gcalo

I recently did a complete F/R brake job using Meyle rotors and Meyle ceramic pads.

Excellent products, great stopping power, and the wheels do not get dirty as before with the OEM pads.

A squeal developed recently in the rear pads but only on one side and only when the car was cold.

Enough to drive one nuts.

I asked Meyle tech support, and they advised that most pads are slightly beveled or filed on the edges to prevent the edges from initial contact to cause squealing.

Made sense to me but then why squeal from only one side!

I pulled the right rear caliper today and removed the pads.

I was thinking that maybe the plunger was not pushing out uniformly and that this may be causing uneven pad contact.

I had my bride push gently on the brake as I watched piston movement. It was straight and smooth. No problem there.

Then I had remembered that during installation of the RR pads I had trouble getting the outer pad to seat properly in the caliper casting.

So I lightly filed each pad on the edges and slightly beveled them including the center pad cut.

I looked closer at the grooves on the steel backing and realized that they were a bit "restricted" with what looked like "manufacturing debris" buildup.

I used a flat and a round file on both grooves on each side of the steel backing of each pad to get out a slight bit of that "manufacturing debris" I did not initially see.

Upon re-installation the outer pad slid into the casting nicely and easily, and now that squeal is gone.

So it might be advisable to do this "file treatment" on the steel pad backing grooves any time new pads are installed.

lcc014

Is it possible to have photo to show the grooves of the steel backing where the build up is ?

gcalo

I have attached a drawing and it's not perfect because I am going from memory but the filing is in the outer backing areas where the pads go into the caliper.

Also important to check if higher mileage car are the guide bolts and the guide bolt bushings

The bushings are plastic and wear quickly and the guide bolts wear as well.

So when the bushings wear the caliper does not fully align the pad with the rotor and it causes the pads to squeal and the front calipers will make a noticeable clunk!

lcc014

Got it, thanks for the drawing. I know now what to look for.

gcalo

always worth doing a complete makeover including replacing the retaining springs

gcalo

Update to the Update on squeal. I was still getting a little squeal. Drove me nuts.

I read in the S/M I believe that the brake retaining clips should be changed out at 48 months. Boy was that good advice!

So I bought new parts from www.rmeuropean.com to redo the brake caliper support parts.
34-11-1-157-038 guide bushing repair kits
34-21-6-758-059 brake retaining clips
34-11-1-157-041 caliper guide pins
83-19-2-158-851 brake assembly lubricant

I 1st loosened the caliper guide pins with a 7 mm hex before removing the calipers. Makes it much easier to remove them.

Found out no wear on the caliper pins, but I used the ones I purchased solely due to the fact that I had them.

Advice: don’t replace the pins. Just clean the old ones. Save the $. They don't wear!

Take out the pads and clean caliper with a clean, cheap paint brush.

Removing the old rubber guides is easy, but inserting new ones is a chore. They install from the inside of the caliper. I used anti-seize paste but any suitable rubber lubricant will do (silicone spray).

You have to work the day lights out of those rubber parts to get them in. I used a flat bladed screwdriver very carefully, and I twisted the rubber as it was going in. Not fun! I cleaned all the exposed anti-seize paste from the rubber after they were firmly seated..

Put it all back together, tightened the caliper pins (21.2 ft-lbs), put plastic caps on the guide bushing rubber pieces, and then put on the new brake clip.

That new brake clip made a huge difference, and now the squeal is gone!

Appears that weak brake spring clips do not exert enough force onto the outer end of the caliper to maintain a smooth and uniform pad contact with the rotor.

I hear clunking in front calipers. So redoing those next and definitely replacing the clip springs!

I do not like moving calipers. They are a cheap and poor design.

I prefer two sided multi-piston calipers like on the Ferrari.

BTW, one needs only one (1) 3 gram pack of the lubricant per axle set. No need to buy a large tube.

virgil

Brake Pad Paste !!!

It goes between the brake pad and the caliper shoe.

The squeal is not the pad rubbing on the rotor. It is the backing plate of the pad vibrating in the caliper shoe. Tubes of brake pad paste are available from most motor parts retailers. Tubes usually contain 5 or 10g of paste. It's enough for either the front or rear.