pmacwill

Is anyone having a problem with their wheels squeeking? After my 10k checkup (it might just coincidentally be when I first noticed) I have found that my wheels (seemingly the rear) squeek tremendously when braking. I called the dealership and they said it could be the weather. They also said that my brakes were fine at the 10k checkup. Any thoughts?

RX8-TX

I have the exact same problem. I don't brake too hard, therefore I think it could be a brake pad alignment problem. I took it in to the dealer for the recall, and they came back saying the brake pads & rotors were in perfect shape (they have plenty of 'meat' to be specific)

Furthermore, I haven't seen anything that would indicate damage to the rotors. My next best guess is that there are some particles in between the pads/rotors that ae causing a slightly abnormal friction. No matter what, it's embarrassing to have a $30K car with 9000 miles squealing when I stay on the brakes for over a few seconds (I am an early stopper)

NOTE: we had 1 (one) snow storm (ha!) here in dallas a month or so ago. So it's possible that there is some salt leftover or something alike that left.

mdw33333

The squeeking is common. Alot of 8 owners have posted that they experience it.

pmacwill

it being common doesn't ease my concern. what can I do to make it go away?

ATL RX-8

*raises hand* Squeaker here too. Make it stop.

Rev It Up

Mine stopped on their own.

mikeb

mine make noise also

OBryanRX8

havent had any problems

z00m-z00m

When I took my car in for the skweeky brakes they cleaned them in a water solution. They said it was brake dust. squeeks went away for a while They are back right now and for my next trip ill hope they can stop the noise too.

Sea Ray

Not a peep (or squeak)

LightEmUp

Get your rotors turned.

GTRay

no, no, no!!!

don't turn the rotors simply because there is a squeek!

turning the rotors is only going to be a temporary solution.

what is causing the noise is vibration. the vibration is happenning at the pad-to-caliper contact points. if you have the ability and are wondering what you can do to stop the noise then try these steps before you ever jepardize the friction surface.

i suggest using soap and water to clean your brake parts because some brake parts cleaners are petroleum based and those products can have an adverse affect on the rubber parts in your brake system. petroleum products will cause rubber parts to swell and swolen rubber parts in brakes can lead to sticking calipers which leads to increased pad wear, heat buildup and warping of the rotors and eventual disc thickness variations that cause pulsating pedals. (we've all been there and know how annoying it can be).

1) remove pads and clean with soap and water. scrub heavy deposits with wire brush.

2) remove caliper and clean with soap and water. (don't need to remove from hydraulic line) scrub heavy deposits with a wire brush.

3) clean pad mount bracket with soap and water. scrub heavy deposits with a wire brush.

4) depending on mileage, age, and condition of brake hardware kit you may want to replace it. (hardware kit typically includes the little springs and stamped steel clips and bits).

5) thoroughly dry EVERYTHING. avoid using compressed air as debris can be lodged into places it shouldn't be.

6) if you are performing a brake job at this time you should perform a caliper slide service. there isn't much to it other than replacing the rubber parts with new ones, removing the caliper slides, cleaning them off and lubing them with a high temp silicone grease (NOT a silicone adhesive!).

7) before you install the pads you will want to apply a thin coat of moly lube to all of the contact points between the hardware, caliper, and pads. DO NOT apply moly lube to the friction surface of the pad or the rotor face - this can damage the pads. it's ok to get some on there from dirty hands just don't intentionally put it on there to "lube the pads".

your brakes are designed to prevent audible levels of noise, what is happening is that the brakes are vibrating at a frequency that you can hear. you will never stop the vibration, the goal is to alter the frequency of the vibration to the point you can't hear it anymore.

turning a rotor should only be a last result and is typically reserved as part of a process for a complete brake system overhaul.

if it is time to have your rotors turned as part of a brake job you need to be a aware that most shops use bench lathes to turn their rotors - OEM's like mazda do NOT approve of these lathes because they actually cut more runout into a rotor than what they already had. you would be better off just scrubbing the rotors with sand paper than cutting them with a bench lathe.

there are alternatives to using bench lathes however and the most popular is an on-the-car hub mount brake lathe. these lathes actually cut the rotor on the car and their manufacturers garruntee a maximum of .002" of runout per cut.

so, the moral of the story is that if you are experiencing brake noise and your brakes have pleanty of life left then you probably just need to thoroughly clean and lube the calipers. if it is time for a brake job then make sure the people/shop/buddy/you that does the job knows how to do the job propperly.

if you have any other questions regarding brake or suspension work feel free to PM me, i do this for a living every day.

