brake squeak

[oregondave]

Okay, i know i have cheap pads on my car and that's why the brakes squeak. This question is about the squeak i hear coming from the brake pedal itself, often heard in stop and go situations when i'm not going very fast. It's definitely a different sound then the brakes and it's kinda halfway between a squeak and a groan. Almost sounds like it's coming from whatever the brake pedal connects to. Any ideas?

[SoCal LS-L]

Originally Posted by oregondave

Okay, i know i have cheap pads on my car and that's why the brakes squeak. This question is about the squeak i hear coming from the brake pedal itself, often heard in stop and go situations when i'm not going very fast. It's definitely a different sound then the brakes and it's kinda halfway between a squeak and a groan. Almost sounds like it's coming from whatever the brake pedal connects to. Any ideas?

You can spray lithium grease up where the pedal pivots on the assembly...that will get rid of that squeak. Cheap pads shouldnt squeal on the rotors just because theyre cheap.... thats vibration against the calipers. Did you use disc brake grease on the pad backings when you installed them?

[oregondave]

Originally Posted by SoCal LS-L

You can spray lithium grease up where the pedal pivots on the assembly...that will get rid of that squeak. Cheap pads shouldnt squeal on the rotors just because theyre cheap.... thats vibration against the calipers. Did you use disc brake grease on the pad backings when you installed them?

I didn't install them...the lady i bought it from had her crappy shop do it. I had her take it in because of the squeak before i bought it and they "shaved the pads" but that did nothing. What should I do?

Also, how do I get into where the pedal pivots on the assembly? Do I have to remove any carpet or anything?

Thanks!!!

[Mike621]

Shaving pads? Sounds awful po-dunk to me..


As for the pivots,
Put your head under the dash and look up.

[SoCal LS-L]

Originally Posted by oregondave

I didn't install them...the lady i bought it from had her crappy shop do it. I had her take it in because of the squeak before i bought it and they "shaved the pads" but that did nothing. What should I do?

Also, how do I get into where the pedal pivots on the assembly? Do I have to remove any carpet or anything?

Thanks!!!

Shaved the pads means they didnt do anything at all and just wanted to get rid of you.... Crappy shops do that.....

You can pull the wheel off and remove the pads, and use disc brake lube on the back of the brake pads...it cushions the vibration and should stop the squeal. Just dont get any on the pad surface. They might have also neglected to re-install the pad shims s well.... not vital but they also keep the pads from squealing. You can find new ones at a subaru prts retailer under brake hardware.

[oregondave]

Originally Posted by Mike621

Shaving pads? Sounds awful po-dunk to me..


As for the pivots,
Put your head under the dash and look up.

Yeah they SUCK. The steering rack they replaced 10k miles ago is leaking like a sieve but of course they're not gonna touch it since i'm a new owner. Any Portland folks avoid at all costs TYLERS automotive in Tigard. Of course IDK why anyone on this board would ever consider taking their SVX to a shop that doesn't know dick about SVX's.

Ok, easy enough. Thanks.

[oregondave]

Originally Posted by SoCal LS-L

Shaved the pads means they didnt do anything at all and just wanted to get rid of you.... Crappy shops do that.....

You can pull the wheel off and remove the pads, and use disc brake lube on the back of the brake pads...it cushions the vibration and should stop the squeal. Just dont get any on the pad surface. They might have also neglected to re-install the pad shims s well.... not vital but they also keep the pads from squealing. You can find new ones at a subaru prts retailer under brake hardware.

Thanks alot Chris. This sounds like something I should be able to do myself - maybe

[SoCal LS-L]

Originally Posted by oregondave

Thanks alot Chris. This sounds like something I should be able to do myself - maybe

Yeah no problem, the brake system on the SVX is very easy to work on.... once you get the wheel off you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy you can remove the pads. Any auto parts store will have the disc brake grease in little packets by the parts counter.... like 99 cents or so. Two should be plenty.

[oregondave]

you f'in rock dude! muchas gracias!

[kwren]

Originally Posted by oregondave

Portland folks avoid at all costs TYLERS automotive in Tigard. Of course IDK why anyone on this board would ever consider taking their SVX to a shop that doesn't know dick about SVX's.

Some of us do it all the time. We call them the " dealers"

Keith

Alignment is something I thought I needed to take to a dealer. Renton Washington Subaru has the equipment to do that... Some dealers don't. Right after I got my SVX I took the car to them to be sure it was aligned properly. It couldn't be aligned till they replaced the bad ball joints... $1,200.00. I bought a couple of new ones, not from them, went home jacked up the car and changed them myself. Cost $160 for both. Took a couple of hours to do the job but I only have a floor jack, probably all anyone would need!

Turns out that one had no wear at all and the other was insignificant. The boots were good too. The alignment was about $80, BUT, I could get a "lifetime warranty alignment for about $120.00.
I go for lifetime Guarantees a bit so I played their game. That was about 3 years ago****

a side note It is rare for any Subaru to need an alignment.

About ready to replace the tires a few months ago and thought I would take it back to Renton Subaru to play it safe. It was pulling to the right a little bit on the freeway in places and I had their "lifetime Warranty"!

Made the appointment and took it a in.
Got a free coffee and they were ready for me... they thought!!! At a glance, I am a pretty dumb looking old man. Almost 79 now and after my legacy was totaled, I walk a bit slow from the injuries. Called me over and shoved a $159.00 thingie in my face, saying I hadn't been in for some time and I needed a bit of stuff done. I explained to the jerk that I do everything myself and just needed one of my free alignments. He explained that the alignments were free with the lifetime warranty but for them to take a peek to see which way to turn the bolt, if needed, was $60.00. He shoving another thingie in my face that reaffirmed that fact!

My take on the situation actually drew a crowd.
They went along with me and there was "no charge"!!

They didn't have to realign it because the alignment was still "great", The frame was warped!

Of course it wasn't. Car was never in a major accident and getting a free rotation and balance from Costco got me good till I really needed new tires. They said my tires were still good for several thousand miles. A rare display of honesty in today's world.

Costco... no charge for the life of their tires.

Renton Subaru... THIEVES

Unless you actually knew me, you can't imagine how much fun I actually had with those Renton Subaru people. Probably not over yet... More fun may be on the way! I will get my $120.00 + sales tax back in small claims court.

Moral of the story... Most people on this form will not have the attention span to read this far. The good thing about that is that they can't get their feelings hurt because I didn't say it about any of the people that do read this far and the ones that don't won't even know I wrote that about them!!!

Don't you just love life's challenges!!

Keith

[essveeexxee]

10 characters.

[kwren]

A camera would have been nice!
I will put you on my list of attention folks!

So far, I have... let's see... that would be one!

It is a fun world.
Take care Mr or Mrs essveeexxee

Keith

[stiguy]

Originally Posted by kwren

A camera would have been nice!
I will put you on my list of attention folks!

So far, I have... let's see... that would be one!:

make that two!!