Pontiac Owners Club UK

Got an occaisional slight grinding noise - sounds like a brake pad rubbing - all looks good with the wheels off and no obvious sign - but can anyone tell me if the pads are supposed to be held back by wire springs like every other car I've had? The calipers and pads are fairly new in terms of miles and wear and appear to work ok but I've never seen any springs on them since they were installed and the pads are a little loose in the caliper when brake is released.

According to my manual, the pads done have any spring retainer clips like modern calipers have. The pads simply fit into place and a spring locates one pad into the inner hollow of the piston one side and the other side has a cutout for the flange on the back of the pad.

.

If they are grinding or squeaking then there may be a build up of brake dust on the leading edge of the pads, or there may be something trapped. Are the discs scored at all? Are you sure it's the fronts? My rear drums get noisy after 6 months or so and require a good blast of air through the drums to clear out any dust inside. If all else fails you may need to take the pads out to inspect and or add some extra copper slip/anti seize to the back of the pads to dampen down the vibration which will stop the noises. If you ever jet wash the wheels area this can remove the stuff that was applied when the pads where fitted.

Thanks Ian i did all that but don't see anything wrong. Guess i should check prop shaft etc in case its not brakes. But noise stops when braking.

If the noise stops when braking it would suggest vibration of the pads. Mine had that and I re lubricated the back of the pads but this was years ago and it never came back.

I'll take all four brakes apart and copper grease them well. See if it helps. My outboard rear pads are quite loose in the caliper- not against the disc but like up and down. You can move them a couple mm. Maybe a shim might help.