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Grinding noise when applying brakes ?? Any clues ?

Okay, this is a bit odd (at least I think so !)

I have a 96 AWD, and when you brake normally, everything is fine. BUT if you apply extra pedal pressure , say when approaching a stop sign.. a distinct "grinding " is felt through the pedal.

If I didn't know better, I would SWEAR that the pads are gone, and it's metal-on-rotor.... That's what it feels like

BUT I pulled all 4 wheels, and the front calipers just for giggles, and there is PLENTY of pad left, and all 4 rotors are nice and smooth..

I can't think of what else it could be though.. any clues / hints ?

thanks!

Reply to
Chief Wiggum
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What kind of pads and have the rotors been machined (i.e. is the finish non-directional or ?). If you do a lot of stop and go driving, the pads may be glazed...... fire up the old Bosch orbital sander and dress 'em (the pads) up a little with about two hundred something grit and see if that helps.

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

A quick and dirty fix for glazed pads is to make three or four stops from 60 mph (is that around 90 kph?). This heats up the pads and wears off or "breaks" the glaze on the pads, if they are not too badly glazed. Of course do this when there is little to no traffic. I have found this sometimes works, but often the noise will return in a few thousand miles. Still, it costs nothing and I would try this before taking a sander to the pads. In my opinion, if you are going to the trouble of taking the pads out to sand them, you might as well replace them. It's kind of like cleaning spark plugs. Regards, SF

Reply to
sf/gf

Too sensitive anti-lock brakes??

Dave

Reply to
Dave Brower

It's definately NOT the ABS. it's more of a metal on metal feeling

Maybe the pads ARE glazed, when I pulled the wheels to check the other day, I just looked at the pad thickness through the edge of the caliper. I didn't actually pull them off.

I'll have to give that a check !..

Reply to
Chief Wiggum

I have had this grinding happen on our 96 as well. Pads and rotors are fine. It comes and goes - some days it will do it, some not. Very much like metal on metal when coming to a stop sign for example. Then a few weeks will go by without it. All I can figure is it might be the rusty surface on the outside and inside diameter surfaces of the rotor. Perhaps the rust builds up and the pad wears down enough to give a grinding sound, then goes away for a while.

I have never found a solution to this, but the braking does not seem to be affected.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Mayer

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