Ok I have a 97 2.4 Stock... I am hearing a whinning/squeaking sound coming from the left front wheel when I am driving.. As soon as I step on the brakes it stops... I went to Goodyear and they said brakes.. I thought brakes only did that when you were braking not just driving.... Could it in fact be the brakes?

If it were the brakes, it should get much louder when you're braking. Take the wheel off and look at your brake pads. Easy enough to see if it's them.

Yes. Brake pads rub slightly all the time.

Lees04Cav wrote:Yes. Brake pads rub slightly all the time.

Ah, no they dont.


Does this sound get louder if you turn the wheel one way, does it go away if you turn it the opposite direction.




- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new

Its at random times. The only time it stops is when I hit the brakes.

Like Weasel said I would think the sound would get louder when I braked but it just goes away... Last time I went to goodyear to get my tires aligned the guy said the bearing on the right front might be going becouse it was grinding. Tommorrow I will take the wheel off and take a look.

Rob S wrote:

Lees04Cav wrote:Yes. Brake pads rub slightly all the time.

Ah, no they dont.

Ah, yes they do. That is how disc brakes work. The pads are slightly touching or within a c***hair of touching the rotor at all times. They have no return spring to pull them away from the rotor in the same way that drum brakes are pulled back from the drum. And if a rotor is slightly warped, the pads can make a noise every revolution that could be interpreted as a squeaking noise.

Indeed break pads are in constant contact with the rotor... no pressure but yes contact. If part of the pad is gone and your rotor is making contact with the steel or the rivets you will get noise. Easy enough to take the wheel off and have a look. Cavalier breaks are extremely easy to do. I'm sure you can find advice in this forum. It normally takes me about an hour to change the pads on my cavy, with brother's help that is. Rotors are also cheap, and sometimes cheaper than tha pads. Check Autozone. I believe they are under 20 bucks a piece.

K Thanks guys.. Ill be changing them tommorrow.. I got rid of the squeaking sound by someone giving me advice to pull back the wear indicator metal... Now it doesnt squeak but I do know I have to replace the pads.

Hey,

brake pads should NOT be in constant contact with the rotors, unless you have a problem.

Thanks to our resident brake GURU here is a quote from his FAQ on top of the Suspension and brake forum

Alont


[...On Caliper Rebuilding or buying rebuilt calipers:

Here are some reasons and answers about calipers:

The cavalier caliper is a very simple unit consisting of few parts:
Cast Iron caliper body, chrome plated steel piston, 2 slide pins, 2 rubber slide pin bushings, 1 square-cut seal, and one dust boot.

Calipers very rarely leak....so why does every auto parts store in the US and Canada usually have at least 2 rebuilt J-body calipers in stock? The square cut seal (the one that seals against the piston) can wear over time without leaking. This can cause the caliper to drag slightly. The groove in which the seal resides is slightly larger than the seal itself, allowing the seal to move a bit every time the brakes are applied. In a perfect world, the seal will be lightly "stuck" to the caliper piston. Every time the brakes are applied, the piston does not move inside the seal, but the seal actually flexes a little bit and moves with the piston. When you remove your foot from the pedal, the seal relaxes and pulls the piston back to its original position so that there is no pressure against the pads. We are only talking about maybe .010 of an inch, give or take.

When the seal wears, the piston will move indepently of the seal and the seal will no longer be able to pull the piston back to its "idle" position, but instead, leave it resting against the pad.


Dust boots tear over time, because they are exposed to the most amount of heat, as well as the elements. When boots tear, debris can enter the bore and accelerate the wear of the piston and seal.
On to slide pins....nothing goes wrong with the pins themselves, and little can go wrong with the rubber bushing. The most common cause of sticking sliders on J-body calipers is the corrosion or rust buildup on the inside of the hole in the casting where the slide pin goes. There is a rubber bushing here which has grooves inside to retain lubricant so that the pins are never dry. When cast iron rusts, it expands. When rust develops on the inside of a hole, the hole gets smaller. When a hole gets smaller, it squeezes the crap out of what ever is inside it. Now that I've got everyone all horny....never mind. This is the common cause of slide pins sticking....even when you lube it up good, you still can't move it in and out with ease....(I'm having too much fun with this).
During the rebuilding process that professionally rebuilt calipers go through, the caliper is disassembled and then sandblasted or bead blasted to remove all the rust and crap from the casting. Generally a wire brush on a drill is put through all the slider pin bushing holes to ensure that there is no corrosion that will constrict the rubber bushing. The bushings are then lubed and installed, as well as a new square-cut seal and generally a new piston or a used one that has been cleaned and inspected, and then the boot.
So, If you decide to rebuild your calipers, these are some things to think about. The caliper is a little more complicated than it seems, and all these areas require attention if you want it to work right.
rubbin' is racin']