Ok... '97 F150, 120k miles, 4x2...

Just put new pads and rotors on 5k miles ago. Used AutoZone stuff, thier best pads...

Its pretty much been squealing from the beginning. I didn't use the anti-squeal stuff the first time so I figured that was my problem. Yesterday I pulled the pads, "cleaned" them, put the ble permatex goo on them and reassembled. They were quiet for a day, but this moring they were back to the same old noise.

By "clean" I mean that I sprayed the parts for about a second or so with brake clean and wiped them off... they were by no means completely clean. How clean do they have to be?

Nowhere in the brake quiet instructiosn did it say to wait and let th egoo set up. I just lathered it on and put it back together within about 5 mins. Should I wait for it to set up?

I dirve like a madman sometimes... I've heard that squealing can be caused by overheating my pads... so is it a possibility that the pads are already shot and will squeal nomatter what? They have 90% of the pad left

Ok.. one last question... the squealing is coming from the back ot the pad's contact with the caliper due to vibration, right? NOT due to pad/rotor contact? Why can't they make a non-metallic shim to go inbetween to stop the metal-on-metal vibration noise? It just seems like that anti-squeal goo just squishes out and you still have the same metal contact...

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Sal

 

noise is commonly caused by vibration. That being said it can be from several parts of the brake system. Did you remove, clean and lube the caliper slides? I also put a tiny bit of lube on the end of the pads where they contact the retaining clips in the calipers.

 

Are the rotors grooved at all, that can cause alot of viberation when the pads make contact. They should be smooth and free of all grooves. Also you need to clean all the rust and gunk off the mating surfaces where the brake pads and calipers sit, a wire brush works great for that, I usually apply a small amount of anit-seeze to these parts to prevent rusting and it also makes the brake calipers slide without making alot of noise. You should also let the brake quite cure a little bit before reinstall the pads. Hope this helps.....

Peace...
Ed