Not sure if this is right place or not, but since it would be involved in removing a transmission, ill post here...
Anyhow, I was just wondering, I get a bad grinding noise when I brake, and the car doesn't seem to want to stop right away when this happens. Replaced pads and rotors, still happened, thinking it could be the axle. What im wondering is, where the axle connects into the tranny, is it supposed to have any give, mine moves freely in and out about .5 to 1 inch. Not sure if it would cause it or not, just seems like a possibility. Especially if it is not supposed to move. Thanks.
if you are only getting the noise when applying the brakes, its 99.9% of the time in the brakes. did this happen before, after, or both when you did your brakes? are you running stock brakes, or upgraded brake kit? it is perfectly acceptable to have "play" in your half shaft at the transmission, an inch seems a bit excessive though. if that was your problem, i would see it grinding on acceleration, not braking. are you sure the noise is from the front?
This started happening before I changed the rotors, as i thought they may have been causing it, this was probably about a year ago. I put on slotted rotors, and not sure of the pads, I got them from advance auto and I didnt go cheap. I am pretty certian it is coming from the front, I even had a second opinion and he agreed. I was thinking it was maybe the drums but they seem ok. It's too much noise to be ABS, it is pretty loud. It is not all the time, only after the car sits some then i start it up to go, and always from low speeds. It almost seems/sounds like the brakes are made of rocks. I posted it in the brake forum a while back, now I noticed this with the axle and thought it could be the cause. I can feel it vibrating also, it almost seems like the axle keeps turning or something but the wheels want to stop.
if the problem only happens after the car sits for a little while, what you are probably hearing is the surface rust that builds on the rotors getting ground off, the noise should go away after a few miles, and wont come back until the car sits for a while again. it is perfectly normal, and not really avoidable, but the more you drive your car, the less time the rotors have to develop the rust.
Sorry I didnt describe it better, but I meant like, overnight or even like after an 8 hour shift at work. Just a couple hours.
that surface rust can form in a matter of minutes. depending on what the weather is like, humidity, rain fall, etc. take for example when you resurface (cut) a rotor, the rotor becomes magnetized from the machining. to get rid of this quickly, you run the rotor under hot soapy water. by the time you get the rotor back to the car, and assemble the brakes, the rotor already has enough surface rust to do that. it is removed whenever you test drive the vehicle. it also has to do with the type of metal alloy in the rotor, what made the rotors expensive is the fact that they are drilled, not because the material they are made from, it could actually be a higher carbon steel content in the rotor that rusts faster than a brand name non-drilled rotor. it doesnt sound to me like anything else, and there should be no real safety concern, especially after a few miles.
K, that makes sense. Thanks.
