Autozone Cermaic Pads Sqeaking

[spta97]

Back in July I got a set of Autozone rotors and Morse ceramic pads for my 2000 V8 AWD. They were fine for the first 1000 miles and then developed a squeaking sound at the end of the brake cycle (right before you come to a stop). I swapped them out with new rotors and pads (of the same brands) and I noticed that the sqeaking only happens when they get hot. On the few days where the temp has been around 60 they are quite, but after a while the squeak returns. On hot days, it happens after a few presses of the pedal.

I have everything torqued to spec (according to my Haynes manual) and have used disc brake quite (spray) on both the pads and shims along with generous amounts of caliper grease on the backs of the pads, contacts on the caliper, pistons, and bolts and still the sqeak remains. Does anyone have an idea what could be causing it? The sound drives me nuts expecially since I've had the wheels off and on more times that I've filled up in the past few months.

The only part of the installation that I'm not sure about was if I was supposed to spray the back of the pad with disc brake quite then apply the self adheasive shim or if I should have not sprayed the back of the pad then applied the shim (it seemed to have moved slightly on the first set of pads on one side).

Can anyone help me? I'm going NUTS with this sqeaking and it is making me not want to use my brakes!

 

[etc]

I'm guessing you did, but did you grease the slide caliper bolts also?

 

[spta97]

I did.

 

[spta97]

Can anyone help me?

 

[Electrohacker]

personally I would never had used ceramic pads... they do make a pad that won't destroy the rotor like ceramics do yet do give you better raking aand last a whole lot longer... but yeat performance brakes will make noise... it's what they do... more friction = more heat = more noise

 

[glfredrick]

It sounds like you did everything right - escept that sometimes the new premium pads come pre-coated with squeak preventative. It might be a function of the rotors and not the pads - that is where the sound comes from. I'd ask AutoZone what they are going to do about it. They should be lifetime...

 

[spta97]

I was able to get the number to Morse and spoke to a brake guru for about 25 minutes on the subject. Apparently what is happening is the stop squeak spray that I used should not have been used at all. The spray interrupts the bond between the shim and the pad causing it to shift and vibrate. He said instead I should get a new set of pads, clean them with brake cleaner, then apply the self adheasive shim to the backs without spraying the sqeak stop and re-install.

He mentioned that the sqeaking is caused by vibration (as all squeaking is). When the brake pedal is applied both the caliper and the pads want to rotate in the direction of the spinning rotor. What is happening with mine is that the shim is moving forward because of the weak bond between the shim and the pad (caused by the stop-squeak spray) and then the vibration is making a sqeaking noise. With a proper bond between the shim and the pad, the caliper will still shift in the direction of the rotor but the piston will slide along the back of the shim.

The one thing that makes me think the guy has hit the target on this one was that when I took off the first set of pads I noticed that the shim was bent in the corners where it hits the little nubs on the back of the pad - indicating that it had shifted positions.

Well, I'm going to hit Autozone tonight and see if I can get yet ANOTHER set of pads. I feel bad, but in all fairness they sell the stop squeak spray and I was not told not to use it. According to the guy at Morse that stuff was great years ago but it no longer has a place in today's braking systems.

 

[Billy177]

i hate ceramic mine cracked as soon as i took it to the car wash so i got carbon metalic they dont squeek and stop better

 

[glfredrick]

Your conversation with Morse sort of confirms my expectations that the extra anti-squeal that you used is the problem.

 

[ThespecialistKC]

Here's my .02 on brake pads..... I always use middle of the road limited lifetime warranty pads. I never buy the el-cheapos for obvious quality issues. I never buy the top of the line expensive pads because I've always had problems in the past. Think of it this way, the "same pads used by NASCAR teams" or whatever they claim, are not designed to work with your stock components in everyday driving situations. Pads on a racecar have highend components to complement them, as well as only having to last for a little over 500 miles or so at the most (other than the Coca Cola 600 of course ;-). If you have high end braking components, then sure, go for the high end pads. Otherwise, it's a waste of money. It took me several sets of warped stock rotors before I figured it out. An expensive lesson indeed.

 

[spta97]

Your conversation with Morse sort of confirms my expectations that the extra anti-squeal that you used is the problem.

There I was thinking I was doing the right thing Story of my life!

 

[spta97]

Here's my .02 on brake pads..... I always use middle of the road limited lifetime warranty pads. I never buy the el-cheapos for obvious quality issues. I never buy the top of the line expensive pads because I've always had problems in the past. Think of it this way, the "same pads used by NASCAR teams" or whatever they claim, are not designed to work with your stock components in everyday driving situations. Pads on a racecar have highend components to complement them, as well as only having to last for a little over 500 miles or so at the most (other than the Coca Cola 600 of course ;-). If you have high end braking components, then sure, go for the high end pads. Otherwise, it's a waste of money. It took me several sets of warped stock rotors before I figured it out. An expensive lesson indeed.

The real reason I got them was for the low-dust. My truck looks washed for weeks on end now because the brake dust doesn't accumulate. I had semi-metallics in there but the dust was out of control so I swapped for ceramics.

 

[ThespecialistKC]

The real reason I got them was for the low-dust. My truck looks washed for weeks on end now because the brake dust doesn't accumulate. I had semi-metallics in there but the dust was out of control so I swapped for ceramics.

I hear ya. That stuff seems to appear overnight And let it sit on there for more than a few weeks and it's permanent. I make sure to at least spray on some cleaner and hose it off at least once a week. Another lesson learned....

 

[X~FACTOR]

I use Autozone "Lifetime Guarantee" brake pads. I found out the cheaper ones ($19.99/pr) cause squeeks. I used them for 2 years. Early this year I upgraded to the $39.99 and, voila, no more squeeks.