More brake problems...

[luxcrusr2000]

OK, I've seen all the posts on Galant brake problems but this one has me stumped. When I bought my car a year ago (at 23k) they put new pads on the front and adjusted the back. The front brakes have always squeaked but that's been checked. But occasionlly they make sort of a grinding noise when I stop. The brakes were checked by Sport Mitsubishi 6 months ago at my 30K service and they checked out fine. I was told by a mechanic at work that it sounds like excessive brake dust might be the problem as it only happens occasionally. The car stops perfectly--no shaking or slipping--it's just that this noise worries me. Any thoughts on what could be going on?

[pinoyesv6]

it could just be brake dust. but if you feel weary, you might wanna rip the wheel off the car and look around. make sure nothing is loose and that nothing is wrong.

[manybrews]

ALL brake pads make a certain amount of noise now that asbestos has been made illegal.. other materials have been used that are generally not as perfectly suited for it.
that said, there were a few updates to the galant brake pad for excessive "grinding" type noises. personally, i never heard anything i considered excessive, but apparently a lot of customers did.
what year galant do you have?

[TJC]

If you think stock brakes are noisy, try performance pads. :mrgreen:

[luxcrusr2000]

Manybrews, I have a 2000 ES with 43K on it.

[luxcrusr2000]

Oh, and I forgot to tell you that the noise is more pronounced after I have been driving for a while.

[Fishboy55]

Are you sure it's the brakes Lux? I know the goodyear Eagles are real noisy, especially after they heat up. When I had the problem I thought brakes immediately also, but it just turned out to be those shitty tires.

Chip

[luxcrusr2000]

No, I got rid of those POS Goodyears several months ago and put Michelins on the car. I'm pretty sure it's something with the pads.

[pinoyesv6]

another problem especially in hte morning or after u wash ur car and let is dry is corrosion. a thin layer of rust you can say, build up on the rotors over night or during a period of time and as u are driving u take it off and that can sometimes cause noise too. but then after a while it goes away. i'll read more on that pamphlet VW gave me on brake noise...

[luxcrusr2000]

If it's brake dust or corrosion what would be the best way to clean it?

[NRG]

Just get some normal brake cleaner solutions...Take off your wheel and caliper and start spraying....Make sure you prop your caliper up so it doesn't yank your brake line. If brake dust is a big problem, you might want to invest in semi-metallic pads which lessens the dust.....

[luxcrusr2000]

Thanks all for the help! I'll try cleaning the brakes this week and let you all know what happens. Looks like this might be an opportunity to paint my calipers as well.

[pinoyesv6]

if its teh corrosion build up shit, just drive around for like a block and it should be off when u get back home. as for cleaning the brakes. no real need to take off the wheel, just spray the brakes down, use that lil straw if ya need to then wash the wheels off with water. but i do recommend taking the wheel off to get it real clean. just somethign to do if u don't have time to take it off

[Ada]

I'm having the same type of problem. Like metal on metal, but not like a grind, but more of a metal creaking noise. It doesn't happen when I first start out, but after awhile of driving, it starts to make the creaking noise. But, it seems to only make the noise when I'm braking normally.

If I brake hard, the sound disappears. If I reverse, and brake normally, I don't get the noise.

Basically to sum it up, it only happens when I brake from moving forward but if I brake harder the normal it doesn't happen.

[luxcrusr2000]

Well I took the front wheels off this morning and rinsed off the brakes. The noise is completely gone (from now on I hope) so it must have been brake dust, after all there was a light coat of it on the rotors. To all who posted on here thanks for the advice. Now I just have one other thing that I noticed while I had the wheels off. I ran my finger along the rotors from top to bottom. They weren't grooved but it felt like the rotors were warping. The metal seemed to be thicker around the outer edge of the rotor. Am I going to need new rotors soon or do I just need to have these machined. It looks like they're the stock rotors.

[luxcrusr2000]

Update: The noise came back the other day. Like I said in my previous post, it felt like the rotors were warping. I'm wondering if this is what was causing the brake dust, in turn causing the noise. The pads have 75% left on them.

[Ada]

I took my car to the brake shop. They said my new wheels aren't made to fit my galant. He said something about a part of the brakes being at an angle, then when I apply the brakes it turns upright and that's when it rubs on my rim. I don't understand how it would though. Also, I could have sworn I heard the same noise when I had stock wheels on with those brakes.

I'm going to have to test it out by putting my stock rims back on and seeing if I get the 'grinding' noise again.

[Nick VR4]

Are there any marks on the inside of the rims?

IMO what that brake shop is saying is bull $hit

[Prophet]

I agree with Nick. The brake pads themselves are surronded by the caliper. I don't see how the brakes are turning up. If the rims are going to rub there going to rub agains the tire and the wheel well. I get the same grinding noise every now and again but it goes away.

Jason

[NRG]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(luxcrusr2000)</div><div class='quotemain'>Update: The noise came back the other day. Â*Like I said in my previous post, it felt like the rotors were warping. I'm wondering if this is what was causing the brake dust, in turn causing the noise. The pads have 75% left on them.</div>

Don't resurface your stock rotors!!!!! With the money you spend on doing that (especially at the dealers) you can get new Brembo X-drill and Slotted rotors.

If it is truely warped, it will get worse and worse real fast. It happened to me while I was going to Vegas. Pretty soon you will feel vibration when braking at around 50+ mph.......So yeah, I would just buy new rotors.