brakes "creaking" | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

brakes "creaking"

Rhett

Let Them Eat Cake
Elite Explorer
Joined
May 13, 2000
Messages
4,651
Reaction score
104
City, State
Cape Girardeau, MO
Year, Model & Trim Level
94 Sport 4x4
It's not the sort of high pitched squeal you get when your pads are worn down. It's more of a "creaking" sound. The rotors and pads are fine, I inspected them. Is it the calipers? I hear the creaking noise which sounds like it is from the front end, and it only occurs when I apply or de-apply the brake. It might be that the calipers/slides need lubrication. I am not sure of this, however...
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.











brake squeal

I notice this every morning. I have to back out of my garage to leave for work so I hear this noise when I am shifting the tranny from drive to reverse and the brakes allow some slippage. I have asked the dealersip three times about this. They inspect the brakes and say they are fine. One guy told me that it is because of the material in the pads. He said to blame it on the environmentalists for forcing a change on the pad material.
 












Mine do the same thing, I was told that it could be my brake springs??
 






withers, that could be condensation on the rotor doing that. My Buick Regal does that every morning too. It could also be enviro-sensitive pads, too, never thought of that.

Stephen, I don't think mine has anything to do with the e-brake because it occurs when I apply or de-apply the regular brake. E-Brake works fine. I could be wrong, though, I am no brake xpert. I wouldn't even call mine a squeal, because that implies hi-pitched, metal-on-metal. This sounds more like a spring or something that needs lubrication. Almost like if your springs are a little creaky when you push down on the rearend of your explorer. You might hear a little groan from the rear leafs, or in the front from the coils. But this creaking is a little louder and only occurs when I push down or let off the pedal (like the calipers are creaking as they pull towards or away from the rotor). I guess I will brake down (ehehe) and take it to a shop and see what they $ay/say.
 






I'm hardly a brake expert either. That sounds like the same sound, except mine is when I accelerate from a stop, the truck lets out a groan, same kind of thing.
 






Yes, the more you write about it the more it sounds like about the same thing. As you let off the brake to start accelerating, the brakes "creak" or groan a little, and then all is fine...until I brake again to slow down...then it groans again as the brake parts move again.

What makes you think it is the emergency brake? You don't have it applied when you are at a stop, (except when you first start up...).

Bottom line is it can't be good and I am going to have some people that know more than I do look at it. If it is something as simple as caliper slides not lubed enough, then that is bad as it could eventually lead to warped rotors and other problems. Best to tackle it now...
 






Mine groans at low speed sometimes even when the brake hasn't been applied. Also, it started up again after my wife used the Emergency brake, my son never uses it and niether do I. It only happens sometimes, and always after the car is warm, never in the rain or even in damp weather. There is also brake dust (excessive) on the left rear rocker panel, but none on the left rear wheel. Sometimes it will happen while braking when you get to that 5mph speed, and doesnt seem to be linked with brake usage. Ford said that the calipers were moving fine, but they lubed the pins and looked at the EBrake. It went away until my wife used it.
 






Mine creaks every time I hit the breaks. Usually when it's wet or just starting it up. When I am driving around all day it usually goes away. I think when they are wet it makes them worse. I have no idea why it does this.
 






I am confused now.

My brakes squeak if I am parked with my foot on the brake pedal and I shift from drive to reverse and back. I can feel the car move slightly because of the drag from the automatic. I assume that the pads are slipping and creating the groaning noise. It is more prevalent in the morning, but I can do at other times during the day. I live in So Cal its not I see a lot of moisture usually. I know it is the brakes because if I let up a little on the pedal when I shift the noise goes away. The dealerships say that it is a common issue, but have no solution. I do use the e-brake so ...
 






A lot of the sounds you guys are describing are, Imo, because of moisture on pads/rotors and just the brand of pads you have. Diff pads make diff sounds and are prone to diff behavior...but also something could have popped loose, like anti-rattle clips in there. Since I don't know much about brakes, I suggest taking it in to a mechanic just to see if it's normal sound or not.

