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Squeals like train brakes


Jbent
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Hey there,

 

So today I was just reminded of a problem that I have had with my pathfinder since I bought it 4 years ago. After about 30 min or more of highway driving, when I slow down to come to a light, <40kmh, I get this brutal squealing from somewhere in the front end. Sounds similar to train brakes at first then slows to almost a rubber on metal squeal stopping around 15kmh. Stops when I stop, starts when I start rolling again. Stays in sink with the speed of the drive train, ruling out the belts(which have all been replaced). Must be something heating up because its only after the highway driving and never does it just around town. Braking does not affect the sound, other than to slow it as the truck slows. 4wd changes nothing, hubs locked or unlocked changes nothing. Stops after 5 min of slower driving.

 

In the search to fix it I have replaced:

Front bearings and seals,

Changed hubs to Warn manual locking ones

Brakes, pads and calipers

installed grease nipples on drive shaft U joints and greased them.

Tires are new, stock and clear everything just fine.

Checked the caliper dust covers and they have clearance all around the disks

 

I kind of gave up looking 3 years ago(and 80 000 km) , I figured after replacing all the important parts whatever is squealing might as well just brake and save me the troubleshooting. Its hard to pinpoint due to the speed you have to be driving. Plus I hate driving for half an hour to get a few minutes of possible troubleshooting. But alas, no luck as of yet, and hopefully not in a while as I have a few road trips coming up soon. knock on wood :)

 

Does anyone have any ideas?

Cheers guys :)

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what about the drive shaft where it goes into the back of the box. Not shure on yours but my 87 has like a protective shroud over the shaft where the spline is. If it aint straight it will rub aswell. Have you put some gasket gue behind the brake pads. And or do you have wear indicators on the pads. Rip those buggers of if you do. Just a couple of sugestions for you to try.

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Hmm, Good call on the driveshaft dust cover, that would make sense, I am going to go check that right now.

 

Brakes are gooped, and the indicators have lots of space. Thanks for the replies.

Edited by Jbent
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Actually, a few years back mine did this EXACT same thing, and it was right after we got the brakes fixed...

 

I can't remember just what they did to fix it, but I think it was an issue with something in the brake assembly rubbing......

 

Ill ask my ma just what it was

Edited by OldSlowReliable
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  • 2 months later...

I'm very interested in this topic, my pathfinder is doing the same thing, but I couldn't figure out how to describe it. I'm going to check the drive shaft dust boot. The sound is coming from under the truck in the front, I think passenger side.I just had the passenger side cv boot replaced, don't know if it has something to do with that, but i've been thinking it's brake related. It also seems to happen more when i make a left turn. It continues to squeal even after I have let off the brake pedal, but then it goes away after I get up to speed(over 20kph or so). It's driving me nuts, do if anyone has any ideas or fixes, it would be greatly appreciated. It's getting embarrasing to pull into parking lots. :headwall::scratchhead:

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It could also be that the shims have shifted down and are rubbing on the "hub" portion of the rotor. A quick visual inspection will let you know.

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i've been thinking it's brake related. It also seems to happen more when i make a left turn. It continues to squeal even after I have let off the brake pedal, but then it goes away after I get up to speed(over 20kph or so).

 

Check for stuck caliper piston or slide pins, bleed the brakes and check the wheel bearings, I bet they are a little loose... ;)

 

B

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Just had mine back in the shop that did my passenger side cv boot and they looked for the squeal. They think it was the dust shields, so he adjusted them a bit. We'll see what happens. I also seviced the front brakes. I'm thinking it might be a combination of things, they mentioned that the drivers side wheel bearing is starting to show signs of wear. I hope I can get this solved cause it's driving me crazy!

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In the search to fix it I have replaced:

Front bearings and seals,

Changed hubs to Warn manual locking ones

Brakes, pads and calipers

installed grease nipples on drive shaft U joints and greased them.

Tires are new, stock and clear everything just fine.

Checked the caliper dust covers and they have clearance all around the disks

 

Are you sure it isn't the pads vibrating?? Do you have the antichatter shim or break pad quiet installed? Are the pads tight in their mounts or is there play so they can move? Do the mounting surfaces seem worn or rounded? is there a piston ring worn on the back of the pads?

 

B

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make sure the caliper bolts and the torque member bolts are torqued to specification

if you loose a bolt, you will get that sound

the noise is normal if you have cheap pads, it will go away eventually

make sure you still have good thickness on the pads, the rotors could also be hitting the wear indicator tabs

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Well, they repacked the wheel bearings and replaced a wheel seal. Nothing. Still squeals. So I bought a new brake hradware kit and brake pad backing stuff. Still nothing, squeals like a mofo. Next is the brake dust shield. Other than that, I can't think of anything that would be rotating and causing a squeal. Also it happens on or off the brakes. usually after I have applied the brake and then it continues to squeal. I can make it worse by turning the steering wheel, usually to the left. Only happens after I have driven around for a while.

 

????????

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Well, they repacked the wheel bearings and replaced a wheel seal. Nothing. Still squeals. So I bought a new brake hradware kit and brake pad backing stuff. Still nothing, squeals like a mofo. Next is the brake dust shield. Other than that, I can't think of anything that would be rotating and causing a squeal. Also it happens on or off the brakes. usually after I have applied the brake and then it continues to squeal. I can make it worse by turning the steering wheel, usually to the left. Only happens after I have driven around for a while.

 

????????

 

 

Keep us posted, man! Hope you (we) find an answer to this.

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Well, just changed the brake pad hardware, and lubricated the caliper slide pins. I also added brake pad "stop squeal" to the back of the pads. Going in on monday to possibly have the brake dust shield cut off. It's in good shape, but who knows. Running out of ideas? :headwall:

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