Blessmyvette

Recently got a 1982 Corvette. Wanted one since I was a little girl. It's a beautiful car. My husband surprised me with it. It runs great, all orginal, only 20,000 miles. Recently I brought it to a mechanic my husband has used for years and has total trust in. The brakes squeaked, a simple thing to fix I thought. I made an appointment, told the mechanic i didn't want to leave it. I was there at 8:00 am till 1:00 pm. I didn't mind that it took that long at all. I was just so glad I didn't have to leave it, but on my way home, the squeak was back. That really ticked me off. My husband called the mechanic and he said that my brakes squeak because I have high performance brake pads and they squeak. I don't know anything about cars but that just sounds like crap to me. I just can't believe that someone who drives a high proformance car would have squeaky brakes. Can anyone tell me if this is true or not?

dgood

Brakes are not supposed to squeak at all. With some brake pads, you are supposed to put some lubricant on the back of the pads (the part that touches the calipers) to stop squeak, he may have left it off. He may have used crappy pads also. Take it back and have them put better pads on (OEM are fine).

Do they squeak only when applying the brakes or when traveling down the road? The reason I am asking is if it is going down the road making a squeaking sound, it may be something else.

dgood

Brake pad change out on these cars should take max and hour but he may have had other things going on. Up date your profile and let us know where you are at and maybe someone can give you a recommendation as to where to go to get it done right.

Blessmyvette

Actually he didn't change the brake pads. He brought me into the shop area and my car had all the tires off. He showed me the brake pads and pointed out how thick they were. He told me they were new high performance pads and that the squeak was coming from the front passenger side tire. The squeak was a lot better when I left, because I didn't hear it until I was almost home. It only squeaks when I press the brake.

dgood

hmmmm, then I would go with putting some of the pad lubricant on the back of the pads. They sell the lubricant at almost all auto parts store up at the cash register. Little dab on the back of each pad should do it. If that does not help, I would change the pads.

Not sure about the "high performance pads" he is talking about. Most of our vetts only need your basic pad to stop unless yours has been really modified. Sometimes the squeek will go away after awhile.

kjb13

I have also been told by a mechanic that I trust, that some high quality pads will squeak. Might be some truth to it.

REELAV8R

In my experience semi-metallic pads always squeak. To get non-squeaky pads I would recommend organic pads. However the trade off is in performance. Organics can heat up and fade if using them in any performance application.
There is a heat shield on the back of the brake pad, sometimes this needs the bake pad anti-squeak "glue" for lack of a better term to keep it from vibrating at a high frequency which we hear as a squeak.

joewill

there is nothing really mechanically wrong with squeaking brakes if the pads are not worn.
pad material against a heat glazed rotor will also cause this.

hose off your pads with a pressure washer ( at the car wash ), or driving thru a rain puddle sometimes helps.

A 82 is not really a high performance car, it is more of a luxury car. it will have the same issues as any other '82 car.

my brakes on my truck squeal like a pig when they are cold. but i know they are fine mechanically, so I don't worry about it.

drwet

Some pads squeal. I don't know if it has anything to do with their quality or not. In fact the same pad can squeal in one application, and not in another. Go figure. I do know that the squealing problem has been a lot worse since they stopped using asbestos in brake pads.

Changing to another pad may solve the problem. A knowledgeable parts guy (and they're a dying breed) will be able to give you a recommendation.

The common solution to squealing brakes is to apply an adhesive such as 'Disc Brake Quiet' to the back of the pads. This stuff is not recommended for Corvettes due to the four piston caliper design. Not sure why. Another fix is to apply a lubricant to the back of the pad. I haven't had much luck with this one.

I have found the only solution is to change to a different pad, or live with it. (And I have never been able to live with it.)

garygnu

how did the rotors look?glazed ?mite need to turn the rotors ,or scuff them up if they aren't grooved.I use a 3m wheel to deglaze rotors.

jb78L-82

Generally speaking, brake pads do not squeal unless there is some movement either from the pad and the backing plate or the rotor may not be absolutely true-not wobbling. I think that the best solution has been mentioned above-change the pad material or apply anti squeal lubricate to the backing plate of the brake pads and the piston-which I have never had to do on any car I have or do own.

I have owned my 78 C3 since 1983 which has the exact same braking system as your 82 and have had the OEM GM pad, pure semi-metallic pads (heavy metal content) and since the early 2000's Performance Friction Carbon Metallic which is a high performance pad (versions of which have been used in Nascar and Indy Cars) and not one has ever squealed. I have used the Performance Friction pads on many of my cars over the last 13 years including a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix owned since new (125,000 miles)-no squeal ever. I have EBC pads on a 94 Mustang GT Convertible-no squeal.

I did have a squeal on my Chrysler 300 with CERAMIC pads-standard pad-with new front rotors that I did not have before with the OEM rotors and Pads-company car. Going to PF pads at the next brake change. The pads stopped squealing after about 5,000 miles-bedded in with the new rotors?

I did have a squeal on the Grand Prix with junk rotors and the PF pads when the rotors were warped and rusting on the surface. Changed rotors and squeal disappeared.

Do you have the OEM rotors?

I have heard some slight squealing from the Hawk HPS high performance pads but others have used them with no issues.

Hope that helps!

noonie

Try chamfering the leading edge of the pads.
Slow easy driving contributes to squeal from glazing, try driving it hard a bit.

wombvette

You guys that are recommending the anti squeak stuff need to rethink that. You absolutely never want to use a rubberized or hardening compound on the back of the brake pads. The pads move back and forth when applied in reverse and forward. If the compound sets up on the back of the pad, the pistons are rocked sideways every time the pads change direction and will eventually cause wear and leaking.

Most squeals of this type are caused by glazing or herringbone patterns in the rotor finish. It would be best to look for the root cause instead of causing another problem with a crutch fix.

Paul Workman

Always willing to learn something, but I installed a set of pads that had (apparently) a tube of RTV silicone to be applied to the back of the pads outside of the piston contact area. The brakes never squeaked. Since then, I've installed dozens of brake pads on my vehicles (sans Vettes as yet) and NONE of them squeak or had any other problem. I'm just sayin.

P.

wombvette

Yes, the brake companies supply the stuff with the pads sometimes. They have a vested interest. They know if it squeaks, they give you another set of pads if you complain. Its much cheaper to supply the stuff than give you another set. I didn't say the stuff doesn't work, I am saying it causes problems down the road.

The other cars you have done have a totally different type of brake system than the old corvette, so they are not a good comparison.

drwet

I have known for years that using anti squeal compound on corvette Brakes is a bad idea, but I never had an adequate explanation until now. That makes perfect sense. Thanks. I learned something today.