In my case,

I took it to a shop, and talked to the mech looking it over. I knew the rotors and pads were fine, and he confirmed this. The caliper slides were fine also.

One thing he did determine was that whatever the problem is, it is on the right side. While my exp was raised, I could turn the front wheels, and the left one turned quietly but the right one turned with a little noise. I mentioned the front wheel bearings but the mech said they were ok. I wonder about that a little.

Now I think in my case it must be something with the steering, and applying the brake aggravates it. Maybe the tie rod ends need a little grease, or the ball joints or steering knuckle. Maybe something just needs to be torqued down on that side. I know it is something to do with where the steering setup connects with the right side.
 






I bought my explorer from my uncle and it just so happens that my family (him included) own a brake shop. He told me this normal and common and has to do with things like moisture and pad material and that it is nothing to worry about. My father, my uncle and my grandfather are all highly certifed brake mechanics and all tell me the same thing. I hope this is of some consolation.
 






Hey! I'm resurrecting my own thread from SEPTEMBER 2000.

Why?

Because I just wanted to tell everyone that this WAS NOT A BRAKE PROBLEM.

It was simply WORN RADIUS ARM BUSHINGS.

I found that out a few weeks later and changed them. Funny how that guy at the so-called "A-1 front-end" shop never figured that one out, even though he was looking at the truck.

So if you own a 91-94, and get a "creak", often when applying the brakes, look at the ra bushings first, not brakes. I don't want to sound like a public service message, but I was doing a search and dug this one up, and thought I would bring this up.
 






For those who have a creaking noise when they apply the brakes or let off (on a 95+), the creaking is due to a binding tie-rod end. I got mine fixed (thought it was a brake issue too) and the noise is history.
 






Rhett, thanks for the resurrection! That little creaking noise is driving me nuts so that's my next weekend project. I described it to my mechanic as a "squeaky floor board." I'll post some results after the work is done...
 






Please elaborate on this PolarBear. Did the dealership fix this? Is there any TSB on this problem? Other info?

Thanks,
 






Ok, here's my situation as it was:

I was hearing this creaking noise coming from somewhere near my foot. It creaked whenever i was almost coming to a halt at a red light, or right after i let go of the brake and step on the gas. I checked the entire front-end and brakes. After some experimentation by repeating the truck's motion during those two events, i found that the creaking existed under two conditions:

a) Brakes are fine. Creaking occurs with or w/o brake application.

b) Creaking occurs even when vehicle is parked.

I came to this conclusion after i gave the front-end a little bounce. I could hear the creak coming from the wheel wells. After that, it was just a matter of getting someone to apply slight pressure to get the vehicle moving up and down slightly. After lots of feel around ( an automotive stethescope might have helped bettre), i managed to isolate the noise with a vibration that i could feel at the tie-rod end. Tie-rod end has a rubber boot around it that keeps the grease in like a CV joint. After a few years, the joint gets dry, and the tie-rod starts binding. I replaced the tie-rod and the noise was history.

Note that the creaking only occurs when the front-end it moving (ie. short creak upon acceleration...short creak upon full stop). It's a little hard to explain, but i hope you know what i'm talking about.
 






Had the famous "Clunk" again in the front end; the Radius Arm Bushing on the passenger side was about 2/3 gone. Firestone did the last replacement (both sides) for me in 1997 and a few months later replaced a badly worn one under warranty at no charge.

Well, this time Firestone would only cover the cost of the bushing ($20), not the labor (wanted to charge me 2 hours labor ($150) and would only warranty the part, not the labor.

So, I went to NTB - got "life-time parts and labor warranty" - took about an hour to do the one side ($80 labor)- total cost $102.

I know a lot of you guys like to do this work yourself, but in this case the "life-time warranty" puts the burden in NTB when it needs replacing again.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Back
Top