Brake rotor question
 

Hellooooo RS

Had a look at my friend's civic yesterday. She had new brakes installed a month or so ago, but a weird scraping noise on her front driver side started to come about.

I was somewhat pressed for time, as I had to catch Fast/Furious 6. :lawl: (Movie was a lot better than I thought it'd be.) Anyways, I just jacked up her car and did a quick check on that side.

Turned out the rotor on that side was a little loose, so whenever she pressed down on the brake, the slight angle would cause the rotor to scrape against that thin metal bracket that holds the brake pad in place.

I tightened the two Phillips screws. It didn't "feel" like it really did anything, but I gave the rotor a good tug. It seemed to have tightened up, and hell, I wanted to catch my movie. So I put her car back together and went off to watch Vin Diesel and Paul Walker inject some NOS.

Get a call from her again saying that the noise is back. I didn't get to have another look yet, but I got to wondering.

Is it those two screws that actually holds the rotor in place? When I tightened them, it didn't feel like I did much of anything. But for whatever reason, when I gave the rotor a good yank, it stopped wiggling. Or is it the nut in the middle? Or something completely different?

Thanks in advance. :toot::toot::toot:

For sure its not those phillip screws. They just help hold the rotor in place for assembly as the rim is going to press up against the hub and prevent any movement anyway. Oem or aftermarket pads? Aftermarket pads are known to get noisy after break in period if they are cheap. Could also be something embedded in the friction material.

Also ensure that the piston is not seized and the shims/clips are clean. The pads may not be returning to proper position and rubbing the rotor improperly.
Posted via RS Mobile

Who did the brakes originally? Have your friend being it back and have them deal with it.
Posted via RS Mobile

Check the dust shield.

That's what I started to think about the screws.

When I removed the tire and flipped up the caliper, there was some obvious play in the rotor. The shim did scrape against the rotor when I was examining the play, and when I "tightened" it (or so I thought), the rotor was no longer in contact with the shim.

The noise isn't as squealy as brake pads, and not as abrasive as the dust shield scraping.

So I'm wondering what actually stops the rotor from wiggling around?

The rim and lugnuts hold the rotor in place. I never use those tiny Philip screws.

Huh. Interesting.

I wonder if it's the caliper that's out of position then :eek5:

dustshield/backing plate

seen it where if it heats up it touches the rotor causing the scraping noise.

i have the same thing on my car, but it goes away when i lightly press the brakes, and it only happens sometimes. EBC Ultimax rotors.

what about the shop? Will they take a look at it for her or does she not want to bother with theM?

If you're not sure how a brake rotor is secured to the car, I'd suggest taking it back to the shop that did the brake job. They should remember the car and customer, and will be able to help.

Does the squeaking sound happen all the time? Or only under braking. What make, model and year is the car? I'd start by checking simple things, like caliper piston condition, as well as the slider pins (which can often get crusty)
Posted via RS Mobile

If it's under braking, it's the pads.

If it's happening while you're moving, it's probably the Rotor scraping against something. That something is 90% usually the dust shield. Bend it back, see if it happens again.

Or, get some Brake quiet, and slob it onto the back of the pads. *Not the friction surface*

If everything is bolted on secure including the wheel and the rotor is moving back and forth as the brakes are applied then the wheel bearing is loose.

If anyone's still interested, it was the hub nut.

the big nut that takes a 32mm socket to tighten? That caused the scraping noise while braking? Weird

the hub nut preloads the bearing.
Why was the hub nut loose? Did someone recently replace the cv shaft or bearing? Or whomever did the brakes did they think it needed to be removed?