Reasons Why Your Brakes Are Squeaking

Reasons Why Your Brakes Are Squeaking. It’s a well-known fact that squeaky car brakes are not only annoying to hear and see, but they’re also dangerous. The squeaking sound indicates that the brake pads are too close to the rotors, which can cause a lot of wear.

If you don’t deal with this issue as soon as you start hearing your brakes make noise, chances are your rotors will develop grooves or, worse cases, cracks and may need replacement. And still worse, if this problem goes unrepaired for too long, the brake system will eventually seize up because of the excess heat caused by friction between the pads and rotors.

Before you decide to visit a car repair workshop, read on to know more about car brakes! Read on – Reasons Why Your Brakes Are Squeaking:

Reasons why your brakes are squeaking and how to fix the problem:

1. The Brake Pads are Worn Out

If your brakes are squeaking and you’ve checked the wheels to make sure they’re properly aligned and balanced, the next thing to check is your brake pads.

When you press down on it from behind, it’s time to change your brake pads if there’s a good amount of friction between the brake pad and the rotor. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about disc or drum brakes here, so feel free to replace both. Ask for help from a family member or a friendly car mechanic if you need help removing them; there are some steps on how to do this in this article.

2. The Brake Pads are Getting Dirty

Another reason why your brakes are making noise is that they’re getting dirty. If you can see light dust on the brake pads, they’re worn out. If you don’t notice this, it may be time to change them.

The best way to check for this issue is by putting some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and wiping down the brake pad area. You can also get some brake cleaner for pretty cheap at car parts stores, spray it on a rag and wipe down the same area again. If it doesn’t help soon, most likely, you should get your brakes replaced.

3. The Brake Pads are Damaged

If you want an easy check on your brake pads, use a pen or another pointed object in place of the rag and press down on the brake pad. If the brakes squeal, there’s a hole in the pad.

This happens a lot more often than people realize. Luckily, this is very simple to fix as well. Bend the brake pad back, so it hooks back into place, and then put heat-shrink tubing on top of the offending spot to prevent further damage and leaks.

4. The Brake Pads Are Too Close to the Rotor

Another thing that causes a lot of brake noise is too much pressure. This happens because the brake pads are very close to the rotors, which puts a lot of force on them and vibrates them violently against the rotor.

You’ll want to get some new brake pads from your parts store to fix this. They’re even more significant than stock, so they’ll add extra friction, which will make your car feel much better on stops and final turns on your vehicles.

5. The Brake Pads Are Too Tight

If the brakes are making a loud noise and you’re sure there’s no hole in the brake pad, the most common reason is that you have too much pressure on them. It’s easy to fix this by removing your rotors, usually held on with bolts or screws, and then gently loosening the nuts and bolts holding the brakes together.

6. The Brake Shoes Are Too Tall

Next, you should check if there’s any play in your brake shoes. This means that one shoe is loose when the other is tight and vice versa.

To fix this problem, you’ll need to use a depth gauge to measure the depth of screws and then hold one end against each shoe. Ensure the plunger is in the topmost position when you lift it up and down. It should be at least 1/8 inch above the brake pad surface.

7. The Brake Shoes Are Too Wide

Another thing that causes brake noise is if there’s no clearance between your brake shoes and rotors. If you have a wide or thick tire on your car, this may make the brakes squeal even more because there’s a lot less contact area between them and the rotor. The best way to deal with this is by getting the brake shoes replaced. They should be made of stainless steel, which will squeal far less often than the standard ones.

8. The Calipers Are Deformed

If your brakes are squeaking and it’s not because of any issues with your wheels, rotors, or anything in between, your caliper could be deformed. On disc brakes, check to ensure nothing is rubbing against the rotor. Get under the car using either a jack and jack stand or a lift if you have one available, and check out the caliper itself. Make sure no parts are rubbing against each other that shouldn’t be touching each other.

9. The Rotors Are Scratched or Grooved

The unfortunate thing about brake pads is that they leave a lot of fine dust behind them when you use them. This dust gets onto the rotors and, if left unchecked, will cause grooves or scratches in them. This can cause the brakes to squeal and make your car unsafe to drive because you’ll lose some traction between the tire and the road. You should replace your rotors if this happens.

10. The Brake Calipers Are Too Thick

The last thing that you should check is the rotors. Make sure that they aren’t touching the pads, but make sure not too many threads are showing on the caliper bolts, or else they’ll be loose and not firm in a place like they should be. If any of this happens, you’ll need to get new brake parts immediately.

11. The Wheel Bearing Is Damaged

A wheel bearing is the part of your car that keeps the tire on the axle. If this breaks, it’s easy for your brake pads to make a lot of noise.

To fix this issue, you’ll need to remove both wheels from your car and use a center punch or any other sharp object to remove all of the rust buildup around the outside of the bearing. You’ll then want to put some gun oil on it and then put it back into place and tighten it with a wrench until it’s firm again.

Reasons Why Your Brakes Are Squeaking – Conclusion

When it comes to your car, you want to try and find the root of the problem as soon as possible so you can fix it immediately. If you skip around, trying to deal with this issue now and that issue later, it’s going to be a lot harder for you to find out what the real problem is and not fix anything at all or end up with a completely different issue that looks like it could be fixed easily.