Bent axle? Or caliper

leviathon

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So recently I've had a pretty bad squeek coming from the left rear caliper. Checked and the pads were digging into the rattle clip causing them to bind... changed them back to normal... well they keep digging in and now this squeak is really loud.. am I dealing with a bad caliper of some type or a bent axle...i can't say it's impossible for either one.
 

mrgtx

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So recently I've had a pretty bad squeek coming from the left rear caliper. Checked and the pads were digging into the rattle clip causing them to bind... changed them back to normal... well they keep digging in and now this squeak is really loud.. am I dealing with a bad caliper of some type or a bent axle...i can't say it's impossible for either one.

Sorry I don't have a hypothesis for you here...but I believe that an event significant enough to bend your axle is something that you would notice. Is anything coming to mind?

Big potholes? Getting the car airborne?

Another thought is that launching the car repeatedly with slicks could work the axle tubes out of the differential housing...usually guys with big power/traction will weld the tubes in place. Is that relevant?

It wouldn't hurt to get under there and look for evidence of the tube walking out of the case...like a line with less rust?

Keep us posted.
 

leviathon

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there's no hard launches but a few hard corners. The car is a daily but potholes are a concern I don't recall any in particular that shoved the seat up my... you know but it wouldn't shock me. The only thing I can think of and this maybe the fact I'm not used too it. I get a shake in the car at about 95. Enough too shake the mirror also at 80mph the rear has a little groan? I guess but goes away at 83mph. It's very weird I know but no issues besides that. Just this weird brake issue
 

redfirepearlgt

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A plunger style dial indicator (.001 per division) would reveal a lot in this situation. A cheapo and a mounting base from Harbor Freight. Obviously remove the wheel and the rotor and touch off on the face of the axle hub. Rotate it and take measurement readings throughout the 360 degree rotation. Then do a compare to the axle on the other side for a verification. That would at least eliminate the axle as a probable cause to your delimma. A warped rotor would be the next thing to test. Place the rotor back on the axle. Use some washers and two lug nuts to secure it into place so it is tight against the axle hub. Touch off on the face of the rotor and take readings while rotating as before and compare to the other side. Doing the hub first if it checks good takes it out of the picture and allows you to then determine if the rotor is warped. If all checks good one can then only conclude that there is an issue in the caliper itself.

Good Luck.
 
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leviathon

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I've tried it. At first it was only when I steered to the right.. now it's almost constant
 

NickD87

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I had something similar, axle face was bent so slightly, no vibration when driving, but when I applied the brakes it squeeked and would engage and release from the rotor not being flat. Jacked it up and used a dial indicator and found out.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 

leviathon

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I got my dial indicator to check tonight...if for any reason the axle is bent ... is it worth the upgrade or just use stock replacement axles?
 

redfirepearlgt

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^^^ Depends on the power you are putting down. I am still running stock 31's. I did weld the axle tubes for safety purposes last fall. When you start cutting 1.4's on slicks it may be time to consider an axle upgrade. But if price per price they are close, do the upgrade for assurance. Moser makes some nice 31's and bigger.
 

leviathon

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Mines not a power house at all it's a 4.0 but it's a corner animal. And a DR and yes it is a 8.8 rear I switched out. Only thing that could bend it is potholes
 

BMR Tech 2

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My friend curbed my car a few months back and I had a constant squeaking coming from one side of the car when I would go through turns. I initially though the caliper bracket was bent, but it wasn't. Further investigation showed that the mounting bracket on the axle (the one that the caliper mounting bracket bolts to) was slightly bent. Once I removed the axle and replaced the mounting bracket, the noise went away.
 

leviathon

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Just an update...tweaked bracket, got to hot, hung up the pad, took out every brake component... great.....
 

Norm Peterson

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My apologizes, this was the cause..if I knew how to attach pictures I would.
Below the reply box there is a section "Additional Options". Various file types can be uploaded to your reply this way. That may be the easiest way if you don't use a photo hosting service where you'd have to upload the file there (and then link to that in your post).


Norm
 

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