thassett

I wanted to check in with two problems after replacing with Duralast Gold CMAX brake pads and new duralast rotors. (only the front)

1) Grinding noise - While driving at low speeds, the ride is rough with a "rrrrrr...rrrrrrr.......rrrrrrrr.....rrrrrr" grinding noise. Almost like my front tires are all screwed up, and you can feel this in the pedals, and wheel.

2) Heavy dusting - After a 400 mile round trip drive to Charlotte, my driver's side wheel had TONS of brake dust. (from a ceramic pad) (but not much dust on passenger's side)

So I think the issues are......

- The new shims and guides didn't fit 100% perfectly, so I think I need to take everything apart and readjust for a perfect fit.

- Re-grease everything so that all the components slide more easily.


Anyone have any more thoughts?

Yesterday, here's what I did:
-------

1) Removed the old shims.

2) Thoroughly greased the pins, and all components. (except the pad surface and rotor)

3) Checked threading. Everything is okay.

4) Thoroughly cleaned and brushed with a wire brush all contact surfaces.

But I'm STILL having some real post-job issues.....

- On the passenger's side, the caliper piston doesn't seem to be putting pressure on the pads. I went for a test drive, and there was still some rust (from a wash) and a tiny smudge of grease on the rotor.

- On the driver's side, I'm getting heavy dusting. Probably because it is doing the work for both sides.

- When driving, my front end feels "rough". A shush....shush.....shush sound can be heard at low speeds. And you can feel sort of a light grinding feel in the pedals.

Do I need to get new calipers? Any ideas? This is really putting a damper on my Father's Day. :-)

csmeance

how old is the brake fluid in the car? I'm thinking that you may have a stuck caliper on the passenger side from when you put that side back together and thus all the hydraulic pressure from when you push the brakes is pushing the driver side pad out further and harder.

thassett

Fluid is in great condition. When I did the job, I bled both passenger and drivers side, always making sure that the fluid never fell below MIN in the reservoir. I topped off just below MAX after the job, and checked it a week later, and it was in between MIN and MAX.

csmeance

No I mean how old is it? Have you gotten it flushed in the past year? 2 years? 3?

Also try and see if the passenger brake is engaging at all by sliding a sheet of paper b/w the rotor and pad and simply stop on the brakes (both sides). If you see a visible imprint then it's working! If not then you have a problem. You could also put the car up on some jacks and put it in neutral and have someone apply the brakes periodically while you spin the wheel.

I hate cars

The grinding might be the rotor rubbing on the caliper. If could be too large in diameter (it happens). Dust shields are easy to bend and could be contacting the rotor.

The first thing I would check is with the car jacked up, can you spin both wheels easily by hand? If so, have someone hit the brakes and make sure you can't turn the wheels.

The cmax pads usually have very little dust. The side with no dust is probably done correctly, the side with lots of dust probably has the problem. If you have an IR thermometer, shoot the temps of both rotors after a drive. They should be the same temp within just a few degrees.


There are a ton of reasons why your car could be doing this, let's find out which side it is and if one of them are stuck first.