today when i rolled my window down i noticed this strange squeeking coming from the front of my explorer, i figured it was the breaks, like some how they are draging or at least something is,it does it when im doing normal driving, when i apply the breaks it stops, i still have my normal break squeek but its not the same sound........i sprayed some break cleaner on them and it got a little bit better, whats wrong here?
92 4x4 explorer
thanx

Sounds similar to what I hear. Mine is not a constant sound but a chirp, chirp, chirp. I only hear it at slower speeds, but I think I don't hear it at highway speeds due to wind/road noise. It STOPS when I apply the brakes. I assume it is the caliper slide pins and rails needing cleaned and lubed, but haven't done it yet. Why do I think it might be the slide pins and rails? It's possible that due to dirty pins/rails that the brake pad isn't fully letting off and may be in slight contact with the rotor. What makes me think it may not be this? One would think that once the pad has worn down a bit the noise would stop. I can't tell that it is damaging anything so I just turn the volume up. Anybody have any other clues?

It could be the anti rattle clips. If they are installed backward when the pads wear down to about half they will start rubbing against the rotor. The guy that put my pads in did exactly that. Got some new clips fixed the problem.

Mine was doing this same thing for quite awhile. I finally pulled the wheels off to have a look at the brakes. When I took the pads off they still had the thickness of new pads but they had cracked into several pieces and separated from the backing plate. They were just "free-balling" it between the backing plate and the rotor. The slight constant rubbing on the rotor was making a horrible squeal that would only go away when I braked. I replaced them with a set of Carbon Metallic pads and haven't heard a sound from them yet. The CM pads are a lot nicer than the old pads too, they stop faster and better. The only complaint with them is the DUST. TONS AND TONS of super fine black dust all over my wheels. Oh well, a little water cleans them right off, I guess it's a small price to pay for all the benifits.

may sound strange but...i had that problem after i went wheelin one day after 10 miles or so i got concerned and pulled over to the side of the road...found a bunch or dirt, mud, sticks leaves and what not all jameed up in there, took it all out and i went away

Funny you should all mention this, I'm currently having the same problem. It started a few weeks ago after I went wheelin. Horrible sound, like someone bouncing on a squeaky bed. I took it in twice already....the first time, they found all sorts of mud that I had missed after cleaning the truck. They cleaned and relubed everything, and the sound went away for 30 minutes or so, but then came right back.
The second time, the took everything apart and found nothing wrong with any of the components....they are telling me now that there are probably stress cracks in the brake pad (plenty of meat on them still), or that the pads may be crystalized.....after reading these posts, I'm betting that they are correct.

eric

I don't know if this is the same but i have creeking noises in the rear when i push down on the suspension and when i move slowly. Anyone know wat this couild be?