hi sages-normally i wouldnt worry about this but since it drives modern american females cranky, i seek your advice . replaced front disc pads. notice that all the ones i have seen lately are metallic/composition. didnt they used to call that sintered metallic? the calipers are new and not dragging. the LF squeaks or whistles when the brakes are applied continuously, no loss of brake function. pads went in about 6 mos ago. did not cut rotors, looked clean and no gouges. wear indicator bar on pad was not scraping rotor. couldnt stop them from whistling. eventually replaced LF pads with a different set. squeaking no more. wondering what caused this. uncle moe says the pad material got hot,hit a cold water splash and became too hard which causes squeaking. dont think modern composition pads suffer from that disability. what do you think? RF doesnt whistle. thanks for your advice. bob f

Check to make sure anti-squeak shims and anti-squeak compound are correctly applied to the backs of the pads.

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hello dan- thanks for stepping into this mystery. actually both sets of LF pad had no shims but both had a raised padding on the back which was non removable and part of the unit. each instructed to not put that blue paste compound on the back as the integral shim would take care of the squeaking. i remember the old pads of yesteryear used tohave those separate thin metal shims that snapped on. what do you think - is it the hardening of the (like tempering) composition which causes this? again thanks tons bf

I hate metallic pads, precisely for this reason. My sister's PT cruiser's brakes, especially the rear ones, sound like they are grinding metal on metal all the time. We have taken it in to Chrysler dealers numerous times, and each time the service guys either (a) say it is normal, (b) say it goes away once the car warms up, or (c) deny any noise occurs. I once tried to get some old style organic pads for the cruiser but they weren't available.

The 1st generation Neons had the same issue with the front and rear. Sqeak and grind and make all sorts of nasty noises, which the dealerships called "normal". Oh well, that car died many years ago.

Organic pads have almost seem to have gone by the wayside. The only cars I have been able to get organics for are older Volvos. In fact, I cant even order semi-metallics or ceramic ones for those.

Merf...


~THOR~

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1984 D100 Shorty Custom
Certified Auto Appraiser - RevItUp Classic Appraisals
President - Cherry City Bombers CC
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

I just recently purchased some organic front disc brake pads from Kragen. Raybestos brand. They had them in stock.

Rockauto has them also.

hi sages- thanks for your advice. may order some from rock auto. where is kragens? also what should i expect in performance from the newly available organics? recall the old organics were quiet and effective but wore out more quickly. regards bob f

Checker/Schucks/Kragens

All the same store. If you have one of the three, they all should have access to these parts.

Far as my experience goes, nothing has changed. The Organics do wear out faster, but they aren't hideously expensive either. IIRC, the organics are cheaper than that semi-metallics, and are definitely cheaper than ceramics.

~THOR~

_________________
1984 D100 Shorty Custom
Certified Auto Appraiser - RevItUp Classic Appraisals
President - Cherry City Bombers CC
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

The organics wear out faster, but your rotors will last longer. Mine squeak a little on occasion, but not too loud. From my experience, the orange "anti-squeak" rubbery stuff just makes the squeaks worse (like really bad).

Putting grease on the back of the pads worked better for me. Just make sure you bend the tabs on the pads to fit tightly on the calipers and that will help also.