I replaced the brake pads and rotors last year. They immediately started squealing. I lived with this for about a year (car in storage over the winter). Anyhow, I got sick of it. A friend had helped me put the brakes on when I checked he had not put any anti-squeak compound on the pads during installation. So I removed the pads and added CRC Disk Brake Quiet anti-squeak compound. I also cleaned the rotors and pads. They were noise free for about a day. Now a week later they are baking to squealing whenever I apply the brakes. I used cermaic Hawk Performance brake pads. Yesterday the brakes started making a very low frequency hum as I pulled into parking spaces. I'm not sure what that is. They make no noise while I'm driving. First off, does anyone know how to stop the squealing? My pads have very little wear but I'm willing to replace them if that's what it takes. Is there a brand of pads you guys recommend? What about rotor brands and types? The calipers still look ok. As far as I can tell they are the original ones. I bought the car used with 2 years on it so not sure what the previous owner did. I have only replaced the brakes and pads one time.

 

[X(] aaahhhh the dreaded brake squeel. can be quite elusive and may take a bit of trial and error to solve. the reason brakes make noise is from two things harmonics(or movement) and metal to metal contact. the harmonics can come from rotor parallel or warp also from brake pad materials, ive also seen the quality of the cut on a freshly turned rotor produce some terrible harmonic problems(noises). the metal to metal contact for disc brakes is inevitable, the point where the piston from the caliper contacts the pad, the points where the pads are held into the caliper frame etc. so what we need to do is attempt to eliminate harmonics and then as a secondary measure make metal to metal contact points less likely to be noisy. this all starts with a fresh proper cut on the rotor including a unidirectional finish( there is some skill involved here, also at least my 95 z28 came with a composit rotor on the rear and these require special tools to cut properly so find a shop that knows what they're doing) next we go to the calipers be sure to disassemble the slides and lube with a synthetic disc brake lube (grease) this allows the caliper to back off the rotor when the brakes are released. look at the caliper and clean and lube with ANTI SEIZE any spots that come into contact with other metal parts(should see signs of wear in areas that have contact). next we move to the pads themselves. look at the old pads for the wear spots where they contacted the caliper(clean and ANTI SEIZE these spots) the reason i choose to use anti seize is that it allows the metal parts to slide across each othe rather that cause squeeling from metal to metal contact. I do not recommend the use of shims that are sometimes included with the pads for two reasons. one) they tend to create a slightly squishy feeling to the brakes and two) they create another area for metal to metal contact which we are trying to mitigate. ive also seen them dislodge and create more problems. I also really dont like or use ANY other disc brake quiet goop i feel they are a band aid for poor attention to some of the above processes. if youve ever seen some of these goops used youll notice they just squish out of the way after a couple miles and again leave a metal to metal surface. there are a rare few applications where i do use shims and these came about only after much trial and error. as for the pads i really loved the carbon metallic when they came out, they worked great and produced very few noise problems. the latest ,ceramic, is looking like the best option but i havent played with them in enough applications yet to be thouroughly sold on them. every pad material and rotor combination has the potential to produce or have different inherent niose or sounds especially during a short break in period. make no mistake after that they should be rather quiet unless something wasnt done with noise abatement in mind( think about it when was the last time you heard a new car make hideous brake noises). jack the car up and be sure the brakes do not drag at all. if the slides and calipers are working correctly there should be no friction applied to the rotor. a caliper that drags will cause dust,rust and noise problems. as for rotor or pad brands and types, i think it follows everything else that relates to cars you usually get what you pay for. the cheaper stuff uses inferior material and sloppier production. ive always been happier paying the extra dollars. anything else?? keep us posted on your progress kurt