2003 Cobra - Brake Squeaking During Normal Driving

[Colubra]

Hi guys,

I recently started hearing a squeaking noise coming from the brakes (or at least I think its the brakes) while driving. Once I press on the brakes it goes away. If I lightly press the brakes it squeals a little louder and then goes away. Its hard to tell what side it is coming from but I'm thinking its the front passenger. It is definitely speed related, starting from a stop you can hear the frequency of squeaking increase as speed increases. Turning the steering wheel to the right makes the squeaking go away, turning it to the left makes it get louder.

The car has Hawk HPS pads, Eibach Pro Springs and MM Camber plates as far as brakes/suspension goes.

I picked up some brake cleaner today and will see if that takes care of the problem, I'm hoping its maybe something stuck a little. The brakes work fine and I dont have any issue slowing down, the noise just bugs the heck out of me. Driving around and having a constant squeak until you brake makes me feel like I own a cheap car .

Has anyone else had this issue before? Any tips? What should I do if the brake cleaner doesnt work?

Thanks guys,
Dan

 

[greenflash00]

I am having the exact same issue man. So far I have traced it down to the rattle clips that attach to the pads to keep the brakes from rattling. I ran without the clips for a while and the breaks would knock when I hit a bump, but no squeaking. I am still running the stock rattle clips and am wondering if I just don't need new ones. Without them I have no squeak so I'm planning to replace them soon to see if that takes care of it. Super annoying though as I'm sure you know. :shrug::nonono:

 

[frijol79]

I am having the exact same issue man. So far I have traced it down to the rattle clips that attach to the pads to keep the brakes from rattling. I ran without the clips for a while and the breaks would knock when I hit a bump, but no squeaking. I am still running the stock rattle clips and am wondering if I just don't need new ones. Without them I have no squeak so I'm planning to replace them soon to see if that takes care of it. Super annoying though as I'm sure you know. :shrug::nonono:

Wow I have 03 Mach 1 doing same. Please let me know were you get the clips Thanks

 

[Colubra]

I am having the exact same issue man. So far I have traced it down to the rattle clips that attach to the pads to keep the brakes from rattling. I ran without the clips for a while and the breaks would knock when I hit a bump, but no squeaking. I am still running the stock rattle clips and am wondering if I just don't need new ones. Without them I have no squeak so I'm planning to replace them soon to see if that takes care of it. Super annoying though as I'm sure you know. :shrug::nonono:

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with the squeaking. Doing some research I saw that the rattle clips arent too hard to replace

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/how-230/698824-how-replace-anti-rattle-clips.html

Where in SC are ya?

 

[greenflash00]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with the squeaking. Doing some research I saw that the rattle clips arent too hard to replace

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/how-230/698824-how-replace-anti-rattle-clips.html

Where in SC are ya?

Nah they are a breeze to put in. Tried to get some at Advance today but they didnt carry any. Might have to look online for a set.

I'm in Sumter about 2hrs south of you. :beer:

 

[Colubra]

Yeah looks like a simple install for the anti rattle clips. Hopefully thats all there is to it! I sprayed some brake cleaner at the clips today and it seemed to quiet down the squeak for a minute or two until it wore off and started squeaking again lol. Now that I know it isnt something so serious I will get to it in a week or two.

If anyone else has any input let me know!

 

[VirtualSVT]

brake squealing/squeaking is the pads vibrating around in the caliper.

So get the anti rattle clips and then spray the back of your pads with this:

 

[Colubra]

Will do :thumbsup:

Edit

I was able to get the car on jack stands and find where the noise was coming from. I have a video showing the noise I was getting while driving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKmvXO9aoKQ

I took off the anti rattle clips, put disk brake quiet all over them and re assmbled the brakes. I tried to shake them around to get the same noise with no luck so it seems to have helped. I havent had a chance to drive yet as it was raining all day yesterday but will update today when I do. Hopefully this fixed it and will be a long lasting fix!

 

[Colubra]

*Update*

Went for a drive today and no more noise!

Thanks for the help everyone. Lets hope this lasts!

 

[LoudToy948]

Glad to see you got it fixed. Had a friend with a very noticeable squeak, and did the rattle clips, new pads, and still had the squeak. The noise did stop when hitting the brakes as well. We ended up pulling the wheel bearings, and sure enough, one of them was shot. Just an FYI for some of the others on here if the rattle clips don't fix the issue.

 

[Tractionless1]

For future reference don't use brake cleaning solution on the rubber in your calipers. It will dry it out and cause leaks. I always use brake fluid to clean the part of the calipers where the pads ride as well as the pistons and gaskets.

 

[Colubra]

Hey guys I wanted to provide an update.

Car started making the squeaking noise shortly after putting the disk brake quiet on it so I went out and bought all new hardware for the pads/calipers (clips, pin and eclip) from Raybestos (PN H5613A). The old ones were not firmly clipped onto the caliper, the raybestos seemed much stiffer. I put disk brake quiet and reassembled with not much luck. Like the first time, it lasted for a few days and the squeaking came back. Its not as bad as before and I think the raybestos definitely helped but it is still squeaking.

I do not think it is a wheel bearing issue seeing how the squeaking went away for a few days of driving and came back. I'm starting to think its a brake pad or caliper issue since the noise goes away with some disk brake quiet and after a little bit of driving it comes back. I noticed that with one of the original clips I could very easily remove it with one finger, almost like it falls off. The new raybestos one was stiffer but still wobbly on the pad, could it be the pad thats not good?

Here is a comparison of old vs new:

Left is original and right is the new Raybestos hardware



Thanks for reading my novel, I'm going crazy trying to get rid of this squeak!!

 

[greenflash00]

I just installed today some new ceramic brake pads and new anti-rattle clips and (so far) my squeak I mentioned a few posts up is gone. I'm praying it doesn't come back so we will see. I put in the CMAX Ceramic pads from Autozone and they feel butter smooth thus far with 0 noise.

It's hard to say what was causing it but I still tend to think it was the antirattle clips needing replacing. If i took them off all together the noise would go away but then the brakes would knock.

So far so good! :rockon:

 

[Colubra]

Awesome and thanks for the update!

Let me know if that fixed the problem, my squeak would go away for a few days to a week then come back. I'm thinking I will change my pads as well and see if that works.

Now that brings up my next question, can I get away with just changing the front or will I have to change the rears as well? I would do all 4 but reading on here it sounds like jacking up the rear is a pain and I don't have access to a lift.

 

[VirtualSVT]

Rear pads usually don't wear as fast as the fronts since they only see 20ish% of the braking.

 

[greenflash00]

I've not noticed any noise from my rears at all so I only changed the front. That's where most of your braking force comes from so they wear much faster.

To update again If I drive past a wall or tunnel I can still hear a faint squeak from the brakes but it's 90% better now. I can live with that. :banana:

 

[Colubra]

Awesome,

Congrats on the fix, I hope it fixes mine as well!

 

[Colubra]

Just wanted to update this thread.

I replaced the front pads and rotors over the weekend and no more squeak!! (as of now, keeping my fingers crossed). I noticed that my caliper slider pin was extremely loose, to the point of it sliding out with the push of one finger (after removing the c-clip of course). I think this was allowing the caliper to shake around while driving and once I pressed the brakes it would stop. When I put in the new pads, the slider pin was MUCH more difficult to get in than before (a little more reassuring than the previous pads).

Car is much more enjoyable to drive now :banana:

So for those of you that tried replacing anti rattle clips and it still squeaks, try the brake pads next!

-Dan