Brakes squeaking, now fluid is visible.

Hey all, I have an 02 Chevy Impala, and I've been having problems with my brakes.

I had a squeaking sometimes when I would come to stops, so I decided to tell my mechanic to do my back brakes, because he said those ones were the worst. After I got pads and rotors changed there was an even worse squeaking noise after I drove for a while. I would be going at highway speeds and there was a constant, loud high pitched squeal. I thought maybe the front ones had gotten bad, so I had a day off work and decided to save the money on labor and do it myself. the pads and rotors were pretty worn, and I actually ended up having to replace the calipers too (the pin bolts wouldn't even screw in all the way because the threads were so rusted out). I installed those correctly, the front ones work fine. Now there was still a squeal after I did the whole front brake system, and I could pretty well recognize that it was coming from the rear. I borrowed someones car that I live with to go to work, because I didn't trust my back brakes anymore, and sure enough when I got home from work there was a small puddle of fluid that i noticed on the tire and ground on the back passenger side. I felt it and it feels like brake fluid to me, i know it wasn't water...

Anyways, I knew I should have just done the back ones myself when I had time, but the squeaking was getting pretty bad, and I like to do my own work when i have time, but I was in a bind at work and was going out of town in the next few days so I just thought i'd be easier to get whichever pair was worse replaced quick. I'm just looking for some advice, do you think my mechanic messed up? because thats sure what I'm thinking right now. If so, I don't want to pay parts and labor on HIS mistake. I know a bit about cars, and I know how to do pretty simple things, but I dont know what to think about this.

Any thoughts from someone more experienced would help me and would be much appreciated.

[quote=j cAT;6991490]the replacing of brake pads/rotors/calipers is not complicated. the person you used is not to be considered for any future repairs. 2002 vehicle would require new rotors/calipers in a area with corrosive chemicals used in de icing on the roads.

waiting until the brakes fail or begin to make noise before repairs are made is quite common. this is not recommended because of the cal pistons being extended cause soft brake pedal and can lead to pistion seal failure and binding of the pistons. the brake fluid should be bleed when the piston is first pushed back to replace the pads. this removes the contaminated heat damaged fluid from the braking system. the cal pins need replacing if rusted.

do not use cheap pads as these have material that rapidly wears the rotor surface. advanced auto has some very good quailty pads .I have used these over several years and found them to be good.


gm about 1998 began using cheap metal and metal the corrodes quite quickly. this also includes the brake lines. prior to this date the brakelines and caliper hardware lasted forever well over 10 years. with the newer vehicles brake lines /caliper/rotors need replacing after onlly a few years in the rust belt regions.

when you rotate your tires every 15,ooomi inspect all that brake hardware and fix any issues with the brake system.