Sticky brakes, rust removal?

[Dave Sherman]

The rear brakes on my Traverse got stuck, enough to make one start dragging after I had to make a hard stop. The CR-V I had before needed the pad guides cleaned and lubed annually, and occasionally I had to grind rust off the edges of the backing plates where they slide in the guides. Seems the Traverse needs this too. I had to drive the pads out with a hammer, grind the edges with the Dremel tool, and dab some grease on the guides.

Anybody else have to do this regularly? Is it sufficient to grind the rust off the backing plate edges?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Seems to be normal in NY with disc brakes, rear discs especially. I have got to the point that I never install the anti-chatter hardware because it ALWAYS causes the brakes to drag after a year.

I guess it does make a case for those garbage 3rd world drum brakes.

 

[Kamele0N]

I just file the edges of braking pads....that they can move freely in calipers....

I have "inox" guides ( those "metal" plates in calipers) <---- I dont know apropriate word in (american) english.....and I just ignore rust on filed spots....cos rust can not stick to inox....I dont grease those spots....cos that just attracts dirt!

 

[Olas]

I clean up and lube and the mating surfaces on any brake job I do, and do it yearly on the Scirocco as a precaution - once I let it go 2.5 yrs and one caliper was noticeably sticky.

Splash guards can help, as can closed face wheels compared to open spoke designs. So long as you know the issue exists you can keep on top of it so it shouldn't be a problem

 

[Kamele0N]

I just do "brake job" once a year.....every spring when I change winter tyres to summer......that way brakes last forever

 

[NHGUY]

The pad "plates" are stamped,not laser cut.As tooling gets dull,it stretches the metal instead of shearing it.Making the pads longer dimensionally and failing to slide in their brackets.This is a wide spread problem,as is sub grade steel used that's just painted and eventually leading to delamination of the friction material.The aftermarket is rife with,shall I say,"cheap junk"...made to a price,not a quality.

 

[hansj3]

In my professional life, my customers don't always buy nice pads. My company is also contractually obligated to buy from Napa. It seams that the true stops and the safety stops (true squeek and safety squeeks as they are lovingly known in our shop) are either extra coated in powder coat or made a few thousand too big. Either way I have to hand fit them to make them work, something I had never had to do in my personal maintenance in my life prior.

As for the guide pins I have never had an issue with em as long as the proper grease was used and all of the sealing boots were intact and functional.

 

[eljefino]

Yeah I hit pads with the grinder when necessary. I always felt weird admitting it, that I was "modifying" safety equipment. I like the anti rattle clips and try to keep them in service, sometimes scraping rust out of the knuckle/ bracket if I feel that's distorting them.

Luckily though I don't get many squeaks. I feel a pad should slide in by hand, but not fall back out before fitting the caliper. This level of friction is hard to describe online.

I've had pad delamination, once on a 2.5 year old "performance" Hawk pad. It's never fun, and could be the next big NHTSA controversy. In a nutshell, there'll be an odd clunk, then you pump the pedal 5 full times, and you get braking back.

 

[asand1]

Could be the pads
could be the pins
could be the pistons
could be the parking brake cables
could be the rubber lines