Shrieking, Squealing Brakes--Please Save My Ears!

[jberger]

Ah! Thanks for the explanation.

[Bob D.]

Thanks much to everybody for the good advice on this thread.

After three days of virtually squeak free driving, I am with cautious optimism declaring my problem solved.

I don't know whether to be happy that the solution to my problem was so simple, or feel stupid because I didn't try the simple stuff before assuming the worst. In any case, I wanted to post my experience here to hopefully help somebody else out in the future.

In my case, the solution to the squealing was to specifically bed-in the new brake pads. Randy's post above asking whether I was "babying" the new brakes too much got me to thinking. To make a long story short, I used some of the brake bed-in procedures described in these two links:

http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/pad_rotor_bedin_procedures.html

http://www.kitcarbooks.com/brakepads.html

What seemed to be most effective was a dozen consecutive moderate-to- firm stops from 40 MPH down to near zero, with 1/4 mile between each stop.

At first I was worried that this was a temporary solution, but after three days, 100 mi. in various traffic conditions and several heat cycles for the brakes, I am hopeful that the bed-in effort has cured the squealing. This may or may not work for others depending on the specific pads, roters and other variables, but IMHO is certainly worth a try.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions.
_________________
1978 7-Passenger, 37K miles
Proud Member #1, SBS (Stock Bus Society)

*Enjoy and appreciate your good health*

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Now we play for life

[ratwell]

Excellent. Sometimes the brakes and/or vibrating threads never seem to conclude.

When I put on my new pads (Pagid) I couldn't find the exact break-in procedure for that brand so I borrowed a technique. I stomped hard on the brakes from 20 mph, then 40 mph, then 60 mph twice. This was complementary to the instructions that came with the rotor which said, "Advise a short running in period for new discs (about 200 Km); during this period a short, smooth braking action should be used so that the brake pad surfaces can adapt to the disc. Over sharp or heavy braking action could cause the brake pad friction material and disc to overheat and in time this would compromise the braking system as a whole and its performance".

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=56035&highlight=bed+brakes

Previously I only thought this was required for new rotors but from your post I understand now this may not the case and may in fact be more important.
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'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
Read the Baywindow FAQ

[steponmebbbboom]

[Duncwarw]

For what it's worth, I remember reading a long time ago that the higher quality brake materials are "harder" and therefore more resonant.

Just like a previous poster said. If you don't put the goop on the back to limit the transfer of the vibration, the rock-hard pads will want to be heard.