Yet Another Post On Brakes

[jzeyer]

So, I bought a used 2007 4Runner which had a few rattles in the wheels. I did a brake job and replaced all of the pads, clips and related hardware. Everything was lubed properly when reassembled. The rotors were checked and appeared OK.

A couple of weeks later, I am noticing a strange metallic rubbing noise coming from the rear-passenger side when applying the brakes moderately. If I'm just slowing a little, I don't hear it. I have removed the wheel and caliper, reinstalled the brake pads and verified the assembly and everything looks OK. After reassembling it, the noise went away for about 1.5 days. Now, it is back. I thought it might be a sticking caliper. But, I would hear it constantly or at least for a little while after taking my foot off the brake pedal. There is no discernable stopping issue - just the noise.

Any thoughts as to how to diagnose what in the world is up with this? I've done my fair share of brake jobs. I don't think I missed anything obvious. But, anything is possible! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I did do some searches here on the forums and found reports of clunks, squeals and such. But, this is definitely a rubbing sound.

 

[Bigshankhank]

When was the last time the brake fluid was completely flushed and replaced?

 

[pearlj10]

Definitely no expert, but could it possibly be a poorly adjusted parking brake shoe? Maybe back the star off a bit and see if the metallic rubbing noise is alleviated? Good luck, sounds annoying.

When was the last time the brake fluid was completely flushed and replaced?

 

[jonesmw10]

Is there anything in the inside of the rotor making contact with the parking brake shoes? That's what I'd lean towards, as well as a possible adjustment as mentioned. Have you tried setting the parking brake and releasing, then driving to see if it makes a difference?

 

[fdbyrne]

Was the noise there before you replaced the pads? If the noise is new then it probably has something to do with what you did while changing the brake pads and since you didn't actually remove the rear rotors I doubt it's the parking brake. If you didn't remove the rear rotor you wouldn't have had to make any adjustment to the parking brake and the clearance between the brake shoes and the drum likely haven't changed.

It may actually be the caliper. It might also just be the new pads seating and breaking in. I've had brakes make strange sounds for the first few weeks after being replaced. I'd give it a little time and see if it gets worse. If it doesn't get any better, my next move would be to swap out the caliper and change out the brake fluid while I'm in there. The fluid likely has nothing to do with what you're experiencing but you may as well go ahead and do it if you're swapping out a caliper.

 

[jzeyer]

fdbyrne - The noise was not there prior to changing the pads and hardware. So, I would agree that it is probably something I did. I just can't imagine what that would be. Especially since there is no problem with the other three. I did read elsewhere that someone else had a problem with the caliper slides not seating properly and it was causing the caliper to push out and rub lightly on the wheel. This sounds like the noise I am hearing. I'm going to pull the wheel and see if I can see anything rubbing on the inside of the rim. I'm also thinking that maybe I didn't seat the retaining clips and/or the wear indicator properly.

If all of that checks out. Then, I believe you may be correct and it's time to get a little more drastic and replace/rebuild a caliper.