Noise after brake job

[overdoseland]

Howz everyone doin?

I just did a brake job on my 2001 Accord 4cyl 2.3L Lx and I hear a whoo whoo whoo noise when driving. By brake job I mean I changed the front rotors and pads and flushed the brake fluid. I didn't do anything to the rear drums.

Now when I drive and hit 65-70km I hear a whoo whoo whoo sound from the front. Sounds more like its on the passenger side. The sound changes with wheel speed. I was thinking it could be wheel bearings but I dont hear it at higher speeds and at low speeds. Also when I brake the noise is gone. It sounds like something spinning out of round.

Could it be that the rotors need breaking in or maybe its defective? Any ideas on this matter?

[jeffcoslacker]

Sounds like a caliper is hanging and dragging a pad...Did you lube the caliper slides and all the contact points?

[overdoseland]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Sounds like a caliper is hanging and dragging a pad...Did you lube the caliper slides and all the contact points?

Thanks for the reply jeffcoslacker. Yes I lubed the caliper slides and contact points. I noticed that when I pressed the piston back it didn't look even all around and maybe I didn't put enough lube on the piston edges. Could that be a factor? I'm planning to jack the car up tomorow and inspect the calipers and rotors again. Weird that I only hear noise when the wheels are spinning without applying brakes so that might rule out the piston factor. What do you think?

[jeffcoslacker]

Usually when they drag one, it makes a noise until the brakes are applied. It may even be a pad that is somehow not fully seated in the caliper or a rattle spring out of place or something. That will do it to.

Did you use an old pad and a c-clamp to push the pistons in? Besides the tool made for compressin pistons, this is the only good way to do it. Squeezing them in with a slip joint pliers or anything like that is asking to cram them in crooked...

If that's the problem you may have to take the caliper off and pump the piston out with a couple of pedal strokes to relieve the bind, then push them back in straight and see what happens..


Also if there was any rust on the flange the rotor bolts up to, it can make the new rotor (and the tire/wheel) run untrue and cause noises and pulsations. I always wire wheel the surfaces with a cup brush on a drill before installing the new ones...

[overdoseland]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Usually when they drag one, it makes a noise until the brakes are applied. It may even be a pad that is somehow not fully seated in the caliper or a rattle spring out of place or something. That will do it to.

Did you use an old pad and a c-clamp to push the pistons in? Besides the tool made for compressin pistons, this is the only good way to do it. Squeezing them in with a slip joint pliers or anything like that is asking to cram them in crooked...

If that's the problem you may have to take the caliper off and pump the piston out with a couple of pedal strokes to relieve the bind, then push them back in straight and see what happens..


Also if there was any rust on the flange the rotor bolts up to, it can make the new rotor (and the tire/wheel) run untrue and cause noises and pulsations. I always wire wheel the surfaces with a cup brush on a drill before installing the new ones...

Yes, I used the c-clamp,old pad method to push the pistons in. I just took the wheels off and spun the hub and I hear a faint click noise. The noise didn't seem to emanate from the caliper so I went underneath to check the axle shafts on both sides. I noticed the passenger side shaft has some play. Is that normal? I also hear and feel the clicking noise where the axle meets the transmission. Theres a rubber boot that connects and thats where I feel the click when I spin the wheel. It was awkward for me to spin the wheel and feel at the same time. I checked the driver side and theres no play side to side but theres some play when moving the wheel back and forth. It also has a click when I move the wheel back and forth. Back and forth meaning I spin the wheel forwards then back wards and the click is heard during the transition from forward to backwards. Don't know if thats normal either. So the passenger side has play when I push it in and out. So pushing torwards the driver side and pulling back to the passenger side. Thats where the play is. So what do you think? Axle shafts need replacement?

[jeffcoslacker]

The click when you rock/spin them back and forth is normal. The shafts will usually have a little drift in/out too. Especially under full suspension hang...that's not a real normal operating angle for them...

[overdoseland]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

The click when you rock/spin them back and forth is normal. The shafts will usually have a little drift in/out too. Especially under full suspension hang...that's not a real normal operating angle for them...

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated jeffcoslacker. Well I went underneath and checked the shafts on both sides where the inner shaft meets the transmission and I noticed that I can push up slightly on the ends which indicates a bit of play. Maybe thats normal? Not sure. It's like a round metal cylinder just past the boot Is where I pushed up on.

So you say the click when rocking/spinning is normal. I spun the wheel again and I hear a faint click, click, click noise thats rotational to the when the wheel is spun. Not the same click as I mentioned before when rocking/spinning back and forth. This is the same clicking I hear along the drive shafts. Could this be a wheel bearing going out? Its kind of hard to pinpoint which side b/c I hear it when I spin the wheel on either side but tends to be closer to the left side of the transmission. But when I'm driving the whoo whoo whoo sound seems to be coming from the right side of the vehicle.

