I just changed the brakes and rotors on my 04. Akebono ceramic pads and ebc rotors. Replaced the LF caliper bc the piston was stuck on the old one. Bled the brakes...they're still spongy, so I'll be doing that again. But here's the problem: Now I'm hearing a metal on metal rubbing noise when I'm driving down the road. Obviously this is probably rotors, pads, or a combination of both. Any ideas on what this is? Should I just take it to my mechanic and have him look at it?

thanks
Joseph

 

Thats ceramic brake pads for you.
Expect to by buying rotors again in 6 months.
Ceramic is very very hard, those brake pads will last the rest of your life but the rotors will need to be replaced alot.

 

Does the rubbing noise change when brakes are applied? It could be as simple as the backing plate rubbing on the rotor.

 

Ok youre gonna have to cut me a little slack, but what is the backing plate? I'm still new to mechanics so I'm still getting all this figured out. I'll listen for the noise to stop while braking on my way home. I did notice that when I was replacing the rotors, i could turn them and they would make the scraping noise (without the calipers or pads on). I guess I just worry bc the pads fit really tight when the calipers are on....like pistons had to be compressed all the way in to get them on. Thanks for the help

Joseph

 

and how do I fix this backing plate problem if that's what it is?

 

The backing plate is the mainly round flat steel thing behind (inboard of)the brake rotor. It's mainly there to keep crap from getting on the rotor's backside (the wheel does the same on the front side). It's thin metal and can easily be bent so it touches the rotor. If this is the case, just bend it away from the rotor so it no longer touches.

"....like pistons had to be compressed all the way in to get them on." I assume you did compress the caliper pistons before installing the new pads? If the old pads were worn, you would have had to, to get enough clearance for the new, thicker pads.

PS: on ABS equipped vehicles, it's best to loosen the bleeder when compressing the pistons to let the excess fluid escape, rather than pushing old fluid back through the ABS modulator and such. A 2 quart flush of the brake fluid, every two years, regardless of miles, is also strongly recommended.

 

Morpheus
Thanks for the help. I think the pads just had to settle in bc the noise is gone. I flushed the brake lines twice in the order suggested on another thread, RF,LF,RR,LR, and am still getting some pulsing (just a bit) in the pedal and the stopping power isn't what I imagined. I'm thinking I'm going to replace the back pads (and rotors if need be) soon. Any suggestions. I've got Akebono ceramic pads with EBC sport rotors on the front.

 

The pedal pulsation is normally due to warped brake rotors (assuming it's not pulsing due to ABS kicking in). Since the front rotors are brand new, I would imagine it is your rear rotors that are warped.