This will likely be long, I'll sum it up at the bottom for the lazy.
This is a strange one people. It's stumped a mechanic and my neighbor who's worked on semis for the last 30 years. Granted, they only had one shot at it each. I just don't want to keep paying someone to take shots in the dark, but I suppose I will if I have to.
I bought the car in May with new pads/rotors. It's an 02 Protege LX, meaning discs up front, trusty drums in the back. Nearly one month to the day later, a weird brake noise surfaced. It started out as a thumping noise I could feel slightly through the pedal. Frequency seemed to go with rotaton of the wheel, the noise only happened under braking and only showed up after about 10 minutes of driving. It sounded and felt almost exactly like running over an empty aluminum can. The used car lot I bought it from has an excellent reputation and offers a 30 day warranty, so I brought it back to them. They were more then happy to look at it but couldn't find anything obviously wrong, so they thought maybe the rotor had warped. They resurfaced it and put it back on. The noise was gone and they told me to come back if the problem returned in the next few days. They didn't touch the back, so we know the problem is in the front.
Fast forward to a month from that day. The noise is back, albeit a little different this time. Instead of a thumping I can feel through the pedal, it's now a low rubbing/groaning noise, the frequency still based on rotation of the wheel. It only happens when braking, also only shows up after the brakes heat up a little. Also, braking power is not diminished. It is NOT your typical metal on metal noise of worn brakes, it's much lower in pitch. I had my neighbor take a look at it this time, and he had a similar opinion as the previous mechanic. He figured the rotor may have a bad spot that kept returning after a little bit of wear. Seemed logical so I replaced them. Problem solved again.
A little better then a month since new rotors and the low groaning noise returns, same as last time. (ughdance)
So here's what we know, concider it the short version:
1. Re-occuring noise is coming from front brakes
2. Sounds like a rubbing/groaning noise.
3. Only occurs under braking.
4. Starts only after brakes heat up a little bit, usually after driving about 5-10 minutes.
5. After disassembling and reassembling the brake system, problem seems to return after a month.
6. Is not an issue with the rotor itself.
7. Braking power is not diminished.
8. Car is an 02 Protege LX.
Anything like the common on our cars? Think it could be as simple as the brake grease around the pads getting rinsed off in the rain/puddles? My other guess is a bad caliper, the piston boot has a slight tear in it.
This is a strange one people. It's stumped a mechanic and my neighbor who's worked on semis for the last 30 years. Granted, they only had one shot at it each. I just don't want to keep paying someone to take shots in the dark, but I suppose I will if I have to.
I bought the car in May with new pads/rotors. It's an 02 Protege LX, meaning discs up front, trusty drums in the back. Nearly one month to the day later, a weird brake noise surfaced. It started out as a thumping noise I could feel slightly through the pedal. Frequency seemed to go with rotaton of the wheel, the noise only happened under braking and only showed up after about 10 minutes of driving. It sounded and felt almost exactly like running over an empty aluminum can. The used car lot I bought it from has an excellent reputation and offers a 30 day warranty, so I brought it back to them. They were more then happy to look at it but couldn't find anything obviously wrong, so they thought maybe the rotor had warped. They resurfaced it and put it back on. The noise was gone and they told me to come back if the problem returned in the next few days. They didn't touch the back, so we know the problem is in the front.
Fast forward to a month from that day. The noise is back, albeit a little different this time. Instead of a thumping I can feel through the pedal, it's now a low rubbing/groaning noise, the frequency still based on rotation of the wheel. It only happens when braking, also only shows up after the brakes heat up a little. Also, braking power is not diminished. It is NOT your typical metal on metal noise of worn brakes, it's much lower in pitch. I had my neighbor take a look at it this time, and he had a similar opinion as the previous mechanic. He figured the rotor may have a bad spot that kept returning after a little bit of wear. Seemed logical so I replaced them. Problem solved again.
A little better then a month since new rotors and the low groaning noise returns, same as last time. (ughdance)
So here's what we know, concider it the short version:
1. Re-occuring noise is coming from front brakes
2. Sounds like a rubbing/groaning noise.
3. Only occurs under braking.
4. Starts only after brakes heat up a little bit, usually after driving about 5-10 minutes.
5. After disassembling and reassembling the brake system, problem seems to return after a month.
6. Is not an issue with the rotor itself.
7. Braking power is not diminished.
8. Car is an 02 Protege LX.
Anything like the common on our cars? Think it could be as simple as the brake grease around the pads getting rinsed off in the rain/puddles? My other guess is a bad caliper, the piston boot has a slight tear in it.
