Early S3/TE brake squeal.
Discussion
I'm at my wits end here. Here's my (somewhat long) history. I bought my '83 TE last October. It was bought with the understanding that there was a vibration due to suspension components needing replacement.
After getting the car and spending some time behind the wheel I realized it was brakes, not suspension that was causing a (violent, rip the wheel out of your hands) shimmy. I figured warped rotor. So I ordered new pads, rotors, bearings, ball joints and trunnion rebuild from JAE. Of course October became November and not having a garage of my own, the car was stored before I could touch the front end.
The weather improves and April rolls around. I have a friend of mine with an import shop do the work (since he has the lift and a bit more experience, not to mention the car was stored there.) When he pulls off the existing pads there is a shim behind each pad that is notched to mate with the piston (which also has a notch in it.) This is confusing to my friend and he calls JAE for advice. They tell him that those shims are from an earlier Esprit and that they shouldn't have been on the car. Problem solved and he installs the new pads without shims.
Now I get the car back, and the shimmy is (mostly) gone, but the car's brakes squeal (both sides) under braking and then began to squeak (from the passenger side) when I'm not braking. The shimmy is gradually coming back too.
I actually went as far as putting brake quiet on the back of the pads this weekend which didn't help at all. I also looked in the Service Manual and it does show a shim that should go on the inboard pad (but from the look of things, it isn't the same as the shim that was on the pads previously.)
My next step is to rebuild the calipers on both sides which may solve some of my problems, but I think I'll still have the squeal.
The last thing I'll mention is that when I first got the car, one of the first things I did was have the wheels all rebalanced. The passenger side wheel defiantly has been curbed which may be the cause of the shimmy (even though it is balanced.) New wheels and tires are on the agenda for later this summer.
So I guess I'm just wondering who else has done brakes on an early (pre-85) Turbo Esprit who can tell me the truth on the shims. Secondly, I'm looking for suggestions as to what I might be missing here. I would hate to destroy a set of (not so cheap) rotors before I sort this all out.
There's nothing worse than pulling up to someone who is admiring your car only to let loose on their ears with the shrill of your brakes.
Just as a disclaimer, I'm certainly not complaining about JAE. As with most people in the Lotus community they have always been helpful.
>>> Edited by DrieStone on Monday 3rd May 12:57
After getting the car and spending some time behind the wheel I realized it was brakes, not suspension that was causing a (violent, rip the wheel out of your hands) shimmy. I figured warped rotor. So I ordered new pads, rotors, bearings, ball joints and trunnion rebuild from JAE. Of course October became November and not having a garage of my own, the car was stored before I could touch the front end.
The weather improves and April rolls around. I have a friend of mine with an import shop do the work (since he has the lift and a bit more experience, not to mention the car was stored there.) When he pulls off the existing pads there is a shim behind each pad that is notched to mate with the piston (which also has a notch in it.) This is confusing to my friend and he calls JAE for advice. They tell him that those shims are from an earlier Esprit and that they shouldn't have been on the car. Problem solved and he installs the new pads without shims.
Now I get the car back, and the shimmy is (mostly) gone, but the car's brakes squeal (both sides) under braking and then began to squeak (from the passenger side) when I'm not braking. The shimmy is gradually coming back too.
I actually went as far as putting brake quiet on the back of the pads this weekend which didn't help at all. I also looked in the Service Manual and it does show a shim that should go on the inboard pad (but from the look of things, it isn't the same as the shim that was on the pads previously.)
My next step is to rebuild the calipers on both sides which may solve some of my problems, but I think I'll still have the squeal.
The last thing I'll mention is that when I first got the car, one of the first things I did was have the wheels all rebalanced. The passenger side wheel defiantly has been curbed which may be the cause of the shimmy (even though it is balanced.) New wheels and tires are on the agenda for later this summer.
So I guess I'm just wondering who else has done brakes on an early (pre-85) Turbo Esprit who can tell me the truth on the shims. Secondly, I'm looking for suggestions as to what I might be missing here. I would hate to destroy a set of (not so cheap) rotors before I sort this all out.
There's nothing worse than pulling up to someone who is admiring your car only to let loose on their ears with the shrill of your brakes.
Just as a disclaimer, I'm certainly not complaining about JAE. As with most people in the Lotus community they have always been helpful.
>>> Edited by DrieStone on Monday 3rd May 12:57
Hi,
A couple things may be causing your squealing, singly or in combination. You may have glazed them by using them too hard in the first few miles. You may require anti-squeal shims (take a shoe to an auto-parts store and look for some which match or are close. If close, a tin snips can shape them to the proper size, I did this with a friend's Elan+2 using shims from a Honda Passport, worked like a charm. Finally, the leading edge of the pad may be setting up a resonant vibration.
If glazed, remove the shoe and run with #80 grit sandpaper to remove the glaze and roughen them up. Use a #100 grit and go over the rotors to roughen them up too. Then use the brakes sparingly and lightly for the first 50 or so miles until they are bedded in and gassed off properly.
Also, take a file and chamfer the leading edge (of rotation - the rear) of the pad at 45°. This is an old D.I.Y. trick and works 95% of the time.
Finally, if you have high performance pads, they are prone to some squealing because of the materials used. Performing the steps above will hold this to a minimum, but may not eliminate it entirely. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
A couple things may be causing your squealing, singly or in combination. You may have glazed them by using them too hard in the first few miles. You may require anti-squeal shims (take a shoe to an auto-parts store and look for some which match or are close. If close, a tin snips can shape them to the proper size, I did this with a friend's Elan+2 using shims from a Honda Passport, worked like a charm. Finally, the leading edge of the pad may be setting up a resonant vibration.
If glazed, remove the shoe and run with #80 grit sandpaper to remove the glaze and roughen them up. Use a #100 grit and go over the rotors to roughen them up too. Then use the brakes sparingly and lightly for the first 50 or so miles until they are bedded in and gassed off properly.
Also, take a file and chamfer the leading edge (of rotation - the rear) of the pad at 45°. This is an old D.I.Y. trick and works 95% of the time.
Finally, if you have high performance pads, they are prone to some squealing because of the materials used. Performing the steps above will hold this to a minimum, but may not eliminate it entirely. Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE
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