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brake question


chris082676
10-11-2005, 05:09 PM
when i push on my brakes they creek. It does it also when the car is in park. its only on the pass. side. Is it a bad caliper or something else. i dont wanna take it back to the dealership. Im tired of getting my brakes fixed. Thanks for any help you can give me

bcopeland
10-13-2005, 12:01 PM
Front or rear brakes? If front, they creak, then it may be the piston in the caliper?

iowapilot
10-30-2005, 06:43 PM
I also have a creaking sound in my wife's 2004 Malibu. I took it in before the warranty was up and they replaced pads and turned the rotors (after I told them not to, that I could do that work) and charged me $200. Now about 4 or 5 months later, the creaking sound is back, although mine is on the driver side.

That is a good suggestion about the piston(s), I hadn't thought of it, but I know sometimes they stick or go bad or freeze up altogether. I thought that normally happened on older cars, but I suppose it is entirely possible especially if you let the pads go too low. I think I'll replace the calipers in the next few weeks and see if that fixes the problem. I know I'll never take it back to that crooked dealership no matter what.

maxwedge
10-31-2005, 09:15 AM
Make sure the caliper mounting bracket to the knuckle bolts are tite, for the creaking.

iowapilot
10-31-2005, 09:28 AM
Okay, will do. Any other suggestions to check before replacing the calipers would be appreciated. After looking at the prices for the hardware, I want to exhaust other options before throwing down $140 for calipers.

malibu0484
11-01-2005, 01:03 PM
did same on my 04 malibu.....front driver side..buy some good brake quiter at the dealership or your local parts store...about 15 bucks for a small bottle...take off brake pads...rub on concrete slab....saturate brake pads with brake quieter...let dry 15-30 minutes and put back on brakes..worked good for me

iowapilot
11-04-2005, 07:07 AM
Okay, I have some new info regarding the creaking.

If you notice the creaking is happening when you are moving slowly or stopped completely while applying the brakes, it's a pretty good chance that you need to lube the area between the piston and piston boot on the caliper. The preferred lube would be Kluberfluid if available or a you can use a suitable substitute.

What ticks me off is that this is a published TSB for Chevy Malubu's and Classic's. Why this was not addressed when I took it in for service is beyond me. The dealership I used is a pretty good sized one, I find it hard to believe that they don't check things like this. It took me 5 minutes to find it and realize it described my problem exactly.

It didn't dawn on me until yesterday that I should have called the dealer out on their disc replacement when the creaking noise was heard while the car was at a complete stop inside their shop. If the sound was coming from pad wear it could only happen while moving, mostly.

goofy4467
11-06-2005, 09:33 PM
This applies if we are talking the front brakes.
If it creaks when u push them down hard , even when stopped the brake caliper is not floating on the mount pins. IE rusted. If you remove the wheel and look at the wear on the pads one side will be worn alot more than the other from not floating when the brake is released (if it has been awhile).
This has happened to mine once and I always clean and lube the pins when I change the pads/rotors.
You might be able to clean it up and lube it or replace the parts either with new or get them used.

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