Would you contact Raybestos?

[GemStater]

Sort of long, but here’s the story.

Three years ago we purchased our van from an acquaintance. At the time of the purchase, they said they had a recent brake job done by a known and trusted shop in our area. Before the purchase, we also had a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle. He said the brakes looked good, newer.

But from the beginning, we noticed a noise coming from the front driver side. The best way I can explain this noise is a brushing sound with each revolution of the wheel that would go faster and eventually fade away as the speed increased. Not too noticeable with the windows up but well apparent with the windows down. With newer brakes installed by a professional, I assumed from the beginning, the sound wasn’t coming from the brakes. I eventually had a front end inspection done by a tire shop. I asked them to check the wheel bearings also. They said everything looked fine.

More recently, a new sound started in. I would liken this sound to dull gritty metallic grind when the brakes were applied. So I pulled the front driver side wheel and inspected the brakes. First, I found a fairly significant groove worn into the outer brake surface of the rotor. Next I noticed a concentration of what looked like metallic material on the corresponding part of the Raybestos brake pad. The passenger side never made a noticeable noise nor had any significant grooves worn into the rotor. This is when I began to wonder if I got a faulty brake pad and if this was to source of my noise all along?

Yesterday, I installed a new set of rotors and a different brand of brake pads. I’m amazed at how quite the vehicle sounds now.

So, should I call Raybestos to see if it’s something they want to look into? Would you contact them? Or should I just let it be?

 

[bmod305]

Until two months ago, I worked in the automotive aftermarket parts industry(Napa-multi store & GM) for 32 years. Let it go. They do their own testing thru fleets & labor claim returns. From my experience sending in labor claims and dealing with factory reps from Raybestos, you probably won't ever hear anything back being a consumer and the 2nd owner. They want it handled thru the original purchaser(professional shop/jobber or distributor). Move on and sleep well.

Dave

 

[artbuc]

What do you want or expect Raybestos to do?

 

[Merkava_4]

Usually grooves worn into the rotor are from the rivets of the brake pads caused by a frozen disc brake caliper that never releases all the way.

 

[Falken]

If your brakes are working OK now after you changed the rotor and pads, that rules out:

Frozen Caliper Piston.

Also, it partially rules out a bent Guide Pin as you probably pulled them and cleaned them off and if they are bent it is usually fairly noticeable.

I'd have to say you probably had a generally garbage brake job and they were binding. Rust behind abutment clips and maybe the guide pins were on the verge of seizing in the bores from lack of silicone lube.

A brake job is VERY fast if done without cleaning anything. It is the "trimmings" that make a great break job that is issue free. All the little textbook details, plus yearly guide pin lubing, keeps this from happening.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Let's see if I understand.
Three years ago you purchased a van. At that time the brakes had been replaced "recently" by the previous owner. Despite having it inspected by a certified mechanic, you noticed a noise coming from the driver's front, but didn't question it or do anything about it.

Fast forward three years/unknown number of miles. The noise grew worse, and when you finally pulled the wheel and inspected the rotor yourself, at which time you discovered that it was worn and needed replacement.

Is that about right? What would Raybestos do or why would they want to know?

 

[SonicMustang]

In 1978, the crankshaft pulley on my 1972 FIAT 128 separated (center portion was steel, outer portion contacting timing belt was plastic). The camshaft stopped rotating and three valves got bent after being hit by pistons. A new cylinder head fixed everything.

I'm thinking about contacting Sergio Marchionne to ask if I should have told Ginanni Agnelli about it at the time.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Let's see if I understand.
Three years ago you purchased a van. At that time the brakes had been replaced "recently" by the previous owner. Despite having it inspected by a certified mechanic, you noticed a noise coming from the driver's front, but didn't question it or do anything about it.

Fast forward three years/unknown number of miles. The noise grew worse, and when you finally pulled the wheel and inspected the rotor yourself, at which time you discovered that it was worn and needed replacement.

Is that about right? What would Raybestos do or why would they want to know?



I tend to agree with this ^^^^^^^^

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: Falken
If your brakes are working OK now after you changed the rotor and pads, that rules out:

Frozen Caliper Piston.

Also, it partially rules out a bent Guide Pin as you probably pulled them and cleaned them off and if they are bent it is usually fairly noticeable.


Sort of. If the van in question is his 02 Grand Caravan, the stickiness that results in uneven pad wear and swisha-swisha noises can have a third origin. Besides the guide pins, the pads sit on two tracks that come up from the knuckle. If these tracks become rusty, sticky or grooved (and they always do over time), the pad will tilt or stick instead of retract.

I am very familiar with this situation because of going through it with my Dodge.

The knuckle ears with the pad tracks can be seen quite clearly here at 3:51:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOLMXaGWd2I

If grooved they need to be dressed with a file and in all cases lightly lubricated with a proper brake lube such as SilGlyde.

Originally Posted By: Falken

I'd have to say you probably had a generally garbage brake job and they were binding. Rust behind abutment clips and maybe the guide pins were on the verge of seizing in the bores from lack of silicone lube.

A brake job is VERY fast if done without cleaning anything. It is the "trimmings" that make a great break job that is issue free. All the little textbook details, plus yearly guide pin lubing, keeps this from happening.


Heartily agree!

 

[GemStater]

I called and talked to Raybestos Technical service. The tech said it's not uncommon for semi-metallic pads to collect debris and cause problems like what I mentioned. He said if the pads had ample material left, which there was, it's not a safety issue, it's just living with the noise. He also said 9 times out of 10, mechanics don't check the run-out on the rotors when they do a brake job; don't believe they need to, and that is problematic. He also said they no longer make the pads in question, which I'm guessing is probably due to the new copper regulation.

Anyway, after doing about a dozen disc brake jobs on various vehicles over the years, I've never encountered something like this before. Just wanted to better understand it. Guess I'll chalk this one up to new pads on old rotors and luck of the draw.

 

[GemStater]

Originally Posted By: HangFire

Sort of. If the van in question is his 02 Grand Caravan, the stickiness that results in uneven pad wear and swisha-swisha noises can have a third origin. Besides the guide pins, the pads sit on two tracks that come up from the knuckle. If these tracks become rusty, sticky or grooved (and they always do over time), the pad will tilt or stick instead of retract.

I am very familiar with this situation because of going through it with my Dodge.

The knuckle ears with the pad tracks can be seen quite clearly here at 3:51:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOLMXaGWd2I

If grooved they need to be dressed with a file and in all cases lightly lubricated with a proper brake lube such as SilGlyde.


Yes, 2002 Caravan. But the discs shown in your posted video are on vans with Front and Rear discs. My front discs are different being on a disc/drum set-up.