Brake Squeal

[Duane Collie <drcollie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: Brandon Ong <ong2jr@domain.elided>
>Subject: E36 Brake Squeak
>
>        About 3000km ago, I got the front brake rotors and brake pads of my
>95' 320i Cabrio replaced by the BMW dealership.  Since then, the front
>brakes have been squeaking.  Sounds terribly annoying.  Brought it back to
>the dealership to rectify the problem, they told me it may take up to 5000
>km to run-in the new brake rotors. 

Brandon,

They are shoveling this crap at you in spades.  5,000 km to 'break in the
rotors'? Gimme a braak <pun intended>. They are 'stonewalling' you hoping
you'll simply go away.

Brake squeal is caused by one thing and one thing only.  The pads
themselves are vibrating within the caliper brackets when you apply the
brakes.  This is a very common occurence and the # 1 cause of returns for
brake jobs.

There are several ways to cure this.  First off, most BMW pads come with
anti-rattle/squeal shims that are attached to the backside of the pad.  Did
your dealer use OEM parts or aftermarket pads?  It the latter, you can
either goop a bit of anti-squeal on the back of the outboard pad (requires
removing the caliper) or have the mechanics put a champer on the leading
and trailing edges of the pads.  There are also some teflon pads on the
aftermarket that you can install on the backside of pads.

Don't live with the squeal...make 'em fix it.

Duane Collie
BFKAB





 

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