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97 Corolla intermittent brake squeak when brakes are off

4K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  jgcec 
#1 ·
I have 2 identical, (except for color) 1.6 1997 Corollas with about 130,000 miles on each of them. I have owned one for about 12 years and the other for 8 years. They are great cars. I have put a combined 150,000 miles on them. I have had the timing belts replaced and have had the regular maintenance done. The AC still works great on both and they are super reliable.

About 6 months ago one of them started making an occasional front left brake squeak after driving for about 30 minutes. The car had been sitting around for about a year, only driven about once a month, when I leased a new car for business.

It only makes the sound when the brakes are not applied and it usually takes about 30 minutes for the sound to start. The sound comes and goes. Occasionally it turns into a grinding sound at very slow speeds less than 5 mph. But the grinding has only happened a few times. Usually it is just the type of squeak your hear if your rotors are warped, or the grinding is similar to the sound that would be made if you had no pads left and it was down to bear metal. But that is not the case here.

I have had my local repair guy take it apart 3 times and couldn't find any problem. I have also taken it to Toyota, and they said it was non Toyota brake disk and pads. But I have had the car for 8 years with non Toyota parts and never had a problem. Then I said to Toyota look harder and they came back and said replace the bearing and recheck. I said fine if you pay for it, which they declined, so I just paid the $75 diagnostic fee and left.

I then drove it for an hour after picking it up from Toyota and it didn't make the sound at all in an hour of city and fwy driving, except for a very faint squeak on the fwy for about 30 seconds.

Sometimes I notice that applying the brakes and then releasing them causes the noise.

I thought it might be that the pads are not retracting all the way, after the brake is applied, if the rotors are warped slightly.

Both cars have problems with the engine mounts breaking being fixed and then breaking again.
But I don't know how a broken engine mount could cause that.
Also both cars are salvaged, but I bought them both that way and they run fine.

I am leasing another new car now, so I only drive it once a month.
So I am trying to figure out the problem this way.
 
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#2 ·
This happened to my 02 corolla.. when I apply the break the squeaking noise can be heard..
my mechanic took it apart the back wheel.. and showed me that the Rear Drum needs to be replaced along with the shoe set..


check again to see if the noise is coming from back...and while driving pull the hand break...and you will know whether its coming from the rear of the car.


if your car is old, I wouldn't recommend taking it to a Toyota mechanic shop...they charge way too much and the fact that you have to pay for diagnostic is just stupid.
 
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