Robert, I had the same problem with my 1989 Carat. Last weekend I replaced the front rotors, pads, and bearings. Oh what a difference it made. I paid a few more dollars for the PBR Metal Master pads. They produce way less brake dust, and the squeal is gone! I also used some of that red Disc pad quiet stuff from our FLAPS on the back of each pad when I put them in. The red stuff helps to dampen the vibrations between the piston and pad while braking. My front pads were less than 50% worn, but the brake dust and squeal was not acceptable to me, so I fixed the problem. It took me 5 hours to replace the fronts, and my rears are fine, so I am leaving them alone for now, next brake job will go a lot easier as I now know what to do, and have all the tools and bearing grease. My Carat also stops a lot quicker now, and when the brakes hot, they still perform very well, thanks to the metal masters. My old rotors were beyond wear limits for machining, so I opted to go with new rotors and bearings. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Andy Yarnell 1989 Vanagon Carat Wolfsburg Edition
************************************************************************ ******** Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2003 10:33:37 -0400 From: robertmstewart <robertmstewart@MAC.COM> Subject: Squeaky Breaks Good Morning all, Have a question, I recently noticed my breaks are squeaking when I apply pressure to the pedal. I can't tell if it's coming from the front or rear of the van. I just had the front pads checked and the mechanic said they were fine. I had the rear cylinders replaced and brake shoes replaced 2 months ago. Any ideas? Robert NYC 89 Carat |
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