Squeaky noise while driving

May 13, 2007 10 Replies

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nealkendrick 19 years ago

1997 Honda Civic. Brakes changed approximately six months ago. Just noticed the problem two days ago.

Symptoms: When travelling straight or turning right without the brakes applied, there is a (rather loud and noticeable) repeated grinding / squeaking noise coming from the front passenger wheel area.

The frequency of the noise increases directly proportional to speed.

When turning left, the noise seems to go away, or is greatly muffled.

When the brakes are applied, the noise seems to go away or is greatly muffled.

When travelling in reverse with or without the brakes applied, the noise is nonexistent I haven't tested this symptom thoroughly, but this appears to be the case)

Thoughts?

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Tegger 19 years ago

nealkendrick wrote in news:1179017322.885742.106220 @h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:

1) Pad slide shims rubbing against rotor perimeter (can be due to rust on rotor or to bent tabs on shims) 2) Other brake parts contacting rotor 3) Aftermarket pads

Pull assembly apart and look for shiny surfaces indicating contact while in motion, if none, replace pads with OEM.

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John S. 19 years ago

Since the noise appears to be rotational and happens in a variety of situations including when the car is under power and brakes are not applied I would also check the cv joints.

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Don 19 years ago

I wouldn't. I would have first found the problem with the crappy brake job.

Don

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Don 19 years ago

Causes:

**Dust shield bent and contacting rotor. **Aftermarket pads with crappy or non-existent anti-squeal hardware. If they even have shims they are "stickum" type and a shim has shifted.

Cure:

**Check dust shield for interfrence -- its easy to bend it slightly so it rubs and makes noise.

**Genuine Honda OEM pads complete with quality anti-squeal shims.

Don

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John S. 19 years ago

I don't understand the statement....how can you first find the problem when you don't know what the problem is.

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Scott Dorsey 19 years ago

By pulling the wheels off and looking inside.

--scott

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John S. 19 years ago

At this point none of us knows the source of the problem because we don't know whether the brake job from 6 months ago was good, bad or indifferent.

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Scott Dorsey 19 years ago

Right, and no one will know until they pull the wheels off and look inside.

--scott

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Donald Lewis 19 years ago

Obviously. My point -- perhaps poorly stated -- was that upon inspection the odds are overwhelming that a crappy brake job will be revealed per the symptoms described. The chances are overwhelming that the symptoms described will NOT be caused by the drive axle.

Don

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nealkendrick 19 years ago

For those of you who are curious, I did find the source of the problem

-- a faulty caliper. Apparently, the passenger side caliper piston was not retracting, which left the adjoining brake pad barely pressed against the rotor. I can see how turning left mitigated it, but I don't understand (and maybe never will) why it didn't make noise in reverse.

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