another front end rattle...

[eriemoto.]

im hearing a rattle from the front passenger side of the car whenever i go over a sudden bump. it does not rattle over smaller bumps, only the quick/sudden ones. i have checked for looseness/play and there is nothing...

BUT, the only thing i noticed was that the inboard brake pad has a good amount of play in it when i grabbed the wear "sensor" and wiggled it around. i would say a good 1-2mm of play between the caliper piston and the rear of the pad.

which brings me to this. i then checked the driver's side inboard pad for the same play, and i get nothing, it touches the piston and i cant move it.

i raised both wheels off the ground and popped the tranny (automatic) in neutral. now i know both wheels should begin to spin even in neutral, but i was only getting rotation in the passenger wheel (pretty fast if you ask me), and hardly anything in the drivers wheel. then i had my father hold the brake pedal down and both sides lock up nice and tight. then he puts it in D and both wheels spin freely.

the brake pads i have on are also not even 2 months old. they are Wagner Thermo-Quiets (no shims required). both calipers are also fairly new.

does this sound like i have 2 different issues, or maybe the rattle is from the free-play of the brake pad? if that is the case, why would there be so much play between the caliper piston and the pad?

[mndude07]

Sounds like your caliper piston or slide bolts are sticking/siezed. Take apart your calipers and:

Check the slide bolts for damage or bending, replace if any.
Grease the slide bolts and replace them.
Check the pistons for any damage, replace if any.
Replace the seal and dust boot if damaged/torn/worn.

They are very simple calipers and can be rebuilt in 15 minutes with the right tools and an air compressor to remove the pistons.

[eriemoto.]

Sounds like your caliper piston or slide bolts are sticking/siezed. Take apart your calipers and:

Check the slide bolts for damage or bending, replace if any.
Grease the slide bolts and replace them.
Check the pistons for any damage, replace if any.
Replace the seal and dust boot if damaged/torn/worn.

They are very simple calipers and can be rebuilt in 15 minutes with the right tools and an air compressor to remove the pistons.

forgot to mention that i replaced the caliper bracket and both slides as well when i changed the brake pads. the top slide seized in the bracket and i was lucky to even get it off.

as for the caliper and piston itself, im going to take it off tomorrow for inspection. i dont suspect to find anything seriously wrong since they are fairly new, but you never know. i could rebuild, but with a warranty and being that i work at Advance Auto Parts part-time, i can just get a replacement caliper without any issues... or extra $$

as far as greasing the slides, can anti-seize compound be used? i normally use grease but i've noticed the caliper grease seems to wear out whenever i go to check them. looks like nothing is left when i take them out.

[mndude07]

forgot to mention that i replaced the caliper bracket and both slides as well when i changed the brake pads. the top slide seized in the bracket and i was lucky to even get it off.

as for the caliper and piston itself, im going to take it off tomorrow for inspection. i dont suspect to find anything seriously wrong since they are fairly new, but you never know. i could rebuild, but with a warranty and being that i work at Advance Auto Parts part-time, i can just get a replacement caliper without any issues... or extra $$

as far as greasing the slides, can anti-seize compound be used? i normally use grease but i've noticed the caliper grease seems to wear out whenever i go to check them. looks like nothing is left when i take them out.

No, they make a special slide pin grease. Permatex makes some, its green and very thick, almost like caulk before it dries. If you have the rubber boots over the pins, you shouldn't really lose any.

Also, just from a logical standpoint, something is obviously wrong with one caliper because both sides aren't indentical in how they look and feel as you've said.

[eriemoto.]

so i've narrowed down this noise and i definitely believe it is the inboard brake pad rattling around between the rotor and the caliper piston.

taking this information, i've just replaced the rotors, pads, bracket, and caliper.. and then bled the brakes. everything was torqued to spec as well.

the rattling still continues and there still seems to be a small gap between the brake pad and the caliper piston.

am i missing anything?


ninja edit: caliper slides/bolts were also replaced, as well as the boots

[old honda tek]

did you use the new anti ratttle clips that come with new pads they go on the caliper brackets ,and if you bought some cheap pads instead of the honda pads ,it might not have came with the cheap pads...

[eriemoto.]

did you use the new anti ratttle clips that come with new pads they go on the caliper brackets ,and if you bought some cheap pads instead of the honda pads ,it might not have came with the cheap pads...

yes i used the new clips, and i bought Wagner Thermo-Quiet pads

[Reignstarz]

I too get this rattle, I believe it's one of the suspension parts like. Top control arm, It too could be the rotor shield(Kinda makes that noise). But I have that rattle noise too when I hit a bump.

[eriemoto.]

I too get this rattle, I believe it's one of the suspension parts like. Top control arm, It too could be the rotor shield(Kinda makes that noise). But I have that rattle noise too when I hit a bump.

i've ruled out all suspension parts and pinpointed it to the brake pad that's rattling. i have new upper control arms/balljoints; tie-rods are solid, oem honda lower balljoints solid, sway bar links solid, everything else solid.