brakes for the first few stops , the rust formed on then friction surfaces will act as abrasive and will clean these surfaces and let the brakes do another better layer, sometimes works , sometimes does not. 👍

[venomx]

34 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Well my opinion is that the cause of your issues is as a result of using cooper grease where should not and the pads are likely to be not premium brand. You can use traffic film remover (tfr) or any pre wash snow foam. Spray thoroughly over the brake discs, callipers and pads, let is seat for 5 min if the car is parked at shadow and not under direct sunlight, then you can use soft valet brush to clean and use water from  jet wash or hose to wash away  the dirt and grease. Any degreaser can also do but some maybe harmful to paintwork or plastics around, so better just tfr car shampoo or snow foam. 
Let them become yellowish and then use gently brakes for the first few stops , the rust formed on then friction surfaces will act as abrasive and will clean these surfaces and let the brakes do another better layer, sometimes works , sometimes does not. 👍

OK thanks I'll give the water rust method a go for the next week or so.

I'm sure the sound is pad to disc contact surely ? I have cleaned all of the copper grease  from the driver side by taking it apart but don't feel experienced enough yet to take off the passenger side. So I did use loads of brake cleaner instead and most of it has gone now along with a few strong hose downs.

MOT in a month so maybe just take it to the mechanic to have a look at.

 

[Guest]

17 hours ago, venomx said:

Still got the tweeting noise to deal with but thankfully its quieter.

That is possibly fixable with some bird seed. Sorry, couldn't resist!

[Cyker]

You joke but it seems like a bunch of cats have been walking over my car last night judging by the mass of paw prints on the roof bonnet and windscreen so look out for those pesky puddy tats!  

 

[Bernard Foy]

59 minutes ago, Cyker said:

You joke but it seems like a bunch of cats have been walking over my car last night judging by the mass of paw prints on the roof bonnet and windscreen so look out for those pesky puddy tats!  

 

A Yaris called Tweety Bird, “ I tot I saw a !Removed! cat a creeping up on me”🤣😂

[Rhymes with Paris]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

You joke but it seems like a bunch of cats have been walking over my car last night judging by the mass of paw prints on the roof bonnet and windscreen so look out for those pesky puddy tats!  

 

In my old house with wooden window frames, the glass panes would often fall out and shatter on the ground.

It remained a mystery how it was happening for months, until I came home one day and caught the local large Tom scraping at the window edges,he was a putty tat.