Ray

Hou-TX-RX-8

My brakes still squeel and I had them turn my rotors due to some rust build up and it was causing uneven wear.

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

1) DON'T TURN YOUR ROTORS. That is a last-ditch thing to do to a cheap set of rotors with a lot of miles. No one here has enough miles on their RX-8 to justify turning their rotors.

2) Besides what GTRay said (all good points for a brake job), just go out and stomp the crap out of your brakes.
Turn off the TCS, run the car up to 60 MPH someplace safe and stand on the pedal. Do this a couple of times and it will eliminate the squeaking.

GTRay

very true... i rely on this method sometimes when a customer complains of a squeek in their brand new brake job - much can be said for seating pads and rotors together propperly and having clean parts to do the job with!

Ray

GTRay

oh man, that is absolutetly the wrong way to fix and uneven wear problem.

for discs to cause uneven wear they would have to be Very warped. the only way i could imagine warping rotors that babdly is to repeatedly stop from 70MPH and them hit them with a garden hose to cool them off.

uneven wear is tipically associated with caliper slides and caliper pistons not functioning properly. while it does require an overhaul to fix the problems it doesn't sound like whoever did the brake job followed up on what was actually causing the problem if all they did was turn the rotors.

get your brakes cleaned and lubed at all the contact points (NOT the FRICTION points) that should take care of your noise problems.

rust will cause noise between the pads and the rotors, however it will probably go away after a few good stops from speed. the "tap and coast" method only prolongs the agony, don't be affraid of the ABS, it's there to be used! :-)

Ray

tpryor

Just for reference.....

Mine were always quiet until I drove it through some water puddles during one of Houston's famous rain storms. When the squeal started, I took the pads out, only to find most of the lube (on that pad shims) had washed away.

I re-applied the lube on the shims (3 on each front pad, 2 on each rear) and never heard another sound!

Just recently, I installed new pads (to prepare for the upcoming National Tour autocross), redid the lube on the shims, and again, have not heard a sound.

As a side note - new pads on all four corners, carefully doing the lube on the shims, and bleeding the brakes took less than an hour total - not a big deal.

rxtreme

iTrader: (1)

So an actual "brake cleaner" like the products sold at Autozone or something is a bad idea because of what it does to the rubber parts of the bake system?

Hou-TX-RX-8

The rear rotors had circular rings of rust, that is why they were turned. It was like there was rust trapped under the pads. They still squeal though. What do you suggest I tell the dealer. I am bringing it back Wednesday because they still squeal.

Sputnik

They what? There was a dark ring of rust/dust where the pad should have been contacting the rotor?

How many miles did you have on car at that time? Had you possibly overtaxed the brakes on a road course?

---jps

Hou-TX-RX-8

3600 miles on the car and no I had not taxed the brakes.

pmacwill

GTray, or whoever, you mentioned moly lube and high temp silicone grease. Is this process you outlined something I can do without knowing all too much about brakes? My neighbor is a mechanic nut, so I'll get him to help, but any brands you can point me to for the grease/lube?

GTRay

moly lube and silicone grease are just generic products - we use the Mighty brand at work because we have corporate and family ties to the owner of the company. Any parts store will know exactly what it is and will help you out.

you can definately do this on your own. my philosphy is towards brake work is pretty simple - they either work or they don't :-)

whatever you do make sure you don't score the surface of the pads or the rotors with anything abrasive - this is just going to mask any work you just did cleaning and lubing everything.

scorring the rotors and pads only does one thing, it temporarily unseats the pads to the rotor, making them vibrate at a different frequency for a short period of time. this change in vibration will stop the squeeking for about 3 nanoseconds or until the pads reseat themselves to the rotors and vibration frequency is returned to pre-work conditions.

your average parts store is also probably not going to carry the Mighty brand, my suggestion would be to go to your local CarQuest and just ask for a bottle of Moly Lube and Silicone Grease for doing a brake job.

Ray

GTRay

cans of brake cleaner are great for heavily caked on deposits in drum brakes and cleaning up after brake fluid spills.

a non-chlorinated brake cleaner is going to be fine in moderation, just don't let the parts soak in it. A bucket of soapy water and a plastic bristle brush will be more than enough to get the job done though. that's what i use at work and it hasn't let me down yet :-)


Ray

GTRay

in this case the pads should have been replaced as well.

curious, how many rotors exhibited this problem? this is a rare problem and only associated with a few things - mostly foreign debris and parts imperfections.

Ray