Hey guys. When I bought my rx-7 3 weeks ago the guy that sold it to me said he had just put on new brake pads and he said he "turned" them (I'm guessing he turned the brakes...sorry girl here so I don't know), about 3 weeks before I bought the the car. The thing is the breaks squeek really loud when I break, unless I break hard and fast.

Another thing is, when I'm at a stop the break pedal slowly goes in all the way and the car will start to move untill I let go of the break and push down on it again. Does this have anything to do with it? Or do I just need more break fluid?

 

Ok first of all he "turned" the brake rotors, not the pads. This resurfaces them and makes them perfectly smooth again.
Secondly, in order to stop squeeking you can try some "brake stop" or whatever it's called. All you do is apply it under the pads (can pick it up at any local pepboys, autozone, napa, ect. )
Lastly your brake pedal travel is due to your hydralic system. Check your break resevior to see if your losing fluid. Your probably going to need to replace the master cylinder and bleed the whole system.
Also while your at a parts store, I reccomend you pick up a Haynes Manual for your car, this website is great for info. but it's also good to have one of these around while your working on a car.
Good Luck!

 

Depending on the brand of brake pads, some squel more than others (mine do but cant rem brand) someone on here can recommend the best brand or you could search. The pedal movement could be low fluid, air in the lines or bad master cylinder. Turning the wheels means he took off the wheel rotors and had them turned on a lathe to remove grooves so the new pads will last longer, work better. If your fluid is low add more but if you still have problems you should have someone bleed the brakes and replace the master cylinder if needed...

good luck!

 

say you're a girl and all of a sudden everyone wants to help... lol

 

Boy you guys are quick!! Heehee! I'm off to buy the "Break Stop" now. Do I have to remove the pad or can I just remove the wheels and spray it on? I'm also gonna check my break fluid, hopefull that's all it is. And now that I know what "turning" means when talking about the breaks!!! Little by little I'm learning so much about cars thanks to my passion for the rx-7. I think this car will pay for itself in car knowledge alone!!!

 

The "Anti-squeal" compound they are reffering to, is applied to the backside of the pads, and must be allowed to dry, before re-installing the pads.
If you ask for Disc brake anti-squeal, the idiots at the parts store won't look at you with the "Deer in the headlights" look, unless they are really stupid.

 

Nonsense, i'm just that nice a guy!

 

Oh, and the pedal falling slowly to the floor, but having good feel after releasing and depressing again, is almost always caused by the master cylnider bypassing internally. This is generally the case if you never lose any brake fluid. If the fluid is dark, flush the entire system with fresh fluid. This will extend the life of the remaining brake system hydralics.

 

Got it, take of pads, spray, let dry. Master cylinder...ugh!...don't like the sound of a master-anything going bad, but I'll deal with it. Thanks again..."nice guys"!! lol.

 

Just to chime in with my two cents, the previous owner may have bledd the brakes when he replaced the pads and turned the rotors. I guess what I'm saying is sometimes things are just stupid easy and if you are running low on DOT3 you should check to make sure that the bleed valves on the all the calipers are shut all the way. If just one is slighty open it could be the cause of the brake peddle slowly moving to the floor.

 

Good observation sixtydgree.

 

Thank you. Capt

 

You may want to try bleeding your brakes, it's probably allready been mentioned, but I got tired of reading all the posts. And do what everyone else said, get some anti-squeak stuff, autozone sells it for $0.50 a package.

 

Not trying to be a smart *** but with the disc brake quiet (made by permantex) you put it on, quickly reinstall the pads and you have to apply the brakes in less then 15 minutes in order for the compound to properly setup and perform.

 

So Dan, do you suggest I do one pad at a time and then drive and hit the brakes within roughly 15 mins. to set them properly and then repeat for the other 3? Well, I guess I can just read the directions once I get the can.

 

i am a mechanic.. and my 2 cents is he put shitty pads on there or didnt do a good job on turning the rotors. you could also have the wrong pads.. if they continue to make noise either sand them with some sand paper and sand the rotors also.. and if that doesnt take care of it then try switching to ceramic pads.. or get some wagners.. those hardly ever make noise.. that brake stop stuff is crap.. if you have clean calipers and the slides are clean and lubed then you shouldnt need brake stop.. all it is is a rubbery compound .. i never use it and i have never had any complaints..

 

Doing one at a time is the best way to do it. I would put the car on jackstands and remove only one tire and do that wheel's brakes first. This way not only will you be able to press the brakes to help the stuff work, if you forget how things go back together you can always look at the other side...

 

if you dont know how a caliper goes back together then you shouldnt be touching your brakes ...

 

I couldn't agree more with you... I'm currently going to college to become a mechanic and honestly inexperienced people shouldn't mess around with brakes unless you are with someone who can point out if you make any mistake... Brakes are the most important thing on a car.... I just though I would mention that part about doing one side at a time because its smart, a reference can always be really helpful....

 

There is a brake squeal stop that works without having to take your pads off.
You just spray it on the disks.
I know because i was looking for some for my other car, at advance auto.
It has a picture of a disk brake and it tells you to spay it on.

I did not get it because the guy at the store told me the noise might go away by
itself after 100 miles or so.

 

I don't know about spraying ANYTHING onto the disc, unless you really wanna die.

Drive the car a little bit longer. Some brake pads need a 'break in' period, then they stop squeeling.

 

I'm not tryin to ruffle feathers but I wouldn't be worryin about a little squeak in the brakes..I would fix the hydraulic aspect of it first..your playin with your life(and others) when you fool around with the brakes and if you do not know what you are doin then find someone who does ..first things first...or else it's.. Ya I got rid of the squeal but my pedal hit the floor and I couldn't stop!...$.02 ..not tryin to be smug but damn..Sorry..

 

:word: Good point.

Oh.........and PepBoys does a free break check, I would recomend that you go and have them check your breaks and see what the problem is. They can tell you why the peddle drops and why the breaks squeel. They probably will tell you just what everyone else is saying, "Some breaks need to break in before they stop squeeling." or "We can fix it." (which usually means that they will do what was previously recomended and sand the pads and rotors) Anywho, good luck on the breaks and enjoy driving that car, they're alot of fun.

 

Well, the brakes quit squeeking with the anti-squeet stuff. I'm getting the break system checked up by a mechanic on monday (he seems to think it's the master cylinder). It should all be well and good by tuesday.

BTW...between me and my brother, applying the break-stop stuff wasn't all that hard!

 

The knowledge you gain from doing things on your own car is priceless,
and so rewarding. You feel closer to your car as you do more and as time
goes on you will be able to do more and more. The only limit is having the
right tools, and one can get most of those as time goes by.

Ofcourse it also takes having the time and some money, but very worth it.

I learn alot the few times i had to work on mine.