My front rotors were pretty warped. My pads were almost brand new since I do moslty highway driving.

So 2 weeks ago I had the rotors resurfaced... I took the pads off and sanded them down with some 220 grit sand paper.

Everything was great. No vibrations, no squeaks.

Fast forward to this week....The brakes are squeaking. Mainly from the front DRIVERS side.

1) When the truck is rolling, there is a very faint squeak. It sounds like there is a high spot on the rotors beacasue the squeak doesn't run throughout the entire rotation, just a certain spot.

2) If I press the brakes softly the sound gets louder. But if I brake NORMAL, there is NO sound at all.

It's just happening if I brake slowly or am cruising at a low speed. 20 miles or less.

Last night I took the pads off, sanded them down again. Checked the rotors for anything unusual. Put everything back together to the exact Toyota specs and torques.

There was no sound at all. Everything was great until I made it to work this morning. I have a 45 mile drive. By the time I got to work it was making all the same noises in the parking lot of my job.

At lunch it started very queitly, and then it worked it's loudness up. So the heat must be doing something.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong...? Here are some ideas...

1) The rotors were not turned successfully, and there is a high spot on one of the rotors.

2) I should have replaced the pads even though they had a lot of meat on them.

3) Added more anti-squeal silicon to the anti-vibration shield on the outside of the pad. It still had some fresh silicon in there.

4) The caliper is bad and not fully releasing? It some how went bad two weeks after turning my rotors?


I really don't know what else to do? I don't want to spend $179 at Toyota. That's 2 tanks of gas nowadays.

If there is anyone that could help me out, I'd really appreciate it. The squeal is pretty annoying when it gets to it's loudest point.

Thanks in advance!

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If there is a high spot on the rotors, you should noticed a pulsation when braking...almost the same feeling you get with warped rotors. After all, warped rotors have high spots/low spots, which is what causes the pulsation in your brake pedal in the first place.

It sounds like you did everything right, but did you check to see if you had any seized pistons in the calipers? From what I have heard, the 4th gen calipers are known to seize pistons, especially the earlier years. If I were you, I'd start from there.

What's the best way to check for that?

Take off the calipers, remove the pads, and see if you can move the pistons. If there's a piston that refuses to move at all, it is most likely seized.

Here's my dumb question of the day.

What's the easiet way to press down the piston? It's not something you can do with your hands right?

There is a tool that you can buy for a few bucks at any auto parts store that is made to push the pistons back. Or you can carefully use a pair of Channel Lock pliers, but if you decide to do that, make sure you don't pinch/rip the rubber boot on the piston.

I use C-clamps while the pad is still in the caliper and clamp them down by the tabs that the pins go through on the backing plate of the pads. You might need to hold clamp while you tighten it down to prevent the clamp from popping off since it's at an angle.

Do you have the anti rattle/squeal components? There is a spring that holds the pads against the pistons and some shims that fit between the pistons and the pads.

I do have the anti-squeal components.

Actually when I take everything apart tonight I'm going to check to see if the caliper collapses, and I'm going to add anti-squeal lubricant to the inside shim, and anti-squeal spray to the outside shim.

Hopefully one of this may make a difference.


Someone told me that I was supposed to "set" the pads after I sanded them down.

Do you or someone knows what that means?

You may also want to check disc run out with a dial indicator. That spring should keep the pads away from the disk. Also check that the pads move freely on the pins. Not sure what setting means but since you sanded them they will have to wear in to the disc, That may be what was meant.

Yeah, probably a reference to "bedding" the pads. Just to a quick web search on bedding pads and you'll find plenty of information and procedures. Bedding pads is more important for racing applications, but some people swear that you should do it on any new brake/rotor application.

Are they Toyota pads?

Drive on dirt roads, or sandy areas?

Nope. No dirty roads and such.

UPDATE:

1) Took the pads off.

2) Cleaned the anti-squeal plates and back of the pads.

3) Used new anti-squeal silicone on the anti squeal plates.

4) Used new Anti-rattle spray on the back of the anti-squeal plate (Section that comes in contact with piston).

5) Sanded down the pads.

6) Torqued everything to spec.

AND... I had no squeals for the last week and a half.


THEN...it started again.

NOW it's right back to where we started. All the squeals are back. The only thing I can imagine is that the piston is bad.

I've pretty much given up on doing this myself. I'm just going to take it into Just Brakes tomorrow or Tuesday and let them deal with it.

If the piston is bad, I really don't want the headache of bleeding the brake to replace the caliper (Athough they are pretty inexpensive at Advance Auto or Rock Auto).

All the auto parts stores advertise calipers for 16" wheels and 17" wheels.

Now I have SR5, but my SR5 came stock with the LIMITED 17" wheels from the dealership.

Which one do I need? the calipers for the 17" wheels, or the 16" wheels?

Don't assume you have a bad caliper. If the pads are wearing evenly then your calipers are probably fine. Take the wheel off, and try to gently pry the brake pad away from the rotor if it easily retracts then your calipers are fine.

Still didn't say what brand the pads are?

Also, I'm not familiar with "Just brakes", but try to avoid those cheap brake chains.....they use the cheapest parts possible.......

You may have the seized lower piston problem and the only cure for that is new calipers.