Stupid, annoying, squeaky brakes!

kstruckcountry · July 7, 2012

The brake pads on my truck have been ticking me off lately, they noisily drag at low speeds, and make a racket unless I put pressure on them. I'm gonna try some brakeleen, but if that doesn't work what kind of pads have you had good luck with? My current ones have about 90% left but I'm tired of the stupid things.

Carder09 · July 7, 2012

EBC brake pads. Anything ceramic I believe will not only keep the brakes quieter but also less brake dust. Over semi-mettalic pads.

2010LTZ4x4 · July 7, 2012

Have you tried " brake stop squeal" its either blue or clear paste that goes on the back side of the pad.

Doug_Scott · July 7, 2012

We used to call it "smurf shit". Noise is simply something moving/vibrating. If touching the brakes stops the noise, then the pads are moving in the caliper. Smurf shit will reduce the noise.

armyman22 · July 7, 2012

Not trying to highjack the thread but rather than starting a new one I would try hear first. Has anyone experienced brake squeal on the GMT900's?? This has been an ongoing thing for several months now and finally got around to checking them out today. My truck is an 08 with 24,000 miles and the brakes are nowhere near needing to be replaced. When I first hit the brake pedal, nothing, as I apply more pressure there seems to be a "sweet spot" or in this case a "bitter spot" where I get a loud squeal. If I continue to apply more pressure, the squeling stops. I figure my rear brakes had glazed over, being drums, so I removed the drums today, scuffed the shoes with a little sand paper, and adjusted the brakes. Put everything back on and still having the same issue. Any ideas??

Dale_K · July 8, 2012

I get a little squeal from the rear drums when I back the truck out of the driveway but nothing like what you're talking about. The fronts are completely quiet.

plunk77 · July 15, 2012

my rear drums had the same problem. I took it to a shop to have them look at it and they told me my e-brake was sticking. They adjusted it cleaned it and lubed it and i haven't had a problem since

kstruckcountry · July 15, 2012

I've never had issues with the rear. Just the front, I think they don't like the dust.

Knowklew · July 15, 2012

From experience with various cars I have found that ceramic pads do NOT work as well as semi metallic.

I only use semi-metallic pads when I do brakes for myself and family members now.

With that being said, in order to keep the semi metallic pads quiet I use brake quiet, its a red goop that goes on the back of the pad between the little metal cover and the pad itself.

Z45 · July 16, 2012

Try braking hard several times. This might remove any glazing on the pads. If that does not do it you may have to remove the pads and wet sand them with brake cleaner (keep from making hazardous dust) and file the leading edge to prevent the pad from digging into the rotor. I heard a expert brake tech recommend this once.

NOTE - Wear nitrile gloves when doing the wet sanding.

PS-Brakes are one part of vehicle I always let professionals service and a professional recommended this to me many years ago.

Beer Belly · July 20, 2012

My buddy had a GMC Van that had a bad squeal from the rear shoes....dealer said it was normal, and to come in every 5,000 miles to have them cleaned....he sold the van, and the dealer is now out of business. I had my rear shoes done about 5,000 miles ago, and guess what......annoying freakin' squeal......next oil change I'll see what they reccomend.

CapitalTruck · July 21, 2012

On the GMT-800's, if mine is any example, I have found that the caliper pins really need to be lubed well from time to time. Especially in the rear. Mine actually got ridges in them after a while and I had to get new ones. When I grease the smit out of them I have no noise. I was having the same thing as you (squeeking when not applying). Try greasing the bejeebus out of your caliper pins and see if it doesn't go away. Use caliper grease.

kstruckcountry · July 21, 2012

I think I'm gonna try greasing, then wet sanding as well.

CapitalTruck · August 17, 2012

Did this solve your problem? I had to do my rears today. Look at the pics to see what I mean. This might be more applicable to the 99-04's wth the rear disc brakes (I've never had the problem with the front brakes. You can see the scoring and heat discoloration from the metal to metal contact. This is after I wiped them off good (there was some lube left on there after I took them out of the calipers). I've already replaced them once over the course of the life of the truck. (164k miles)

kstruckcountry · August 17, 2012

My rear drums are still quiet as ever. I helped the dragging squeak on the front ones some by nailing the brakes a few times going 60 to a stop, which I don't normally do. Mechanic told me a lot of times they get a glaze and that can help take some off. I've decided not to spend any major time on the pads, I'm going to wear them out and then get a nice pair. I may try some anti squeak stuff on the backside too and see if that helps next time I change the oil.