EBC Pads/rotors, having issues with brake squeal

[Alisobob]

Its just driving me crazy that it's only the front right, and that's it.

FIXED

[Fiat500USA]

If you have your old brake pads, take a look at them and they can tell you the story of what's going on. Were the inner and outer pads worn evenly? That generally indicates a something is hanging up - a slide, a piston or the brake pad(s). For the slides, they should move easily. If not, clean and regrease with caliper grease and replace the boots if not perfect. The piston should also compress easily into the caliper housing. Having to force stuff is a red flag.

Sometimes new pads will be a tight fit in the brake bracket and will wedge themselves in. They should fit freely in the caliper bracket. If they are tight, the pads can stick and rub against the rotor and glaze over, causing a squeal. If you need to force them in or have to pry them out, they are too tight. Could be from a thick anticorrosion coating or the backing plate can be roughly stamped out. You can take a Dremel or file to the brake pad backing plate and remove some material so the pads fit in the bracket. This is a common issue when doing brakes. Also make sure you got new hardware. Unfortunately, aftermarket hardware has a habit of not fitting, so watch that, too.

Here's a chart with some tips on what to look at with your old pads.




*I'll see if i can find a better brake pad chart

[ImaRobot]

If you have your old brake pads, take a look at them and they can tell you the story of what's going on. Were the inner and outer pads worn evenly? That generally indicates a something is hanging up - a slide, a piston or the brake pad(s). For the slides, they should move easily. If not, clean and regrease with caliper grease and replace the boots if not perfect. The piston should also compress easily into the caliper housing. Having to force stuff is a red flag.

Unfortunately I do not, but I did inspect them and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but maybe I missed something. With this new set of pads I get I planned to thoroughly inspect and clean up all the hardware completely if it looks like it's needed, just as a preventative, last ditch effort. I did it for the retaining clips last time, but that it. Piston was also easy to set back into place as well.

Sometimes new pads will be a tight fit in the brake bracket and will wedge themselves in. They should fit freely in the caliper bracket. If they are tight, the pads can stick and rub against the rotor and glaze over, causing a squeal. If you need to force them in or have to pry them out, they are too tight. Could be from a thick anticorrosion coating or the backing plate can be roughly stamped out. You can take a Dremel or file to the brake pad backing plate and remove some material so the pads fit in the bracket. This is a common issue when doing brakes. Also make sure you got new hardware. Unfortunately, aftermarket hardware has a habit of not fitting, so watch that, too.

Here's a chart with some tips on what to look at with your old pads.


*I'll see if i can find a better brake pad chart

The pads them selves were easy to install 2-3 months ago, and also was very easy to remove when I inspected them last weekend, so that part is fine. I'm on the hunt for hardware, but a quick inspection last time didn't seem look too bad so I just cleaned up the surface area's, however, I did not inspect the slides or boots. I'm going to do that this time around. Just having a bit of trouble finding new hardware for the car itsel. I found some at an autostore but I'd have to order it online and the shipping is just as expensive as the parts. Last resort, for now.

Thanks a ton for the diagram! Super helpful as this is the first car I'm deciding to get more hands on with. For all I know, all this could have been caused by user error, but you live and you learn.

As a side note, today, the squeal/whistle type noise was a ton more minor than it was the last time I posted. Can't make any sense of it really.

[ImaRobot]

I picked up a pair of HPS 5.0 Pads from 500 Madness in Signal Hill this past Friday and installed them the same day. So far there hasn't been a single squeal. Although, I did thoroughly clean up and inspected the rotors, Slides, Boots, and clips so not sure if it was that process that fixed it, or the pads. Like the fact that these pads came with a metal shim too, as the EBC's did not. Either way, I'm all good to go now, and thanks for the suggestions!