Minor brake concerns

My brakes are doing a couple of things that seem like a problem and I'm looking for feedback:

1) they are squeaking from time to time. not all the time, just maybe every 10th or 20th time i brake.

2) the brake pedal seems a little "mushy", meaning, i sometimes feel i need to push down a bit extra hard to engage the brakes all the way.

i'm planning on taking the car in to have the brakes inspected, but any guesses what might be going on, or things i should ask about?

1. if the pad and rotor thickness are in spec, the squeaking noise is commonly minor inpurfections in the rotor surface that will cause the pads/rotor to viabrate and want to push out ward, hence then leading to the lovible squeel. if the pad/rotors thickness is below specs, the pads have a little medal tab that will touch the rotor when the pads are to thin, they are like wear indicatiors, the tab contact will create a noise, and hopefully the customier will come in for new brakes before they are compeltly bad.

2. a "mushy" or spongy brake feel is commonly caused by air or moisture in the brake fluid, a dark colored fluid is also a sign of moisture. the system should be flushed, not just bleed. ether way, i recommend going to a saturn dealership, but if you have ABS, it is nessicary, as there is a special flush and bleed procerdure

1. if the pad and rotor thickness are in spec, the squeaking noise is commonly minor inpurfections in the rotor surface that will cause the pads/rotor to viabrate and want to push out ward, hence then leading to the lovible squeel. if the pad/rotors thickness is below specs, the pads have a little medal tab that will touch the rotor when the pads are to thin, they are like wear indicatiors, the tab contact will create a noise, and hopefully the customier will come in for new brakes before they are compeltly bad.

what does "in" or "below" spec mean?

2. a "mushy" or spongy brake feel is commonly caused by air or moisture in the brake fluid, a dark colored fluid is also a sign of moisture. the system should be flushed, not just bleed. ether way, i recommend going to a saturn dealership, but if you have ABS, it is nessicary, as there is a special flush and bleed procerdure

re: the brake fluid is checked every 3 months and has not been dark colored. would you then still suspect moisture, or air, in the fluid?

please bear in mind, i didn't check for "spongy" break until after i started hearing the squeal - which only happens as i said about every 20th stop.

my concern is, with my lack of knowledge of these issues, going to the dealership and having them trying to talk me into a whole new set of brakes when i don't need them yet. any suggestions for impressive "word dropping" i can do to give the impression i'm not a "mark" would be appreciated.

thickness specification - all rotors, pads, drums and shoes have a mininum thickness, once that thickness is reached, the part needs replaced. you can measure then yourself with a dial caliper, availibe at many auto part stores.

resurfacing the rotors may solve the squeel, but with todays high labor rate, its hard to say which will be cheaper, replacement or resurfacing. if they aren't that bad you can clean them up yourself also, it won't be great, but it might help.

if the fluid is more then 2 or 3 years out i would flush it ether way. it doesn't even need to be that dark even a mild brown is a bad sign. brake fluid is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs the moisture in the air very easily. if you buy a new can of brak fuild and open it it will be a yellow/light brown. leave it uncapped for as little as 15-30 minutes and it start to darken.

thanks for all the info. your explanations are very good.

i wouldn't even know which was the rotor, pad, drum or shoe, if i looked at the brakes. i'm only really interested in being well informed before i go to the repair shop. regarding this part of the problem, i will probably just ask them to take a look at the brakes and see if anything needs replacing.

i will check my records to see if the brake fluid has been flushed in last 3 years. i don't think so, and if not, i will definitely ask them to do that.

thanks again.

this is a drum, shaped like a bowl. depending on your options you may or may not have these on your rear wheels. the shoes are inside and push out on the drum when you press the brake pedal.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/drum-brake2.jpg

this is a rotor or disc brake, you have them on the front and maybe the back. on the right side of the photo you see the pads and caliper. when the brakes are applyed the caliper clamps the pads to the disc.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/disc-brake2.jpg

Hey I have a question about my brakes too (sorry didnt want to start a new thread) its a 1992 saturn sl2 with ~100k miles on it. recently had the brakes changed (all 4, the pads on front and drums on back)

Ok here it is, they are mushy also (I will check the fluid tomorrow to see if its brownish, and if it is, I will have it flushed)

But the major concern is when I apply the brakes sometimes it doesnt brake evenly. I dont know if I can explaing this properly but it feels like its chugging, as if I am applying the brakes lightly then hard, lightly then hard, lightly then hard, the car kind of shakes while braking (not all the time). What could be the reason behind this?

frist thing that comes to mind is ABS, if equipt, however unlikey that they would come on during every stop without with out turning on the ABS light(although it has happened)

the next thought is warped rotors/drums, but if you had a four wheel brake job that should have solved it(if the problem delevoped before hand), as the tech should have checked all new/reused/refinished parts for warpage. unless the brakes were overheated(abused) before they were fully broken in(a few hundard miles)

the last thought(and i'm thinking most likey) is a damaged suspension component. a bad ball joint, tierod, or wheel bearing can all create a vibiation simular to a warped rotor/durm

frist thing that comes to mind is ABS, if equipt, however unlikey that they would come on during every stop without with out turning on the ABS light(although it has happened)

the next thought is warped rotors/drums, but if you had a four wheel brake job that should have solved it(if the problem delevoped before hand), as the tech should have checked all new/reused/refinished parts for warpage. unless the brakes were overheated(abused) before they were fully broken in(a few hundard miles)

the last thought(and i'm thinking most likey) is a damaged suspension component. a bad ball joint, tierod, or wheel bearing can all create a vibiation simular to a warped rotor/durm

well when the brakes were replaced a ball joint was replaced also, hmm, maybe I should take it back and ask him one more time,