Shims squealing but pads are not low!

[MrSo0h0o]

Hey guys, need your advice on this one:

I replaced my rotors and pads about 6 months ago. I used brembo blanks and hawk ceramic pro pads. About a month or two ago, my brakes start squealing after a bit of use. Under a lot of stop and go braking, i get a grinding feeling and a very harsh metallic squeal right before the car comes to a full stop. This makes me believe it is a heating issue for the stop and go braking.

I checked the rotors and pads for any possible foreign material stuck onto either, but did not find anything. There is still 3/4 inch of meat left on the pads so thats not the issue. I took the car for a drive and I still have the minor squeal. It is not consistent every time i brake. What could be causing these two issues? Could the anti-squeal shims be bad? Is this a result of something loose? I noticed the rotors move a little with the wheel off. Is that normal?

[Supra469]

That's interesting. I would like to know myself.

[azntoyotadriver]

hey i dont think it the shims that are making the nosie but the brake pad material it self try taking your brakes apart. get some 40 grit sand paper and sand down some of the pad material off so the glaze is taken off and down you have stock rotors on your car???? if so is there a lip on the out edge of them you can tapping the edge off with a hammer bery carefully but you may need to get them machined and when your puttin your brakes back together try using anti sezie on all your contact points ie wear the calipers touch the pads, and where the pad ride in the cage
good luck and post back if it works

[gdanaher]

Check the parts store for anti squeal material. The last I bought was blue and looked a lot like glue. Read the directions and follow them. Clean the dust out, wash the parts well with detergent soap, and reassemble using the compound. There likely is nothing wrong if they were last assembled correctly, but the dust gets in there and perhaps heat has glazed the pads. Jet airliners do the same thing all the time, and they tend not to replace those pads, either.

[MrSo0h0o]

Originally Posted by gdanaher

Check the parts store for anti squeal material. The last I bought was blue and looked a lot like glue. Read the directions and follow them. Clean the dust out, wash the parts well with detergent soap, and reassemble using the compound. There likely is nothing wrong if they were last assembled correctly, but the dust gets in there and perhaps heat has glazed the pads. Jet airliners do the same thing all the time, and they tend not to replace those pads, either.

I actually think the pads are glazed. I just did some research on glazed pads and found some pics and it looks almost exactly how my pads looked yesterday. I read that i can just take some sand paper and sand off the glazed part of the pad. Does this sound right? Also, there isnt too much harm in riding on glazed pads, right? Just less stopping power(which I dont notice too much). One more thing; braking hard multiple times over and over will not get rid of the glazing, right?

[CharmCityES]

use some 40 grit sandpaper to scuff the pads and remove the the glazed surface on the pads, then pick up some brake lube (3M makes it) and lube the pad where the shim is attached to the pad, and lube the slide pins and brake bolts. i also like to remove the pads and lube the areas where the pads are attached to the calipers

sometimes aftermarket brake parts have the tendency to squeal. my buddy had aftermarket hawk pads/brembo blanks on his legacy and they squealed like hell...he switched back to oems quite quickly...i use all oem brake parts on my camry

[MrSo0h0o]

Originally Posted by CorCamrySE

use some 40 grit sandpaper to scuff the pads and remove the the glazed surface on the pads, then pick up some brake lube (3M makes it) and lube the pad where the shim is attached to the pad, and lube the slide pins and brake bolts. i also like to remove the pads and lube the areas where the pads are attached to the calipers

sometimes aftermarket brake parts have the tendency to squeal. my buddy had aftermarket hawk pads/brembo blanks on his legacy and they squealed like hell...he switched back to oems quite quickly...i use all oem brake parts on my camry

yea thats the same combo i have. hawk ceramics and brembo blanks. They moan like a dirty whore..

When i first did the install I lubed everything up with brake lube and all the bolts with anti-sieze.

Now i gotta figure out when I can do this!

[O.O]

Its normal, Hawks brake pads squeak. I've noticed that when the pads are hot they squeak less.

[MrSo0h0o]

Is it normal if the brake rotors are able to move on and off the hub when the wheel is still off?

[new echo owner]

The clamping force of the wheel when tighten down against the hub is what holds the rotor in place.

N.E.O.

[MrSo0h0o]

Originally Posted by new echo owner

The clamping force of the wheel when tighten down again the hub is what holds the rotor in place.

N.E.O.

ok thanks N.E.O., i just wanted to make sure that was normal. Now to find time to sand down the glaze on my brake pads and see if the squealing goes away!

[CharmCityES]

it might go away and it might not...it didnt go away on my buddy's legacy

[MrSo0h0o]

hey guys got a chance to take a look at the brakes again.. im not sure if they are still squealing because its cold out so my windows arent down, but here is what they looked like:




I took some sandpaper and sanded them down. I dont think i had a large enough grit(120) but i did it a little bit.

What i actually changed is i took this backing plate off:



This was from the original brake setup. I think the hawk ceramics had their own type of metal plate on the back so i figured this would be ok. I took it for a drive and did some fast and hard braking with no squealing so far. Hopefully it makes a difference?

Any input?

[new echo owner]

Did you put some brake lube on the side of the tangs that sticks out at both ends of the pad?

N.E.O.

[MrSo0h0o]

Originally Posted by new echo owner

Did you put some brake lube on the side of the tangs that sticks out at both ends of the pad?

N.E.O.

thats a negative... i put it back as-is.. i may have applied some when i first changed them out but not this time... could that have caused the squealing?

Those look glazed to you, right? I wasn't able to sand it off to not look like that. Is there any alternative?