[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Brake noises in '80 528i

Several weeks ago, I put new brake pads on my '80 528i. These are not the 
expensive racing brake pads many of you use. These are also not the 
reasonably-priced brake pads that others have mentioned. These brake pads 
came from Crazy Juan's Brake-o-rama, and were priced accordingly.

They squeal. No big problem, really, but they squeal. At least, not a 
problem, until they began to warble, grind, and clunk, which they do when 
I stop the car, which I do a lot.

This is not a healthy warbling and clunking. This started pretty swiftly, 
and it may not in fact be the pads. I've removed the wheels and looked, 
and nothing seemed out of place. I was in a hurry, so I didn't have time 
to remove the calipers or the pads themselves, but there were no obvious 
chunks of brake pad material falling out, and no right-angle bends in the 
rotors. The car still stops, but it sounds like something's breaking when 
I stop. 

Note that there is no untoward vibration on braking, just really 
expensive-sounding noise. 

Also note that this is a vehicle with a completely unknown maintenence 
history, so for all I know, the previous owner booby-trapped the brake 
calipers.

Any advice, tips, or admonitions for buying cheap crap would be very much 
appreciated, as I intend to start disassembling things and beating on 
them with a large hammer tomorrow.

Thanks,

Eric Adair