Noise After Brake Job

I replaced my rear brake pads and rotors on Friday (3/10) with Hawk Pads
and DBA Drilled and Slotted high quality rotors. One of my wheels is
giving off a harsh noise when braking. Its more than a squeal, but not
necessarily a scrape or a grind.

Is it normal to hear this after a brake job?

Thanks,
Matt

 

It may just be the pads and the rotors wearing-in to each other. If it
sounds really bad, it could be a pad installed backward (backing plate
toward the rotor). If that's not the case, give it a week of driving or
so to see if the noise goes away.

 

Thanks for the reply. A backwards pad is what I'm worried about. My buddy
and I are gonna pop the tire off and see whats whats. I'll let you guys
know.

Thanks,
Matt

 

My dumb-ass put the pad on backwards.

Thanks for your help.

 

I really don't mean any offense, as I am sure it was an honest mistake, but
the cars I have worked on in the last, oh, say 15 years, couldn't have the
pad installed backwards. How could you even do that?

 

The last few cars I've owned have had symmetric brake pads. The pads
without the wear sensors could be installed backwards. Apparently,
that's true of the Elantra's pads, too. Funny stuff! ;-)

 

Yah, they're symmetric, and there's no squealer tab. Obviously it was the
pad behind the rotor.

Gonna cost another $110 for a new rotor.

No offense taken. I know that was really a bone head move. Just a brain
fart when I put it in. Thought in my head I had it the right way.
That'll school me to pay more attention

 

Actually I currently have two Elantra's, a 2002 and a 2003, and neither are
like that. My Mother-in-law has a 2005. I'll have to look at hers when I
get some time.

But I just realized that we are talking about aftermarket brakes anyway, so
I guess that point is moot

Yes, funny stuff.

 

Well, hopefully you'll never do it again

 

Well, I was able to find a place with a surface grinder to resurface my
rotor for $25. So, not all was lost.

Thanks for the help guys.

-Matt

 

A word of caution....if you didn't have BOTH rotors resurfaced you may (or
may not) have a problem.

Eric

 

Why? The calipers adjust automatically to the thickness of the rotors
and pads. Besides, I would bet that they took less than .050" off the
rotor. Having one rotor that's slightly thicker than the other shouldn't
affect braking to any measureable degree.

 

To be honest, I've never tried it, but have always been warned against it.
In modern cars I guess it would be less of an issue, but I really don't
know.

Eric

 

I dont't see how it could make a difference mechanically. FWIW, I've
even replaced a single rotor on a car when it wore through to a porous
section and made the brakes grab unevenly. Other than fixing the
problem, there was no noticeable effect, despite the fact that the two
rotors had dramatically different mileage and wear on them.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of myth and lore in the automotive industry
that simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

 

I bet a lot of that lore is for shady mechanics to make more bucks.

 

That's certainly true in some cases. Some of it is just old
habits/truisms/myths that refuse to die. Some may have been true at one
point, but aren't anymore.