Is My Caliper Sticking?

[Ishaq]

Hi all, (sorry should be is my calippers sticking on the title)

I have an annoying tick tick noise coming from either the drivers side front or rear wheels.

When I apply the breaks the noise stops and when driving away it make a tick tick tick noise an sometimes stops when I give it a thrashing but comes back after breaking and after I release the brakes again.

Also when I steer right the noise is there but the noise is not there when I steer left.

I have had new pads in the rear about two months ago with no problems. I have new Dunlop SportMaxx RT tyres which have only done 500-600 miles.

Any advise will be great, thank you.

[aly-g]

possible wheel bearing, you need to get the car jacked up then spin the wheels and listen for the clicking noise or play in the bearing.....another thought although not likely is something stuck in your tyre screw or stone......

Allan

[is200 Newbie]

Like Allan said above - I was going to say something stuck in your tyre treads? Does the noise speed up and slow down or is it a constant tick...?

I have found out that the easiest way (or one of the ways) to check to see if they are sticking is look for the following

Under normal driving put your foot on the brake peddle and very very gently keep you foot there and you will feel initial resistance which will give way and you will feel the pedal travel a bit. To me, that's been an indication when I have suspected a sticking calliper or piston, usually on the fronts. The slight "give" you feel is the piston or caliper moving slightly from where it is stuck.

You can easily tell if the calipers are seized by comparing the alloy wheel temperatures after a good run. They should all be relatively the same temp but if one is hotter than the other then there's a good chance that one is seized.

Someone else on the forum had a noise from their wheels, especially when turning and it was found that the slide pin was rattling - when they took it to the garage to have it checked, they tightened it up and the noise disappeared, I cant see how that could happen but tightening it cured it for them..

[steve2006]

Another clue for a sticking caliper is that wheel will probably feel hotter than the other side after a short run.

[steve2006]

Within a minute of each other..great minds eh :)

[is200 Newbie]

I think I pressed "post" just as you keyed in the full stop.

Something I should have mentioned ... the temperatures will be different comparing fronts to backs - I am not sure of the split between the front and rear braking but sure its not 50/50 so you need to compare opposites (differences between the two fronts and the two rears)

[Ishaq]

Hi all thank you for the fast response. I have taken the car for a drive and can not feel any difference in temperature in the alloys not are they hot.

When I am stationary and I press the brakes I can hear something compressing and when I remove the brake peddle again some compression air noise can be heard...I am assuming this is the pistons or the clippers moving and going back into place.

Will jack it up and inspect the noise again tomorrow but for now going back with a torch to see if anything is stuck in the tyres.

[aly-g]

Have you got drilled or slotted discs ? a clicking noise could be sticking caliper but if you have got standard discs I would discount this unless one of your discs has a crack ?

[Ishaq]

Hi Allan, I have the standard discs and standard pads. Really frustrating when the mrs says what that's noise from your car.

Don't know if this is linked but I am now also getting a whoop whoop whoop noise from the drive as if I have some cheap second hand tyres on that do not match the same thread pattern. I don't have any steering problems thou.

Do you think it could be time for new disc and pads or something even thou I still have a bit left on the pads in front and new pads on rear.

[is200 Newbie]

Is there any vibration felt through the pedal or steering when braking?

[Ishaq]

Hi Newbie, there is no vibration in steering or pedals.

[aly-g]

Ishaq, if the discs have a ridge on the edge of the disc then I would consider new discs, I paid £140. For a pair of discs and pads genuine lexus parts,this was from Lexus Edinburgh on fleabay, not to difficult to do yourself, I am still wondering if you've got a wheel bearing on the way out ? Worth checking, ......the other noise you described ( air noise ) is probably the brake servo which works on the vacuum from the engine keep us informed....

Allan

[Ishaq]

Hi guys couldn't resist but to take it for a drive whole the roads are empty.

Found a round about and can now confirm that the clicking noise is only there when turning right (even slight right turn). While going round I pressed the brakes gently and the noise goes away.

Also there is no noise whole driving straight now it's only when turning right.

Any ideas? Thanks

[ChumpusRex]

This is how my last stuck caliper showed itself.

A faint tick-squeek, tick-squeak, tick-squeak sound while driving and turning, which goes when you touch the brake pedal.

I didn't know what it was so ignored it. A few months later, there was no pad left because it had worn unevenly because of the stuck caliper and it was just metal on metal grinding during braking.

[Ishaq]

This is how my last stuck caliper showed itself.

A faint tick-squeek, tick-squeak, tick-squeak sound while driving and turning, which goes when you touch the brake pedal.

I didn't know what it was so ignored it. A few months later, there was no pad left because it had worn unevenly because of the stuck caliper and it was just metal on metal grinding during braking.

Hi CRex,

So what did you do? did you replace discs,pads and calipper?

