my front brakes squeal like a school bus

[4bangr]

when i'm rolling in reverse, down the driveway (really anytime in reverse) it's so loud; squeals like a garbage truck coming to a stop. otherwise, moving forward, never hear a sound, just great braking.
i did the tacoma brake upgrade, so it has new callihan pads and rotors, maybe one year old.
my driveway has a downward slope, and i can't sneak out of my garage anymore... haha

it seems like it's just the passenger side too.

 

[AntleredRuin]

That sounds more like a u-joint, not the brakes.
The brakes should squeal anytime, forwards or backwards (depending on how hard you brake, condensation, etc).

The u-joints are at slightly different angles when going forwards or backwards, so they might squeal one way and not the other.

I had an extremely loud squeal in reverse a few months back that was my rearmost u-joint. I could have sworn it was my passenger side brakes too, until I had my wife drive back and forth with me on the ground listening.

 

[4bangr]

That sounds more like a u-joint, not the brakes.
The brakes should squeal anytime, forwards or backwards (depending on how hard you brake, condensation, etc).

The u-joints are at slightly different angles when going forwards or backwards, so they might squeal one way and not the other.

I had an extremely loud squeal in reverse a few months back that was my rearmost u-joint. I could have sworn it was my passenger side brakes too, until I had my wife drive back and forth with me on the ground listening.

thanks for the reply, i've both convinced myself it's in the front and don't believe it's a brake problem at the same time. i sure wouldn't have thought of the u-joint. i think we're having some decent weather this weekend, i'll have a look underneath.

 

[turbo8]

Use the e-brake to see if it is the front or rear brakes squealing, if the brakes are the culprit.

 

[jbeebe]

Simplest things first:

Take the wheel off and check the pads, be sure they have plenty of meat left and that they are intact. Take the 20min to check, even though it's a pain in the butt.

 

[AntleredRuin]

thanks for the reply, i've both convinced myself it's in the front and don't believe it's a brake problem at the same time. i sure wouldn't have thought of the u-joint. i think we're having some decent weather this weekend, i'll have a look underneath.

I did not notice any play in mine (the traditional symptom of a failed u-joint). In fact, it was so tight that it barely moved by hand. I couldn't tell until I remove the driveshaft.

Is it 4wd?
If so, an easy(ish) way to check is to remove the driveshafts and test drive.
Remove the rear driveshaft, then stick it in 4wd so it just uses the front driveshaft. If squealing is gone, then there you go.
The same for the front driveshaft. Remove it, and drive around in 2wd.

 

[4bangr]

i have tried applying only the e-brake coming out of the garage, and no noise with that.

the pads are new, maybe 1k miles on them.

at lunch, i drove in reverse down the street - no brakes, no squeal.