Topic: front breaks squeaking cb550 '76, new pads. what's up?

[kippstakes]

changed out the pads on my cb550 and after about a week of riding on them they began to squeak when i applied- quite when relaxed, for the most part. made sure that pads articulated well, back and forth, in their cylinders, and that the arm actuated on its pivot without binding.

any ideas?

[Dr. Noisewater]

I've seen a lot of threads about squeaky pads and it seems it's pretty common with aftermarket pads these days. I think people have had good results after drilling their rotor. But I don't have any first hand experience with it yet.

[Bru-tom]

mine do too on occasion, they are brand spanking new with phenolic piston. Drilled rotors and all... Its a nice early warning system for other motorists, its seems to get their attention pretty quickly hahaha

[kippstakes]

hehe, yes i suppose i don't need to worry about folks getting out of my way on cross walks, so that's goodness. any tips on drilling my rotor? actually haven't heard of that, but makes sense from what i've seen. wouldn't mind a little more stopping power, and a little less noise.
thanks

[Bru-tom]

i designed a template in autocad to make sure everything is symmetrical and also technically sound...in other words, i made sure that all the holes radii overlapped to prevent any grooves being eaten into the pads... but thats about all. I decided to go with a 6mm hole, not too big and not too small...

punched holes, set up in drill press and went on my way. Lots of coolant and i only used one drill bit (normall HSS) and only sharpened her once.

I also took some sandpaper to the surface of the disk with a flat pieces of metal as a guide i had laying around, i knew if was flat as i had milled it for a previous project. did a crosshatch pattern as can be seen..

[RodPlunger]

Might be a dumb question, but did you put the anti-squeak grease on the back of the pad?

[Bru-tom]

not sure if the OP did that, but Dow Corning High Vacuum Grease is the one to use if any. 100% pure silicone and no petroleum in it which will break down with heat...

[kippstakes]

Bru, thank you for the information. Very precise.
The pads are greased, yes.

Thanks everyone

[Bru-tom]

pleasure man...

But yeah, im using dow corning HVG as per recommendations from this forum and i get squeaks from time to time.

[Mooshie]

How else are you supposed to know when another SOHC is showing up?  You should have heard the cacophony at one of the SOHC relay tours meet ups....very funny. 
When I had to change out the Honda pads (a very sad day) and went to EBC put the brake disc anti squeal stuff on and they still squeaked.  However it is not very consistnet.  I find that if I clean the rotors with rubbing alcohol that lessens the announcement of my arrival--until they get yucky again but overall the sound is not deafening. 

[Jayelwin]

Had a 350 with an infernal squeak. That red goop that dries rubbery did the trick. I'll look for it.


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[750cafe]

Dow/corning #111 valve lubricant is the stuff to get to prevent any squeaks.
Simply apply it to the back of the pads where they make contact with the caliper and use it to lubricate the slides also.
(Industry secret BTW)

Eric

[flybox1]

Dow HVG is meant to be used to keep moisture out as is will not run out with heat build-up.   It in itself will not cure squealing brakes. 
Deglazing of rotor surface, pad chamfering, and rotor cross drilling are better options.

[Bru-tom]

Dow HVG is meant to be used to keep moisture out as is will not run out with heat build-up.   It in itself will not cure squealing brakes. 
Deglazing of rotor surface, pad chamfering, and rotor cross drilling are better options.

ah, thanks for that Fly...

Thats what i was meant to say that i did above with the sandpaper on my discs; Deglazing...
i did all of the above and it still squeaks from time to time, it kinda reminds me what an old machine im riding

[Trevor from Warragul]

The front brake on my 350/4 squeaked & squealed constantly. This was despite fitting a new piston, a new seal, making sure the caliper was spotless, fitting new brake pads & setting the alignment as per the manual. If I cleaned the disk the noise would decrease for a little while. The noise completely disappeared when I fitted new braided brake lines. I have a theory that really old brake lines develop cracks/flaps on the inside. These allow fluid to flow easily in one direction but restrict movement in the other direction.

Trevor

[bjbuchanan]

Most, if not all, aftermarket brakes will squeal. I thought I was clever and did a bunch of cross referencing and nailed some EBC semi sintered (FA12V something) thinking they would different than regular ebc fa12 and I was wrong. It seems only gennie honda pads don't squeal.

A tip top brake system will alleviate most of it except when you are coming to a final stop. I passed some little kid walking his dog that just stared with his ears covered last time I was out. Amusing and disappointing at the same time

[750cafe]

If you use the Dow Corning 111 (as mentioned earlier in this thread), they will not squeal.

Eric