Was it front only and how much did it cost you, if you dont mind.

Thank you

[steve2006]

Now those smptoms are familiar to me, the click click on cornering which goes when the brakes are gently applied.

Remove the caliper pins and clean them up, if they are excessively pitted replace them or if not apply a thin layer of suitable grease.

On my LS400 the pins have a groove cut out of them where a rubber sleeve should be fitted so see if these are present ( there are also 2 types of sleeve in different positions).

Regreasing the pins on mine has always cured the clicking noise but it needs doing regularly to maintain silence.

[johnatg]

Hey, come on! If you catch it in time, all you need do is take the sliding pins out, one at a time, clean them and the recesses they go in and grease them. If you don't have facilities yourself, any garage would be able to do the job in no time!

Here's a pic of the caliper with the short bolt you need to undo (the one at the bottom left - you may need to hold the inner hexagon (the bit to the left of the twisted rubber boot) with an open ended spanner.

http://tinyurl.com/pyf8o45

And here's the caliper swung upwards. Now you can pull the pin out of the mount - if it's seized it may need some persuasion. The rubber boot/ seal thing is fixed into the mount - don't damage it!

http://tinyurl.com/o52w586

Now clean and grease the pin and recess in the mount (there's a whole lot of discussion about what grease to use - I use Corrosion Block, but others recommend Cera-Tec or even copper grease. Lexus say 'lithium soap based glycol grease'). Then reassemble, then do the top pin - you won't be able to swing the caliper down far, but you can get it out of the way enough. Be careful not to put strain on the brake hose.

(BTW - this was the first part of my brake job - replace pins, discs, pads, rubber seals)

A stitch in time.....

John

[ChumpusRex]

Hi CRex,

So what did you do? did you replace discs,pads and calipper?

Was it front only and how much did it cost you, if you dont mind.

Thank you

I had discs, pads and caliper pin replaced.

There was quite a lot of labour as it took the mechanic an hour to drill the pin out of the carrier, because it was so seized. But it was a lot cheaper than a new caliper.

It was £100 for labour, and £10 for the slide pin. The discs and pads, I provided.

[Shepherd]

Hi Guys

It was me who reported the problem. With my car it click clicking when turning left. I apologize for saying it was slide pin. After looking at the diagram of the brake its called the pad guide pin that was loose. However, I have taken my car to two different garages. They just clean the brakes of rust or tighten this pad guide pin and give the car back to me. For two days it doesn't make the sound, but then the sound comes back and stays, until I take it in, and they do the same to it again. Really confused. I thought it was CV but the garages insist that CV is not to blame.

Don't know what to do in this case. Any advice is most appreciated.

The brake diagram I have shared at

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UqkNYAV5QjU/U6yASDRpOUI/AAAAAAAAFkM/s_jIihFyxRQ/s1600/lexusbrake.png

[steve2006]

So it's the rear caliper ?

[Ishaq]

So you have the clicking in the rear as I have it front drivers side. Will be greasing the slide pins and inspecting the caliper this weekend so will let you know what happens.

On the other note do you think I could have the noise also in the rear but noise traveling making me assume it's front drivers side

[is200 Newbie]

Process of elimination from what you have said would eliminate the front discs / calipers / pads problem. You would experience a vibration / shudder in the steering l if the discs had warped / calipers had seized or caliper was sticking.

I would start to look at the rear assembly - wont do any harm to strip and clean the caliper assembly down and to re-grease the pins. While doing this check the piston operates freely. Your pad pin guides should be loose enough to pull out but not excessively loose. They also need to be loose to act as part of the pad guide when braking so they need to be clean. Take these off and run some sand paper over them to remove any rust to get them clean. I would not have thought these would routinely need to be tightened as there is a securing spring attached to both to stop the problem of them loosening - check you actually have the securing pin which locates itself through each pin.

There is NOTHING on the caliper assembly that would require routinely tightening - routine cleaning, yes, as described by a lot of posts in describing how to do the pins.

I am not sure but there are another set of clips on the brakes to secure the pads which could, if the pads were too low, start screaming when applying the brake to a point where they would be constantly screaming if the pads were that low.

It would be worth your while in buying some caliper grease if doing the work on the calipers (£10 from Lexus Birmingham for the proper stuff)

Also - not sure if you are aware but the rear discs also act as a drum brake - as well as the pads there are a set of drum shoes within the inner disc itself.

[aly-g]

I'm confused, I thought we were talking about a noise from the front wheels.....

Allan

[is200 Newbie]

Hi Allan

Did the noise start after the new pads were fitted on the rear - sorry, just read your first post so it wont be an issue with low pads.

[Ishaq]

Lol, I am a bit confused as well.

Yes my problem is at front making click click click from front rightside when going right.