Brake Chatter

[floaterboy]

After installing new rotors and pads onthe front of my 2003 Taurus I noticed a "chatter" when the brakes are applied. Any ideas on what is causing this? Will it go away after the new components "wear in"?

[sfontain]

Well I don't mean for this to be a definitive answer since I've only done brakes one time before. But so long as you have ample braking power, you could probably drive on it for a *little while* to see if it improves.

When I did brakes on my last car, in my case, the pads were so thick that they rubbed on the rotors even when I wasn't braking, so my brakes smoked for a few miles but it cleared up rather quickly.

If your problem doesn't improve within a few miles, let us know.

[GPFred]

When you put in new rotors and pads, the surfaces need to be seated to one another. SOmetimes they will chatter and sometimes they will squel until seated. As long as the brakes feel solid and not mushy, you should be fine. If the chatter doen't go away after a few days of driving with them, you may have to go back and check to see if the anti-rattle clips are properly set in place. Good luck.

[denisb]

I installed new pads on my 97 Taurus two years ago and have had a chatter ever since, when braking hard or long. Not sure what it is. I have had my mechanic look at it and they claim nothing seems to be wrong. It's as if, when the brakes heat up, they chatter.

Denis

[TomV]

What type of driving do you do that would consume pads and rotors at such a fast clip?

I personally have not had problems with chattering when putting on a new set of pads and rotors. You should inspect the brakes and determine if it could be a mechanical problem (loose bolts, springs, etc). When you put the rotors on did you clean the surfaces of any protective finish with brake cleaning fluid? The last rotors I bought for my Tribute had a varnish sprayed on them.

After a while the chattering may occur because of 'material transfer', not a warping of the rotor. This has something to do with the metallic fibers of the pad welding onto the rotor surface, causing raised spots to form on the rotor. You can sometimes see this as an image of the brake pad on the rotor surface. New pads will not solve this problem but a slight sanding of the rotor may alleviate it a bit. I do not recommend a shop resurfacing the rotors since that removes a lot of material and my experience has been that it causes the rotors to heat up faster and wear out soon. Might as well save your money and put on new rotors to begin with. I bought my last set of Taurus rotors at an Autozone or Advanced Auto for less than $25 each. Of course you can spend more.