About a month ago, I started to notice a squealing/grinding noise coming from the rear. The rotors were grooved and rusted in certain spots, so I replaced the pads and rotors. At the same time, I did the major parking brake adjustment to reset the parking brake. Took the car for a test drive and I still heard some grinding coming from the left rear, though not as loud as before, but enough to not seem normal. I parked the car, jacked up the left rear again and spun the wheel. The noise could still be heard by turning the wheel by hand, but the wheel did not spin freely and something was definitely binding on this side. I went back in to remove the caliper/pads, and by doing this, the hub spun freely so that ruled out the parking brake causing the binding issue (or does it?). I drove the car like this for a few weeks hoping that something back there would 'reseat' itself and the noise would go away, but nothing changed.

After doing more research, I came to the brake hose possibly being the culprit if it collapsed internally. Ordered a new set of SS brake lines and just finished installing them (both rears). Check everything for tightness and leaks, bleed brakes while adding fresh fluid, and put everything back together. Start the vehicle to test the brakes and the left rear is STILL tight, if not tighter than before and after a test drive, they are definitely scraping louder than before.

The only thing left to blame is the caliper itself, but the pins move freely and the piston retracts fine by hand using the brake piston tool.

Am I missing something here, or am I SOL?

 

Brake piston tool is really not by hand. Hand would be with your fingers which is easy to do on a new/refurbished caliper. Best way to tell is check the pad wear or once the face is rusty from water, you can see how a few light short stops performs. A bad caliper does not clean the rust off so well when you compare with one of the working sides. Rebuilding is $50 each vs your nice new rotors and pads which get pricey, which time and time again I've had to needlessly change.

 

I'm going to get the caliper done and see if that solves it. But, if it doesn't then everything in the rear (as far as I know) has been replaced within the last month and I have no idea where/what to look at next.

Also if it helps, when I removed the old pads, there was no unusual or uneven pad wear on either pad on the left rear. Just scoring/grooving from the uneven rotor surface of the bad rotor.

 

I would try taking off the caliper brackets and cleaning the brake pin guides thoroughly with a wire brush and replacing the pins. I had a similar issue as you last year but in my case one of the pin boots was torn. I replaced the pins, rotor and pads, adjusted the parking brake and cleaned up the bracket and the noise went away.

Also noises can be deceiving sometimes. How's the right side looking?

 

seized calipers is not surprising, there's been many cases of that on this car. a new/reman caliper should fix that right up

 

True. But OP do you know if the brake fluid was regularly flushed (every 3 years) on the car? IMO that goes a long way in reducing seized pistons.

 

Guide pins still move freely and were greased thoroughly when the pads/rotors were changed a month ago. The right side has no noise or binding issues, the wheel spins easily when the rear is jacked up in the air.



Although the caliper that was on was still working in *applying* the brakes, it seems to be an issue of not being able to release the pads after the fact. This is what first led me to believe the brake hose was collapsed internally. Matter of fact, I just finished installing a new (remanufactured) left rear caliper earlier today. The noise is still there, although not as loud now and the binding is not as severe.



I have only owned the vehicle coming up on three years now in fact. As the brakes hoses were all just replaced, I had flushed and refilled with fresh brake fluid.

 

Heat shield and wheel bearing all good? Did you adjust the parking brake correctly?

 

Heat shield, as in dust shield? It has seen better days, but as I mentioned before, once I remove the caliper there is absolutely no more noise or binding up. I looked all around as well to see it anything was hitting part of the dust shield. The wheel bearing is smooth when spinning it by hand. I redid the parking brake adjustment again after replacing the caliper a few days ago.

I am leaning towards a warped rotor? They are Brembo coated blanks, and just only over a month old.

 

Exiting the freeway do you get a shudder while braking? Can usually feel it toward the back. That would indicate warped rotors.

 

I'm curious, what is a Brembo coated blank?

 

It's a blank rotor that's e-coated black so it doesn't rust on the edges or hub.

Warped rear rotors that new would be unlikely but that's not to say it couldn't happen. When you changed your pads, did you change the hardware on the brackets too? Maybe it's the pad, have you tried different ones?

 

So like a Centric rotor; I just didn't understand the "Brembo coated" reference, I've seen plenty of Brembo rotors with no coating.

 

Come to think of it I don't think Brembo's coating is black like centric. Regardless same concept as Centric, there are brembos with and without the coating.

 

Not that I recall, but I will pay closer attention next time I'm coming off the highway.


Yes, they are just Brembo rotors w/ a corrosion-resistant coating on them (silver/greyish color), and blanks meaning solid rotors, non-drilled, non-slotted etc.

 

I went with Nissin OE pads on the rear at the same time as changing the rear rotors.