Heres a little more history about the car. Had the right cv axle replaced a couple years ago. The tranny was replaced a few years ago also but I think it's a tranny from a different year or model b/c I took it to a dealer that a buddy of mine worked at and he said it's not the right tranny for the car. The rear tranny mounts are missing 2 bolts also and that might be the cause for slight vibration in my seat when I accelerate, but the vibration tends to go away. Only very slight vibration when accelerating from a stop. I hear that when axle shaft bearings are worn that could cause vibrations also upon acceleration. I also hear clunking in the suspension when going over a series of bumps. I think the cause is a worn stabilizer link. While I was under the car I was shaking and banging the stabilizer bar with my hands and there seems to be slight play where the stabilizer link is on the left side. It's more like a knocking noise than a clunk when going over bumps. Sometimes I don't hear it but most of the time I do.


Anyways sorry for going off topic here. Back to the wheel noise. I"m planning to get the tires balanced and rotated to see if that helps. I just drove it tonight to dinner and couldn't really hear the noise but after dinner driving home I could here it a around 65-70km/hr.That's the speed where the noise is most pronunced. It's not really loud but it's there. I can only hear it with the windows rolled up. I don't hear anything from the outside while driving with the windows down. So I'm thinking is the noise related to the click, click, click rotational noise I hear when spinning the wheels by hand? Axle shaft worn? or wheel bearings? What's your take?

[rather_b_boatin]

Another thought, I've had problems, that you describe, with those metal tabs that stick out perpendicular to a new pad. I usually cut them off with an angle grinder or pull them off with channell locks unless they are part of what helps them to mount or seat.

[overdoseland]

Originally Posted by rather_b_boatin

Another thought, I've had problems, that you describe, with those metal tabs that stick out perpendicular to a new pad. I usually cut them off with an angle grinder or pull them off with channell locks unless they are part of what helps them to mount or seat.

Are you saying those tabs could be scraping on something? I don't think it's those tabs making the noise because I took the caliper and bracket off and spun the hub by hand and I still hear and feel a slight clunk click clunk click noise. Not loud, kind of a faint noise but it's there. Thanks for the reply though. Much appreciated!

[rather_b_boatin]

I'm assuming you spun the hub with the wheel off? On my wife's car, tabs were scraping inside of the rim.

[overdoseland]

Originally Posted by rather_b_boatin

I'm assuming you spun the hub with the wheel off? On my wife's car, tabs were scraping inside of the rim.

Yes, I spun the hub with the wheel off and I didn't hear any scraping sound except for a normal brake pad dragging sound.

I'm gonna have a look again today and also regrease the anti-rattle spring clips.

[jeffcoslacker]

You can usually get some slop in the shaft when pushing around on them, especially on the tranny side. That's the play in the splines where it goes into the tranny, and a small amount in the tripod (inner) joint.

The inner consists simply of three bearings on a spider, each running in a channel inside the housing, and packed with grease. They click when you reverse direction as they change position to run on the opposite side of the channel....



That's normal. the outer joint is a cage with a set of ball bearings...if properly packed and in good condition, they shouldn't really make any noticable noise.



Anyway...do you think this noise started right after the brake job, or could you just be hypersensitive to noises because it was worked on? Happens to me all the time...

[overdoseland]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

You can usually get some slop in the shaft when pushing around on them, especially on the tranny side. That's the play in the splines where it goes into the tranny, and a small amount in the tripod (inner) joint.

The inner consists simply of three bearings on a spider, each running in a channel inside the housing, and packed with grease. They click when you reverse direction as they change position to run on the opposite side of the channel....



That's normal. the outer joint is a cage with a set of ball bearings...if properly packed and in good condition, they shouldn't really make any noticable noise.



Anyway...do you think this noise started right after the brake job, or could you just be hypersensitive to noises because it was worked on? Happens to me all the time...

Well before the brake job I didn't hear the noise or notice it. Now I hear it at certain speeds but it's weird because sometimes I don't hear it and sometimes at lower speeds I hear it. I also notice when coming to a stop i hear like a whom whom sort of humming sound that I didn't hear before. Maybe I'm being paranoid lol. I seem to get like you, hypersensitive with noises too. Anyway I'll rotate and rebalance the tires as I still haven't done so. I notice vibrations at higher speeds. As for the noise, it's really not that loud at all. You kinda have to pay attention to notice it so i'll just leave it for now or until it gets really noticeable. Thanks a lot for the info jeffcoslacker, really appreciate it.!!!

[somick]

On some models Honda uses two shims to reduce noise. It does not actually reduces it but rather moves it to a level when our ears cannot here it. Your problem can be of that type. Go to www.tegger.com. He got a lot of useful information there. One of them is about brake noise I think.

Sam

[overdoseland]

Hi everyone,

Heres an update on my issue, sorry for takig so long.

I had the wheels rotated and balanced and now I don't seem to hear the noise. I'm sure it was the rotor and pads breaking in and tire noise. The car drives fine since the brake job so I guess the problem is solved for now. Thanks for everyone's input, very much appreciated.