Screech from front brake

[Mark Elder]

Hi,

How reliable is the brake pad warning light? Mine is not on, but during some spirited driving last night I had a loud screech from the front brakes on 3 successive occassions. Noise then stopped - so maybe it was just a stone caught in there, but just wondering if I should be inspecting the pads. (and not just waiting for the warning light to come on[8|]).

How easy is it to see the pad depth?

Thanks

 

[Mark_Bennett]

I thnk if you take the wheel off they should be clearly visible.

 

[burrow01]

Not very reliable in my experience

I knew the brake pads were wearing v thin, but the light did not come on (did light up when you turned the ingnition on...[])

I occasionally got the large warning light, which has gone since the pads were replaced

Pete

 

[Guest]

Yep, wheels off job by the sound of it. []

Roddy

 

[JB 3.2]

Mark,

One of the advantages with alloy wheels is that in many cases you can see the condition of both the brake disc and pads. I've just been down to the garage and checked mine with the wheels on without any problems.

If you look at the top of the caliper, and then follow it down towards the centre of the disc, after about 60mm the caliper is waisted and you can see the disc pad. Although this is only one pad, unless the caliper is siezed they tend to wear at about the same rate.

A wheel off check is of course always best, but a quick glance may allow you to sense check the condition until such time as you are able to undertake a more thorough check.

If it happens again and you think its a stone that is caught, one trick is to try braking while reversing, this may throw the stone out.

If you have done a lot of gentle braking the pads may get a slight glaze on them which can cause the brakes to squeal, glazing can sometimes be removed by braking a little harder than usual.

 

[Pickled Piper]

Yep, look through the wheels you can see the dept of pad left. Sometimes it is easier to raise the car and look from underneath.

It is not uncommon for the pad wear sensor to have been removed and shorted out.

pp

 

[Mark Elder]

Thanks for the help on this. Yes, it seems fairly easy (with a torch) to see the edge of the braking material on the pads. Loads left - about 6-7mm all around.

By coincidence, I got some new tyres fitted yesterday and that gave me the chance to look at both inner and outer pads - all were around the same depth.

How deep are they when new?

 

[Porker993]

Not much more than you're saying, about 8-10 mm from memory.

The screeching definitely sounds like muck stuck in there somewhere. It would be good to get rid of it before it scores the disc. Have you been off roading anywhere [] ? It's a common problem we get after driving our Landrover 90 through deep muddy water. Usually we apply the brakes a few times and it clears itself.