Dumb question - brake 'squonk'

Hi all, my '96 SW2 brakes (?) are suddenly giving a short low-pitched
'squonk' right before stop, when I would expect a longer high pitched squeak
(I know it's probably time for service). It's pretty loud too, has been
since the beginning about a week ago. And I can't tell where it's coming
from.

My pal suggested this could be some kind of suspension problem or
something more serious. Can anybody shed any light on this before I spring
for the brake job? Thanks for any help!

 

How much is left on the pads? Are they equally worn (inner and outer)? What
is the surface condition on the rotors?
Often you can make a short term improvement by lightly sanding the rotor
faces with a fine grit. When the surface gets glazed, it is more likely to
make noises against the pads. You can also apply a Hight temp silicone
grease (sparingly) between the back of the pads and the pistons. I use this
grease to lube the pad, calliper sliding points to keep things from binding.
Makes them pretty quiet too. (Obviously *don't* get grease on any of the
friction surfaces)

Take a closer look and also check if anything appears loose. the sound you
are hearing is a 'stick-slip' between the pad and the rotor. the higher the
frequency, the tighter everything is - lower / looser.

 

Oppie gave good advice.

The bottom line here is that you need to do a physical inspection to
determine the cause of the noise. If the brake pad material is worn down to
the backing plate then the sooner you do this the better the chance you can
salvage the rotors.

Also next time I'd encourage that you post the mileage on the vehicle and
the time/miles since the brakes were serviced since this might get you more
informed answers.

Good luck.

Bob

 

Why, Thank-you. We Bobs gotta stick together...
Oppie (aka Bob Oppenheimer)

 

Thanks, guys, I'll do that next time. The mileage is about 120k, and I
bought the vehicle less than a year ago and don't have the service history.
When I was trying to identify a noise earlier that turned out to be a tire
bump, I got a brake estimate that said I would soon need to replace pads and
rotors, so I already knew I probably need service and that was coming up in
a couple months. I was trying to find out if I was suddenly in even more
trouble of an unknown sort.

Thanks again for all your help, I'll be moving the brake work up to ASAP
status. -cmb