2001 Silverado front brakes

nmatteson · June 21, 2013

We have a 2001 Silverado 1500 2wd that had squealing brakes. We ended up replacing the pads and rotors on both front wheels. It worked great the day we did them, no more chirping, but now, one day later, they seem to be squealing again and they seem to be getting very hot. Did we do something wrong? How do we know if we tightened the calipers too much or if they are sliding correctly? Should we just take the tires off and grease up the slider brackets and pins in the calipers? Any suggestions would be helpful! I'm just a girl trying to save alittle money and now I think I might have screwed them up HELP

Chris · June 21, 2013

Grease the pins, and torque them to the factory spec. If that doesnt do it, you may have a caliper piston hanging and dragging the pad.

nmatteson · June 22, 2013

Ok so we removed the pins in the caliper and greased them, then removed the caliper and pushed the pistons back in again. Put it all back together with the right torque. Is there suppose to be a slight scraping noise when you spin the tire? Sounds like the pads are rubbing the new rotor. Do they have to "break in" to each other?

brucelimerick · November 16, 2013

Disc pads always rub on the rotor. There are no springs to back them off as with drum brakes. Once you take your foot of the pedal they just relax and will touch slightly. The bearing hub will feel a little warm. If the piston is hanging the rotor can get cherry red and you can smell the pads getting out of the truck. It won't take long, a mile down the road will tell you.

One other thing with new rotors is they are sprayed with something so they don't rust in the box. You should always use brake cleaner to remove this crud or it will foul your pads. It will eventually burn off but it is better to remove it with a brake cleaner. Clean your hands after greasing the pins, pads don't like grease either.

MikeInCtown · November 16, 2013

Over time the caliper bracket will corrode/rust somewhat. The pads should be able to slide in the metal brackets easily, but not be loose. If you need a screwdriver to move them around, they are too tight and will hang up and the brakes will not work correctly. Make sure the boots mounted in the bracket are able to move in and out freely or else the caliper cannot slide back and forth. I always put some brake lube on the back of each pad where it would rub on the caliper, and also on the slides where the pads slide so there won't be rust.

What type of pads did you use? I buy the cmax pads from Autozone and they have never squealed, but they also have a backing material that keeps them from squeaking from rubbing the caliper.

Edited November 16, 2013 by MikeyZ