NYMUSTANGZ

..this is a 2003 ford mustang GT! thanks in advance!!

I have a question concerning the brakes in my ford mustang?
This is an intermittent problem! Sometimes I press my brake and when i let go of it..I hear a grinding gritty sound and vibration coming from it, a similar sound occurs when im applying the brake during that time period... then...after some more driving it goes back to normal...this happens every once in a while.


any ideas guys?! SO confused!!

NYMUSTANGZ

bump! :-)

cliffyk

Pull the wheels and visually inspect the pads and rotors...

NYMUSTANGZ

what exactly am i looking for? If it stays that way for a few minutes doesn't that mean something is sticking, and then it goes back to normal? do you think cleaning and greasing the brakes would help?

cliffyk

It could be any number of things, first look for worn pads and chewed up rotors.

The pad facing should be thicker than the steel backing plate--if it isn't the pads need to be replaced. The rotors should be smooth with only very slight signs of grooving. Make sure to check the inside pads and rotor surface as well as that's where most of the wear will be.

Cleaning may help, though I suspect you have badly worn pads, and perhaps heavily scored rotors.

Also, the only thing that gets any grease are the caliper guide pins--NOTHING ELSE!!!.

One last comment, I always use CRC's Brake Quiet rattle-can stuff when installing new pads. If the pads come with an anti-squeal shim then I use the spray between the pad backing plate and the shim, and then another shot on the outside of the shim...

uberstang1

Is it the bake, the back pins are notorious for seizing up and dying up and get stuck solid in the caliper bracket, which causes the inside pad to wear out real fast and chew up the back of the rotor. The last 3 mustangs I did brakes on for grinding was because of this, the outside pad have plenty of meat and the inside its down to the bone. Each time I had to use heat and an air hammer with a chisel to pound the slide pins out of the caliper brackets, at least one of the pins on each car was like this.

NYMUSTANGZ

I actually just replaced the rear pads and the rotors too (before the pads, but not too long ago) do you think it can have something to do with the new pads breaking in? thanks again for all your help guys i really do appreciate it!!

NYMUSTANGZ

what im confused about really is that why do these symptoms rarely occur, then it happens for 10 minutes, and then again a lot of 'good time'?

cliffyk

Nice thing about Florida, we don't get all that rusted up stuff except on the cars that live right at the beach. The underside, breaks, etc. on my '03 is almost like working on a new car...

cliffyk

Until you start taking things apart you will never know--obviously there is something wrong...