Gravel Noise when braking

[camerazn]

Gravel Noise when braking - Now with Pictures

When I am braking at the middle of the brake force spectrum, it sounds like a muffled driving-over-gravel noise is coming form my front brakes. I was not driving over gravel at the time, so this seemed odd.

Upon close inspection (albeit not too close as it was dark out and the rotors were still hot from hard driving) it looks like there are a number of black pits on my front rotors.

The car was purchased used in January, so I don't have as good service records as I might like. It has around 38,000 miles on it.

I've posted pictures of the rotors and pads below.

 

[MazdaGecko]

Maybe your pad are finish.... have a check if there not eating your brake disk

 

[camerazn]

Maybe your pad are finish.... have a check if there not eating your brake disk

I glanced at my pads a few weeks ago when I changed my oil and they seemed to have material left. I'll check them again tomorrow when it is light and sanely temperatured outside.

 

[orng1]

Sounds like the rotors are rough, theugh make that noise when the get taht way.

 

[quatelate]

mine were doing that too and when i changed them was surprised to see that they looked like they still had time left on them but sure enough the noise went away with the new pads

 

[TheMAN]

I bet you the the pads are completely GONE down to the backing, and grinding the rotor away... so replace that s*** NOW! not replacing pad after they're supposed to be changed, or a seized caliper can cause this to happen

 

[camerazn]

I took the Protege for a few quick laps of a parking lot this morning, complete with all levels of braking, and I could not recreate the sound.

Afterwards, I took some pictures with a macro lens, one of the rotor and another of the caliper.

You can see the pitting (I think it's pitting, it doesn't feel deep) on the rotors, and a lot of material left on the pads.

Click the picture for the 800x600 version.






And about the rusty hubs - I read something about them, but I forget where. Can anyone point me to a good thread?

 

[MazdaGecko]

take care to verify that rust on disk isnt rubbing anywhere.....my gf accent (plz god forgive her....) had that kind of problem..... rotor had so much rust on it that it was exceeding somewhere and rubbing but i would be very surprise to see that on a protege....

oh and btw... there is 2 pad on a disk brake system.... one on each side
verify with your hand that the other side of thr rotor is still flat and not eaten..

 

[Matrix]

My EBC pads are noisy, too. They sound a little gravle-y also, ever since I first put them on along with brand new rotors, but other users have reported the same thing. The car brakes great, though, so I just crank the stereo up.

 

[camerazn]

oh and btw... there is 2 pad on a disk brake system.... one on each side
verify with your hand that the other side of thr rotor is still flat and not eaten..

Shh. I'm lazy and didn't think of this. If I don't know a problem could be here, then it is not a problem.

 

[camerazn]

oh and btw... there is 2 pad on a disk brake system.... one on each side
verify with your hand that the other side of thr rotor is still flat and not eaten..

Rotors on the inside feel fine. It's not flat, but it feels like polished metal (just like the ourside)

 

[Murray]

I'd take the wheels off and really verify that the pads / rotor are fine. If they are, it's probably just noisy pads. My OEM ones made a lot of grinding noise when they got hot (which was really unnerving). When they finally wore out I replaced them and the new ones have been fine.

 

[camerazn]

I'd take the wheels off and really verify that the pads / rotor are fine. If they are, it's probably just noisy pads. My OEM ones made a lot of grinding noise when they got hot (which was really unnerving). When they finally wore out I replaced them and the new ones have been fine.

I'll take the front wheels off this afternoon, after I wash the car.

Is it reccomended that I eventually sand and paint the hubs?

 

[MazdaGecko]

just for the look... your choice as long as you keep the paint only on the hub!

Maybe just get new pads... these arent expensive and it might fix the problem.... if not... you just have a new spare pad set for the next time..

 

[camerazn]

just for the look... your choice as long as you keep the paint only on the hub!

Maybe just get new pads... these arent expensive and it might fix the problem.... if not... you just have a new spare pad set for the next time..

I'm just a poor li'l college student at this point. Pads represent about a week of work for me, so I don't plan on changing my pads until the current ones get worribly thin.

Only good thing I do to that car more than I need to is wash and wax it. Black is hard to keep looking perfect, and I'm just obsessive enough to care.

*edit* And I change the oil every 3000 miles despite the fact that I use Moblie1, and I rotate the tires at every oil change. But that's it.

 

[Matrix]

I'm just a poor li'l college student at this point. Pads represent about a week of work for me, so I don't plan on changing my pads until the current ones get worribly thin.

Only good thing I do to that car more than I need to is wash and wax it. Black is hard to keep looking perfect, and I'm just obsessive enough to care.

*edit* And I change the oil every 3000 miles despite the fact that I use Moblie1, and I rotate the tires at every oil change. But that's it.

I use Mobil1 every 3,000-3,500 miles also.

How expensive do you think pads are? $64 + shipping will get you a nice set at all four corners.

http://www.propartsusa.com/index.php?cPath=1_263_315_316&osCsid=6b7948d97985deadaf103dbaa95127a1

 

[camerazn]

How expensive do you think pads are? $64 + shipping will get you a nice set at all four corners.

http://www.propartsusa.com/index.php?cPath=1_263_315_316&osCsid=6b7948d97985deadaf103dbaa95127a1

I was thinking more along the lines of Hawk or EBC Green pads.

 

[We Are Ninja]

I'd take the wheels off and really verify that the pads / rotor are fine. If they are, it's probably just noisy pads. My OEM ones made a lot of grinding noise when they got hot (which was really unnerving). When they finally wore out I replaced them and the new ones have been fine.

I'm having the EXACT same problem... The gravel-y grinding sound is intermittent; and now that I think about it, it's only after I've been driving for awhile; never when the brakes are cold. I'll check the rotors and pads, and if they're okay (which I suspect they are...) I'll look into some new pads because the grinding is driving me insane.

 

[speedprotegewi]

probably getting noise from brake dust and grime buildup.... happens on all cars. remove your pads and clean the center groove and clean out the metal slide area with a wire brush. use some brake lube on the slide pins and on the back of the pads where it touches the caliper and slap it back together. bet it will be alot less noisy =P u will still get some grinding noise first thing in the morning or after the car has been sitting for a bit cuz it has to wear off the rust layer but try that out, that groove in the center of the pad surface gets clogged and they like to make noise

 

[We Are Ninja]

^Coolness. I'll check for dust and buildup as well. It'd be awesome of that was all it was.