Groaning when braking

[wb4lbg]

My 2000 is making a groaning sound just as the van comes to a complete stop. The harder the stop, the louder the groan; the slower the stop, the softer the groan but there is always a groan. It sounds like it is coming from the left rear of the vehicle. It's kind of embarassing because it sounds a lot like the car is breaking wind.

It doesn't seem to be a brake issue because it only does it for about half a second right as the weight of the van shifts forward due to inertia. The wheel cylinders were leaking and I replaced them and the brakes look good (more than 50% left).

Anybody ever have this groan?

Thanks!
JWS
2000 Silhouette GLS

[thejacobhartman]

check all the bushings around the rear end, i had a sunfire that farted for a long time the changed the bushings at the spring and forward braces and it stopped. also check your shocks

[desert_dog]

I had this exact same problem on my 2001 Silhouette. The left rear wheel cylinder was leaking. I cleaned the shoes and everything with brake cleaner until I could take it to the dealer. They replaced the wheel cylinders on both rear brakes even though only one was leaking. Haven't heard the noise since.

[rlm]

Sounds like what I experienced on my 98 Silhouette. The noise occurred in the very last second or two before reaching a complete stop. Right rear wheel cylinder was leaking badly. A mechanic friend advised replacing the shoes and the cylinder, plus turning the drum. He said it's very difficult to clean all the fluid and gunk that saturated the shoes' stopping material. Ironically, thicker shoes are more likely to need replacement because they absorb more, and are harder to clean thoroughly, than thinner shoes. Worked for me, but it was tough throwing away shoes with mucho miles remaining.

[richtazz]

groaning rear brakes are normally caused by contaminated shoes, either from a leaky wheel cylinder like mentioned above, or brake dust collecting in the drum.

[ggcatt]

I have a 2000 Chevy Venture which is making the same noise for about the past month. Doesn't seem to harm anything, other than being annoying. The brake fluid remains full. As long as the brakes work well and the fluid is full, is there any cause for concern here? I'm just inclined to leave this alone. Thanks for any replies.

[rlm]

Doesn't take much fluid leaking from a wheel cylinder to gunk up brake shoes with all the dust in the drums. The location of the fluid reservoir on my 98 Silhouette makes detecting small drops in fluid level difficult (adding fluid without spilling is a real pain). I thought my fluid level was about the same, but pulling a drum revealed a gunky mess. I'm glad I took 15 minutes and pulled the drum to be certain. Tires needed to be rotated anyway.