I have a problem with my newly-installed brakes. They "chirp" as I drive, no matter what the speed, no matter if I have my foot on the brake pedal or not, during hard braking or soft... it doesn't matter; it never goes away.

I recently had a shop (not a MINI dealership), install the following parts for me:

• ATE PremiumOne slotted rotors from Helix (Fr/R)
• Mintex Redbox street pads (Fr/R)
• Helix Stainless Steel braided brake lines (Fr/R)
• TyrolSport brake caliper stiffening kit (Fr/R)
• ATE Super Blue brake fluid
• Stock MINI brake pad wear sensors (Fr/R)






I followed instructions I read on NAM for bedding them in, (three separate times), but the chirping is now actually getting even more pronounced as I drive it to work every day.

It sounds like the pads chirp as the slots on the rotors contact them. It is really annoying to drive with the windows down, through a city or village with building close to the street, because you really hear the chirping reflecting back!

Will this eventually go away? Should I take it back to my shop? Should I try another bedding session, but be even more aggressive with them?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

It may be the pads. I have mintex red box pads in the back and they squeak a little at low speeds. I don't think they need much bedding in and it is possible that you may have glazed them if you did a really aggressive bed in. Or it may be that the rotors are just not worn in enough yet.

How are you bedding them in?

 

I used Stoptech's instructions for street bedding-in: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedinstock.shtml

 

That sounds extremely aggressive for those pads. Every pad has it's own bed in requirements. Some barely require any. If you are using a pad that can't withstand extreme temperatures, then bedding in that much can glaze the pad or even decintigrate it.

Try doing a few sets of 3 of those stops, not allowing the pads to get to such a high temp. That will wear down the pad a rotor a little without glazing the pad. I was a little overaggressive with my bedin for my pads. I have carbotech bobcats up front and mintex reds in the back. After the bedin, the front ones got a crapload better and the rear started spueaking a lot. The squeaking has gotten a bit better with some wear, so I think I just glazed the surface of the pad a bit.

 

Did the shop put anti squeal lube on the back of the pads I wonder?

Do they squeal continuously, or chirp periodically like once per rev of the wheel? If once per rev, I'd wonder if the rotor is true, or mounted flush, caliper mounted true... etc. I had one brake do that and found a hairline crack in the rotor between the disk and the 'hat'.

 

It is all four rotors that chirp. It is definitely a pad/rotor issue, since it happens at all times.

I am now wondering if I did glaze the pads by being too aggressive with the bed-in process. The car stops very quickly, so I know the pads are biting very well, but perhaps they just need to be worn down a bit more, to get the glazing off, if that is the case.

 

I'm thinking it may be a rear inboard pad that isn't snapped into the metal clip on the caliper. I helped a friend install some rear pads & ran into that issue. That would be the first thing I'd check.

 

Hmmm... I'll check that out.

Thanks.

 

Definitely a possibility. Check the outer springs as well.

 

Are these 3 clips on the back of the inboard brake pad what you mean? The ones that clip onto the piston?





Or this main clip on the outside of the rear calipers?



Thank you, Octane Guy! I'm borrowing your great photos, hope you don't mind!

 

Yes those are the ones in the top picture.

We didn't get that seated correctly over the piston & we had singing brakes until they were put in correctly by my friend.

 

Hmmm, (he says again). I wish there was a way to know that was the problem easily, without having to take the wheels off, and disassembling the brakes...

 

UPDATE: I took the car back to the shop today, and told them that I thought the problem is that the rear inboard pads were not attached to the pistons with the clips on the back of the pad, as you suggested, Crashton.

I'm leaving to go pick it up now, but they told me that indeed the rear inboard pads were not installed correctly onto the pistons. So, it seems like your suggestion was a great one!

Now to see if A.) the problem is truly fixed, and B.) if they're going to charge me for the work to fix them.

I cannot imagine them charging me for this, since it was a faulty installation job originally. They had better not!

I'll post here tomorrow, to let you all know how it goes.

But in the meantime, thanks so much for the great suggestion, Crashton, and to Dr. O, for those very descriptive photographs on his thread about replacing the brakes. Those were helpful to my mechanic, he said.

NAM can be a good thing.

 

I'm glad they found out the cause. IMO the loose rear pads is an easy trap to fall into. Especially if they've never done them before. Heck no they aren't going to charge you.

 

I notice you are using metal guide pin bushings. They can also cause a chirp if they are not properly lubed up. And you have to clean and relube them every 3-5k miles to keep them quiet and working properly.

 

I think I have to disagree with that 3-5K miles figure. I have them & I've gone 12,000 miles with no noises. When I have the brakes apart yep I lube them, but certainly not as often as 3-5K.

PS Welcome to NAM.

 

Thanks for the welcome. Long time reader, 1st time poster.

 

I tend to do it every time I rotate my tires. I think the winter driving conditions can cause them to foul up sooner.??

 

Yes I agree after a winter cleaning & lubing the pins is a very good idea. Also make sure you use a good high temp lube. I use CRC disc brake grease.

 

GOOD NEWS: consider this issue solved! (knocking on wood).

I may be jinxing myself to say that so soon, but I think I'm in the clear now. The shop DID NOT charge me, (nor should they have charged me), and the brakes were nice and quiet (normal!) on the ride home; NO CHIRPING!

As I said, the shop found that indeed, the rear inside pads had not been installed properly. They needed to be clipped onto the piston with those three metal wires on the back of each pad. When they were installed, they were simply pushed up into the caliper, leaving them in essence "loose" and a bit free-floating. When the piston pressed on those pads, the wires would get in the way, and not distribute the pressure evenly, causing the pad to vibrate on the rotor, which emitted a chirping noise.
It sucked.

But now, everything is installed properly, and I am so happy.

I've said it before, but I'll state it again: I am really glad that I found out the exact problem so quickly and easily, thanks to you guys here on NAM.

If it weren't for Crashton, and Dr. O's extensive-to-the-point-of-being-****-in-a-good-way write-up on replacing brake pads, then I'd still be scratching my head, and getting more and more frustrated and stressed out.

You can't hear it, but I applaud you guys. Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Jon
(a.k.a. jonnieoh)

 

Jon the only reason I had a clue was because I was down that same road before. Enjoy your new brakes.

Motor on.