Really squeeky Vectra brakes

Hello again all!

Three weeks ago I had four new lots of disc brakes & pads fitted to my R-Reg 1.8 Vectra (ABS).

Last week, after leaving my car stationary for five days while on holiday, I noticed that the rear brakes squeeked. On any other car with brakes like this I imagine that one would just put on the hand brake for a bit until it goes away. I think my veccy has some kind of parking struts or something similar (It's a manual gearbox) as when I had the old brakes I put the handbrake on at really low speed and it made a massive thud.

Because of that I don't want to repeat it again with new brakes (what was the thud anyway?). One my way home just now after I got so pissed off with the noise that I went along slowly in 1st geat with one foot on the brakes and one foot on the accelerator(!) hoping that if there was any dust build-up it would just scrape off and stop squeeking, but it's still doing it now which made parking in my cul-de-sac at this time of night a rather time consuming and embarrasing experience.

It's a high pitch squeek and only happens when the car has slowed down below 5 or 10mph while the brake is applied. Nothing is heard at higher speeds.

Do you have any suggestions about how I can stop this annoying squeek?

--Nick.

Reply to
Nick
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Could be they didn't fit the anti-squeal shims, which come in the box with the kit. The idea is that the vibration transmitted to the pads by being in permanent rubbing contact with the discs- is damped out by the shims. They are just thin sheets of springy metal but do the job well (if they remembered to fit them). Or maybe did fit them but didn't put a splodge of grease on the backs. Take it back. DaveK.

Reply to
davek

Your car has a small set of brake shoes mounted inside the hub of the rear brake disc. These form the handbrake.

Sounds as though the shoes were incorrectly readjusted when the new rear discs were fitted. They are now rubbing on the inside of the disc hub instead of releasing fully, causing the squeak.

I would go back to whoever fitted the new parts for you and ask them to re-adjust the handbrake shoes.

HTH

Anthony Remove eight from email to reply.

Reply to
Anthony Britt

Thanks. I'll ake it back to National when I have a moment.

Would those "handbrake shoes" cause a squeeking noise when the handbrake was not in use - under normal braking at low speeds?

--Nick.

Reply to
Nick

It's a while since I replaced any pads, but I don't remember ever getting new shims in a kit. A 'sleeping' mechanic may have thrown them away stuck to the old pads? Also, the shims that I have seen work by causing the trailing edge of the pads to be applied to the disk first. Could it be possible they've been fitted the wrong way round?

Reply to
ph12

It's not like the squeeling was immediate. I had them adjusted and after a week or so they the rear ones would squeek when applied at low speed. If they were fitted the wrong way around would they not have squeeled right away?

--Nick.

Reply to
Nick

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