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Front brakes creak on Civic


92 5 oh

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This isn't necessarily an urgent issue, but more of an ongoing issue. I've done more brake jobs that I can count and have never had one fight me like this. The car is my girlfriends 2001 honda civic, for some time (several months) the brakes are making a creaking sound when under light brake pressure and lower speeds from the passenger side. So, going all the way back to the beginning...

1) brakes are in need of service, replace both rotors and pads
2) several days later a creak develops on the passenger side. I initially think the rotor is warped. They're brand new, but are the cheaper brand rotor so I pull off the rotor and exchange.
3) new rotor installed on passenger side. Noise gone for a few days, then returns.
4) swapped drivers side and passengers side rotor. noise gone for a few days and comes back on the passenger side. I ignore it for a while because i don't feel like working on it.
5) girlfriend threatens my life and tells me she's tired of listening to it. The noise remains only on the passenger side. The more I think about it, and talk with some people, I am starting to wonder if the rotors are just garbage since they were the cheapest ones available. I go to a different parts store, get their "best" brand which is different from the originals. Noise goes away for a few days and comes back.
6) Next I jack the car up, pull the wheels off, run a lug nut against the rotor so it is tight against the wheel hub and leave the brakes assembled so I can watch everything under light braking. I found that both sides have very slight amount of movement and the calipers do move a very little bit. In my experience it is no more movement than any other brakes I have looked at while they are in motion. Furthermore, the brake pedal and steering wheel has no shaking, vibration or any feedback when braking. Reassemble and need some time to think about this.
6) At this point I believe I have ruled out a warped rotor. I am leaning toward something related to the caliper. I was thinking maybe the grease I used to lube the caliper slides was drying up, getting too hot, or not compatible with the rubber busing on one of the slides. so I bought silicon caliper grease that is specifically for brakes, high heat and rubber. I also buy a new caliper parts kit which includes the rubber bushing on the slide and the rubber boot. I then thoroughly clean off the slides and the caliper. I found that the original rubber bushing on the caliper slide was much larger than the new one. I thought for sure this was causing the caliper not to slide freely and I found the fix. Reassemble, noise comes back after a few days.
7) Now I am really ticked off. Pull the passenger wheel and brakes off again to inspect. It can't be the caliper slides because they're greased so well and move so smooth that when I took the two 10mm caliper bolts off and slid the caliper out of the way, the two caliper slides gently slid out of the caliper on their own. I inspected the grease, the rubber bushing, all checked out. The slides moved very smoothly and effortlessly inside the caliper. Now I'm a loss, so i replace the anti rattle clips with new ones, even though the old ones did not look worn or have excessive build up on them. I actually wipe them down every time i remove the pads.
8) I pop in the new anti rattle clips, figured i'd throw a little caliper grease on them where the pad rides too. Reassemble everything. Noise is gone for about 3 weeks. It is just now starting to show up again.

I believe the noise has something to do with the pads sliding inside the anti rattle clips. I would seem that once the grease has been worn out in this area the noise returns. I'll admit that I haven't replaced the pads yet, I haven't been suspect of them until now and I'm getting tired of throwing money at this car and pulling the brakes apart for the noise to return. Before I go through the the brake removal process AGAIN and buy more parts I was hoping someone could chime in as to what they think. And if you've got a different suggestion I'm all ears. :icon_confused:


thanks!!
 
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martin

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Just a shot in the dark but check the ball joints.
 

adsm08

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My first thought on reading the title was the pads. A lot of aftermarket, and even some OEM pads make noises like that under those conditions. The Fusion is particularly bad for that. I would try OEM brake pads.

My second though, had after reading #5 is to just dump the girl friend, problem solved.
 

enjr44

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Had the same thing on an 02 ranger. It was the cheap pads. Put better pads on it and the noise went away.
 

Haywire6000

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My 93 does that after installing cheap pads. Thing is it's been doing it for a year( The pads are like new. ) But does does it on and off.
 

guitardude2007

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ive seen vechicles come in at work all the time with brake noises. without hearing the noise it would be hard for me to give you good info but if everything is lubed up (slider pins, ends of pads where they slide on the caliper) try sanding the edges of the pad material so they are more rounded and not a sharp edge sometimes that helps. also make sure that the pads slide freely in the caliper and that the hub is clean behind the rotor. some rust there can create a noise when the brake is applied
 

RevEric

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I agree on the cheap pads. Put in a better quality pad. (I like Centric Posi Quiet) Put Sil Glyde on the back of the pad.
 

AgPete139

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Any update on this?
 

92 5 oh

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Thanks for all the suggestions. No update at the moment, the noise has subsided until this morning. I'm going to call around today to check stock and figure out what i'm going to buy, but i'm leaning toward honda oem pads if the dealer has them in stock.
RevEric mentioned using Sil Glyde, this is what I've been using to lube the slides and contact points. If anyone's looking for a good grease for brakes, this stuff has worked very well for me so far, i would recommend it.
I'll post an update after some time passes and the new pads have some miles on them. Thanks again for the suggestions!
 

92 5 oh

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Figured i would post an update finally. The dealer was out of OEM pads, so I made a few calls and settled on some duralast gold ceramic max. they came with new anti rattle clips, silicone lube and rubber backed pads. right off the bat the fit in the anti rattle clips was tighter. applied the lube as suggested and haven't had a noise in almost 2 months.

thanks for all the help!
 

AgPete139

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Good to know.
 

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