Noisy brakes whilst driving

[Jimmy2228]

Hi all,

I've recently encountered an annoying problem. Whilst under moderate - heavy braking the rear left brakes are squeaking, and when taking off from a set of lights the wheel makes a squeaky/grinding noise until I stab the brake pedal and it seems to go away until I slow down next.

To me it sounded like a wear indicator on the pads. I pulled the rear left brakes apart and checked them out, plenty of friction material, no foreign objects lodged in the pad, all the shims seem to be in the right spot and there were no witness marks to suggest rubbing.
I cleaned all the brake dust out and sanded the pads and rotor to scuff them up, re-assembled and the noise was gone for a day. I also checked the sliding pins, they seemed to move freely. Now the noise is back again, any suggestions? I don't know if the hill holder would have anything to do with this?

08' Liberty GT-B Auto, thanks in advance!

[bigBADbenny]

How's the hand brake tension?
Maybe put it on stands w/ and see if the rears grab, and if they grab evenly with a click or two.

[Jimmy2228]

The handbrake is pretty poor, need to really pull it up for it to hold on a moderate incline. I'll definitely give it a go.

I'm starting to think it could be a rear wheel bearing issue, if Im heavy on the brakes the noise disappears sometimes if i turn left (loading up the right side) and the noise persists if I turn right.

I have noticed previously a thudding noise from the rear when travelling on freeways, but have never been able to get a mechanic to replicate it.

[Jimmy2228]

Following up on this if anyone has the same issue, turns out it was a seized brake caliper. Note this only happened after 20mins of driving.

I had it pulled apart and the slide pins cleaned up and re-greased but after a day the noise was back, and when I would take off I would hear a loud thump from the back left wheel as the caliper released.

Got a reco caliper for $260 installed, pretty happy in the end.

[muzza]

I was going to suggest slide pins, but barring that, the actual piston/seals inside the wheel cylinder binding up. The rubber seals should allow a little bounce back to let the pads just clear the disc in normal operation.

Great to hear you got it sorted.