Thread: Squeaky

Hey guys what's going on. I'm new to the board posting wise but have been watching it for a while. Ok so here is my question: Lately my breaks have started a high pitched squeak. I took of the tires and sprayed degreaser and what not on the disks, but am not to familiar with drums. The only thing throwing me off is; when I am just rolling along, it's still squeaking, no brake compression at all. The brakes aren't very old at all so could it either be;
1.Dirt and moisture from my last desert trip.
2. Something else, hah.
It's a 95 4.0 Ford Ranger. Any help would be awesome. Also, if anyone has diagrams on the removal/cleaning of drum brakes that'd be greatly appreciated too. Sorry for the long first post. Thanks again.

front brake possibilites...(assuming your pads are new like you say)

1. stuck caliper which is causing a pad to drag on the rotor which over time had caused a hot spot which makes the squeel

2. a rock or debris in one of the pads,

3. a bent wear indicator that is contacting the rotor at all times.



rear brake possibilites.

1. shoes worn down to the rivets.

2. debris or a rock stuck in the shoe.

3. broken spring spring causing the shoes to drag.


pull the drums and check it out. shoot some break clean in there and look for broken hardware/springs and or deep grooves/gouges in the drum surface or hot spots from debris.

Jack the truck up and have both front tires off the ground. Then check for play by shaking on the tires side to side. You might have fucked up ball joints.

could be dirt in the wheel bearings. throw your center caps back on, or put the covers back on your stock wheels (if you took them off) after you re-lube your wheel bearings. see if that fixes it.

do what pirate suggests, if the spindle shifts from side to side, its your ball joint, if the spindle doenst shift, its just your wheel bearing that is loose... just tighten it down... it might be a good time to replace the bearings too...

WTF PEOPLE..........

matt i dont think any of your of your possibilities are even close to what the problem really is. its the balljoints for sure,they always sqeak when bad,especially rolling straight and not turning the wheel while brakes are not applied.

lol...

Yeah, my balljoints squeek like a MFer. *sigh*

im so lost by that......

muffler bearing?

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (matt_helton @ Jan. 17 2005,9:45)]WTF PEOPLE..........

My thoughts exactly ....

First things first, I'd try the things Matt has suggested ... Most of these replies seem to be ignoring the part where the DRUMS were cited as the culprit. ... 2¢

Actually he said he "sprayed cleaner on the discs" and wanted to know more about the drums. My truck had the same problem. I checked the brakes and they were fine. Then I realized it was the balljoints when I checked for play in the front tires. I replaced the balljoints, problem solved.

Haha, I missed that part .. .Whoops! .. Still, I would begin by checking the drums, as they have not yet been checked ... I'm bettin' my money on dirt being in there ... . 2¢

He said he didn't know how to remove drums though.
-dave

my ranger has done the same, it was actually loud untill i hit the brakes.. i just used my pressure washer and blasted the front rotors and calipers and it stopped, it probably has dirt/brake dust. after blasting it black/brown water ran out and it was fine, try it, even with a gargen hose, try to get a nozzle that emultaes alot of pressure. dooo ittttt. matt what the hell are you thinking. lol.

That was my other plan. It now sounds like a fucking rock imbeded itself in the brake pad hah. Day off tom though, I'll figure it out.

are you all fucking smoking shit? its obviously the spark plugs and the flux capacitor. sometimes when the flux capacitor reciprocates, it will cause the blinker fluid to run low...so make sure to check all that,a nd it should do the trick

unnecessary.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (TFD @ Jan. 22 2005,7:47)]unnecessary.

Whats unnecessary. Him making a joke or you unnecessarily posting unnecessary? :

Ok welp, it's gone to hell. Honestly sounds like a rock scraping against metal. Can't tell if it's front or back. Had the rotors replaced not too long ago so I guess I'm taking it back to the douche who did it. Meanwhile, can someone either explain or send me a diagram showing how to remove drum brakes. Would be GREATLY appreciated. That, or come over and fix it haha.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Sharp @ Jan. 23 2005,5:08)]Ok welp, it's gone to hell. Honestly sounds like a rock scraping against metal. Can't tell if it's front or back. Had the rotors replaced not too long ago so I guess I'm taking it back to the douche who did it. Meanwhile, can someone either explain or send me a diagram showing how to remove drum brakes. Would be GREATLY appreciated. That, or come over and fix it haha.

Removing the drums is pretty simple.

1.) jack up rear
2.) remove wheel
3.) grab the dum and pull, make sure the e-brake is not on
4.) inspect shoes and inside of drum

From there, take a good look at it. It's all pretty common sense stuff. There should be a decent amount of material left on the shoe, if not you need to replace those.

I'd suggest you pick up a Chilton's manual for your truck. You can find it at Kragen, maybe Vato Zone or Pep Boys. You'll save a lot of time, headache, and money that way.