brake squeak

dukbludvl · June 2, 2003

In the past 500 miles, I have noticed that my brakes squeak sometimes -- it's high pitched and usualy stops if I really stomp on them. Does this mean I need new pads, or could something else be wrong? I have about 50K miles on it now.

Thanks for your help.

Jon

tmf6902 · June 2, 2003

I would think that if you had 50K miles on the pads, it's probably time for some new ones.

woyster_00z71 · June 2, 2003

Not necessarily. I'm not a brake expert by any means but my Silverado was squeaking recently. I decided to do a front brake job to see if that would help the squeaking but more noticeable was the pulsations of warped rotors. Anyway, there was just about as much pad left on the old pads as on the new pads I just put on and this was at 72,000 miles...and the rotors had never been removed and everything looked like they were still the original pads. In any case, turning the rotors seemed to help both the pulsation and the squeaking.

B.J.

seadoons · June 2, 2003

Squeaking doesn't mean that it's time for a brake job. I have 38k miles on mine, and they squeak too. I took it into the dealer while still under warranty, and they said that the I probably have another 30-40 thousand miles on the pads...he said GM uses awesome pads and they don't wear out. I pull a boat, so I was suprised. I told him I didn't like the squeaking and why it does it, he said that there was a little "glazing" on the rotors...probably from a time when I got on the brakes real hard. In order to sand this glaze off, you need to replace the pads too, so I just decided to live with the squeaks.

dukbludvl · June 2, 2003

is it difficult to turn the rotors? do i need to replace the pads at the time that I turn the rotors?

dukbludvl · June 2, 2003

is it difficult to turn the rotors? do i need to replace the pads at the time that I turn the rotors?

woyster_00z71 · June 2, 2003

Not hard at all to turn the rotors. I took mine to Pep Boys and they were done in an hour (free too...normally about $8 each). Yes, when you resurface the rotors it is best to change the pads as well. However, you can change pads and not turn the rotors.

B.J.

WEFs99 · June 2, 2003

I wouldn't resurface rotors unless the pulsation is minimal and it won't take much off to get rid of the pulsation. Chances are it will warp faster after material is removed.

dukbludvl · June 2, 2003

is resurfacing the rotors and turning the rotors the same thing? sorry... novice on brakes.

WEFs99 · June 2, 2003

Yes, it is the same thing. If you are hard on your brakes or tow a lot I would not have rotors turned. Rotors get screwed up when the pads wear down to metal and dig grooves into the rotor or it is heated so high it warps. Autozone has rotors cheaper than GM wholesale. Squeaking brakes can just be the type of pad. If it is designed for HD use it will have a lot of metal in it to wear longer and metal to metal squeaks. Hard pads wear rotors, nothing is free. Don't forget that the wear indicator on the pad squeaks when the pad wears down.

k1500chevy97 · June 3, 2003

places aound here do free brake checks .

They will tell you if you need new pads, rotors or both or you just might need the rotors turned .

I went through brakes on my 97 about every 25k miles currently have a shade under 10k on this set .

WEFs99 · June 3, 2003

The problem with having someone do the checking for you is they are feeling out what they can fix. If you're female the problem is extreme. My friend got the 20 point safety check with her oil change and they said she needed her back brakes CLEANED for $64.50! I saw it in writing....cleaned. What she did need was to operate her parking brake a few times to adjust the shoes.