Help. Wierd noise while hitting brakes.

[mike79]

Last night while driving home, I got to test out the brakes, hard, for the first time. Car did very well.This being the first time I hit em hard, I wasnt expecting the sound I heard. A loud, creeking/popping sound from the FRONT END! I took it back up to 30mph, and hit the brakes kinda hard, but not too hard. Same noise! You hear it once the car pitches down, then when I let off the brakes, you hear it again. I'm thinking shocks, but I dont know how it would apply here. Does anyone have any idea as to what this is, and how I can go about fixing it. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[mike79]

Anyone?

 

[mike79]

???

 

[Friendchicken]

mike, that could be anything. take it to the dealer and go for a road test.

 

[mike79]

Ugh. I'm trying to avoid that.(bringing it to the dealer) I just hate leaving my car there.

 

[tommygun]

I jsut had a caliper retaing clip break and it caused some noise and eventually some damage to the rotor and caliper, see if the noise is on one side of the car or not

 

[mike79]

It didnt have much to do with the actual braking though. Light to moderate braking the car was smooth. WHen I slowed down fast, so that the car pitched down at the nose, I heard the creaking/popping sound. Once when it pitched down, and once when it pitched up.

 

[tommygun]

hmmm check the end links on the sway bar

 

[PhillyCobra]

If you have the nerve, try bouncing up and down on the front bumper, like we used to do to check shocks, and see if you can reproduce the noise. I'd say good chance it's from anti-roll bar bushings, which is no big deal. Less likely to be from brakes if they seem to work properly-- pretty unlikely anything would make the caliper or pads loose in this setup.

 

[mike79]

I was thinking that. Ill try that tonight and see if I can make the same sound. Thanks

 

[lRageATMl]

PhillyCobra it's funny that you mention that, on my car on the drivers side, if I push on the fender very lightly it sqeaks pretty bad. Roll forward and come to a stop there is no noise. But if I roll in reverse very slowly the car makes a noise, almost sounds like metal on metal. I checked my brake pads but couldn't tell how worn they were, but just as a precaution they are getting replaced on tuesday. My rotors are fine and are as smooth as they were the day I bought the car.

Do you have any idea waht it may be?

 

[PhillyCobra]

I s the noise the same when you push down on the bumper as when you roll backward?

If not, brakes can normally make noise when you're in reverse and they're not applied, as the pads are chamfered in the front and their surface and the rotor's surface become directional with use. This is not a problem.

The noise when you push on the front bumper could be the anti-roll bar bushing or anything else in the front suspension, such as the top of the shock mount or spring mount. Some people say it harms the material, but I think it's OK to spray some silicone in the anti-roll bar bushings and see what happens. Triflo also works. Ford techs solve most squeaks with silicone spray!

 

[lRageATMl]

Originally posted by PhillyCobra
I s the noise the same when you push down on the bumper as when you roll backward?

If not, brakes can normally make noise when you're in reverse and they're not applied, as the pads are chamfered in the front and their surface and the rotor's surface become directional with use. This is not a problem.

The noise when you push on the front bumper could be the anti-roll bar bushing or anything else in the front suspension, such as the top of the shock mount or spring mount. Some people say it harms the material, but I think it's OK to spray some silicone in the anti-roll bar bushings and see what happens. Triflo also works. Ford techs solve most squeaks with silicone spray!

haha, thanks, it's going to the dealer on tuesday for some other things so I guess I'll have them look at this as well.

oh yeah, the noise is different from when I roll backwards and when i push on the fender.

 

[YoungCobra]

I have the same problem. Been living with it for about 2kmiles now. I brought to the dealer and they heard the problem, acknowledged it, but could't fix it.

Can you imagine these guys doing a head swap??

 

[mike79]

See thats why I dont want to bring it to the dealer unless I can find the exact area the problem is coming from, so I can tell them to fix it and not touch anything else. It kinda scares me though. Something is rubbing somewhere, and hard enough to make such a loud noise.

 

[mike79]

Ok-bounced the car at the front end. I dont hear it. I am at a loss as to what it could be now. If anyone has any idea as to what could cause such a noise, by all means chime in.