Brake "noise"

[scorcher]

Got a noise coming from my brakes.When slowing from about 40 mph or less on the inital bite I get quite an intrusive "clunk".I thought it was perhaps the pads moving but not sure now.Not really sure which corner its coming from or whether it does it at higher speeds as I cant hear it.Brakes are not quite as good as they were so will get the pads sorted on the impending service.Any ideas on the clunk??

Scorcher

[steve-v8s]

may be a silly point but are your wheel nuts tight ?

[GreenV8S]

Could be the wishbone moving on the bush and coming up against the chassis, or the pad moving within the caliper, or a badly worn caliper slider, or perhaps the caliper not bolted securely to the upright.

[Mutant Rat]

Are you sure it's the brakes, and not something in the driveline (worn diff mountings; worn driveshaft CV joints?).

As GreenV8s says, though, I don't think I'd even consider driving the car again until I'd been round and checked that all the caliper mounting bolts are tight and that no other suspension components are obviously loose or broken.

If it is pads moving in calipers, you should be able to simulate it by jacking the wheels and spinning them by hand. Also, with care, you could jack the rear end of the car & support it on axle stands, so that both rear wheels are off the ground and run the engine in gear, to determine whether it is driveline related.

[shadowfax]

Mine does the same sometimes. They checked out fine this week. There is also a rattle from the brake pads most of the time, over bumps, which goes away when even slight pressure is applied. I was told by previous owner it always does this, due to the way the pads sit loosely in the caliper. They sure work well.

[scorcher]

Just had the front wheels off and the problem (i hope) is the inboard pad on the nsf moving about in the caliper.Can't see any other problem there so have put some copper grease around the ends to try and dampen the clunk.Is this movement likely to cause any long term damage to the caliper? ie do I change the pads and hope I get some better fitting ones (if it is the pads at fault and they have loads of miles left in 'em yet!)Also spotted that the joint on the exhaust/manifold looks a bit black aswell but couldn't tighten clamp up anymore .Another job for a cooler day.

Scorcher