09 camry se brakes squeeling at low speeds after pad replacement

[cory30189]

I am a volvo mechanic and i have an 09 camry that i replaced the front brake pads (which were a pain in the rear i must say) and now at low speeds and coming to a stop they squeel like crazy and its driving me crazy. Does anyone have suggestions? I cleaned the areas were the pads sit and slide and applyed brake paste on them and the pad backing but volvo doesnt require us to resurface rotors so i didnt have access to a machine that would do that. Any suggestions are welcome

[vvti-me]

sup Cory, I'm a mechanic in southern California that specializes in imports, but I mostly work on Toyotas. From my experiences with such things, I would say try sanding down the brake pads. When we get cars with squeeking pads NOT due to wear and they are new. I do what you did such as cleaning the brackets and re pasting with antisqueal then appling some on the caliper piston and on the arms that go on to backside of the pad as well as the bad. Also sand the pads down by putting the sand paper on the ground and apply pressure on the sand paper with the pads. That usually does it, but if it doesn't we resort to resurfacing the rotors with a fast cut then a slow cut. Good luck!

[cory30189]

ok cool, another question i have is the springs that you put on top of the pads required? cause i had such a hard time with them when changing the pads that i really dont want to take them off again lol. ive never seen a brake set up with those spring clips installed on them so i was wondering how serious it is to have them there and could i leave them out?

[kenny1773]

Originally Posted by vvti-me

I would say try sanding down the brake pads.

I will add to sand a small 45 degree angle on the front edge of the pad.

Only do this after you have tried everything else. The noises usually come from other spots, but when you have covered everything else sometimes this angle on the front edge will reduce over all vibration on the pad.

By front edge, I mean the leading edge the rotor spins into when the car is in forward motion. One edge is leading and one edge is trailing. It won't hurt anything to put a small 45 degree angle on both edges.

[cory30189]

would it hurt anything if i left the spring clips on top of the pads off? cause they were a real pain for me, they kept flying off

[Glenn8963]

Originally Posted by cory30189

would it hurt anything if i left the spring clips on top of the pads off? cause they were a real pain for me, they kept flying off

i do believe those are anti rattle/vibration springs. keeping them off will only make for noises later.

[cory30189]

well ive got a squeal after i changed the pads and i wanted to take them out and drive it and see if the noise goes away, just a process of elimination type thing.