Issues with Hawk LTS pads? Something else?

[Mossyoakglock]

I am getting an occasional constant squeak from my front brakes. It doesn't happen all the time and is usually present between 20-45 mph. I'm also getting squeal towards the end of my stop on slow speed stops. A little background:

 

Replaced OEM pads/rotors with Hawk LTS/Powerslot Slotted rotors about a month and a half ago. For the first week they were completely quiet. Then I started getting the squeaking from front left. Checked front left caliper and it looked like one of the pistons was sticking. Replaced caliper. Found out master cylinder was leaking. Replaced that. Took it to dealer and they computer bled the brakes so there is no air.

 

I am still getting the intermittent squeaking. I relubed the slide pins this weekend but that didn't help. There was plenty of grease on all contact points as well.

 

Even though the pads have shims already installed, should I put some of the red disc brake quiet on the back of the pads or not? It looked like there was something like that on the origional pads.

 

I'm going to get my alignment done this weekend and they always do a brake check while it's on the lift. I'll have them check it and listen for the noise when they drive it. Autoanything needs a diagnosis from a shop before they can warranty anything.

[Jennabear]

Did you follow the proper break in?

 

Sent from a jelly bean.

 

 

[Carder09]

Keep an eye on those rotors, my power trash rotors didn't last a full year. Mine started squealing and shaking so I looked the rotors over and found hair line cracks all over them where the drilled holes are.

[Mossyoakglock]

Yes. Pads and rotors were bedded in properly according to Hawk's website. I did that twice. Should I try bedding them again? I'm not sure if there is a glaze but if there is a will sand them down. What grit sanding block do I need to use?

 

 

I don't have drilled rotors, just slotted.

 

Forgot to also mention that the truck tracks straight and stops straight as an arrow when braking.

[music]

Was there a problem with your OEM rotors? I have ~50k miles on my stock rotors/pads/drums, a good bit of which has been towing a heavy camper... and I'm ~50% worn, with zero issues. Hard to beat that, imho.

[Daryl LBZ]

Was there a problem with your OEM rotors? I have ~50k miles on my stock rotors/pads/drums, a good bit of which has been towing a heavy camper... and I'm ~50% worn, with zero issues. Hard to beat that, imho.

 

My last truck's rotors were warped around 12,000 miles, but this truck has 16,000 on it with no brake problems at all. My wife's rotors on her Cruze have been warped since around the same 12,000 mile mark. Neither of us abuse the brakes unless we have to. It's like GM's brakes are hit or miss.

[Mossyoakglock]

My last truck's rotors were warped around 12,000 miles, but this truck has 16,000 on it with no brake problems at all. My wife's rotors on her Cruze have been warped since around the same 12,000 mile mark. Neither if us abuse the brakes unless we have to. It's like GM's brakes are hit or miss.

 

Same here. Mine were warped probably around 10,000 miles or so.

[music]

Well, that's a bummer.

[Daryl LBZ]

Same here. Mine were warped probably around 10,000 miles or so.

 

 

Wow that's just pathetic to be warped that soon. My parents Monte Carlo has warped rotors on it too, but I think they lasted a while longer at around 40,000 or so miles.

[Mossyoakglock]

They weren't horrible, but you could still feel it. That seems to be pretty common on the GMT-900 trucks too.

 

Now I just got to stop this squealing on the new pads. The brake performance is good but not to happy about the noise. I'm going to sand the rotors in the next day or so and rebed them and see if that helps. What grit sandpaper should I use when sanding the rotors?

[Mossyoakglock]

Went out at lunch and snapped a picture of the rotor. It's a cell phone picture and I park in a parking garage so the quality and lighting isn't great.

 

The rotors in person don't look to be glazed/polished that bad. They don't look any different that what my factory ones looked like. They are silky smooth to the touch though.

[Mossyoakglock]

Well I thought I got lucky yesterday. On the drive home it did not do the squeal one bit. Got in the truck this morning and it was quiet until I got off the interstate. I turned off the off ramp and had to hit my brakes pretty hard to stop at a light that changed quick and when I started driving again, the started the squealing at about 20 mph all the way up to about 50.

 

Could it be the pads sticking and not sliding properly? It sounds like it is coming from the left side, which is the caliper that I replaced. I don't think it's the caliper sticking because it doesn't do it all the time. Plus it doesn't pull when driving or stopping and I can freely spin the wheel with it up in the air.

 

I want to get this taken care of because quite frankly it's really upsetting that I spent as much as I did on these and they squeal.

[Wolfmanjohn]

Maybe a little off topic and paranoid here, but after stopping (especially if it was a hard one), I maintain the lightest possible pressure on the brake pedal to keep the vehicle still, but ~every 10 seconds I'll roll it about a foot so the pads will be clamping onto a different and cooler section of rotor. My one brain cell imagines that this practice will reduce extended heat and gas trap on any one spot of the rotor, thus hopefully reducing the incidence of warpage. This little practice goes back to my Camaro/Corvette days where use of paper thin rotors was all part of the scheme to keep unsprung weight to a minimum. It seems to have worked for me so far. Of course, stopping far enough back of the vehicle in front of me is necessary to do this.

 

Drives some of my passengers nuts, but breaks a lull in conversation when I explain the why and wherefore to them.