99 Windstar Brake Noise

[litzltd]

I'm new to this forum so sorry if this has already been posted.
My 99 has a bad metal on metal rubbing noise in the left front brake.
I have not experienced any braking problems. I put new pads on it and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The rotors were in very good shape. I did notice the left caliper was stiffer than the right side. The new pads quited the noise for few miles but the sound is back worse than ever. I assume it is in the caliper itself.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so what did you do
to fix? Thanks.

[rodeo02]

Usually it's just the caliper slides are really dirty causing the caliper to not compress/release/slide properly. Make sure to always pull & thoroughly clean the calpier pins and lube'em up with a silicone grease. Pay particular attention to the slides and/or slide shims. These HAVE to be clean & greased to work properly. I've found that I need to do this yearly living in the lovely rust-belt!! Make sure to only use a silicone grease, as anything else will destroy rubber brake parts & just melt away.
G/luck
Joel

[litzltd]

Thanks rodeo02. I'll pull a wheel and look the slides over again. It's worth a try.

[JoeK]

NAPA sells slide kits for the calipers. They are about $10 each and contain the slide clips, new slide bars for the calipers and new boots.

[Karazy]

Originally Posted by rodeo02

Usually it's just the caliper slides are really dirty causing the caliper to not compress/release/slide properly. Make sure to always pull & thoroughly clean the calpier pins and lube'em up with a silicone grease. Pay particular attention to the slides and/or slide shims. These HAVE to be clean & greased to work properly. I've found that I need to do this yearly living in the lovely rust-belt!! Make sure to only use a silicone grease, as anything else will destroy rubber brake parts & just melt away.
G/luck
Joel

I also have a 99 windstar with a serious grinding noise coming from the left front brake assembly. I pulled the assembly, the rotor looks great, the slide pins weren't bad, but the slide clips were dirty. I lubed the slides cleaned the clips and retested. No improvements. Could it be that the caliper pistons didn't release causing the pads to heat up and become "glazed" and now cause the grinding noise.

If a wheel speed sensor was clogged causing the anti-lock breaking mechanism to activate wouldn't this be easily differentiable from a hideous grinding noise. If the caliper isn't releasing properly would it pull at all to that side?

I am just trying to avoid having the rotors turned, replacing the pads, perhaps overhauling or replacing the caliper just to keep hearing that noise. Any comments would be appreciated.

[JoeK]

Look to the obvious, then to the less obvious. If there is a grinding noise, and the rotor looks ok, then I doubt it's a brake. After you drive the car, place your hand near - not on - the rotor and feel the heat. Feel the other side. Are they pretty even or is one side a lot hotter? If one side is hotter, the caliper is probably sticking. I'd forget about the antilock sensor. The sensor would kick a code on the computer and the engine light would come on.

But I'll tell you now, I'd look elsewhere for the problem. It may not be brakes. Could it be the rack or a ball joint?