Brakes making a scraping noise

DAN STODDARD

MEMBER
2006 PONTIAC G6
6 CYL
AUTOMATIC
198,600 MILES

I changed the brake pads, rotors, and calipers on the front but the drivers side is still scraping bad. I had the wheel bearing checked by my girl friend who is a mechanic and it is not that. She thinks the new caliper may be sticking, I was wonder how to fix that issue? Would like to fix it and show her I can do it.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,742 POSTS

The caliper itself will not cause a noise unless its the wrong part or it's not seated on its mount properly. Before you get "wrapped around the axle", look below and behind the rotor to see if your car has a metal splash shield. If it does, those often become bent and will rub on the rotor. You can bend them away by hand or with a large flat-blade screwdriver.

Some cars use rather complicated-looking wire anti-rattle hardware that is easy to mis-position or become bent. Some designs can rub on the outer edge of the rotor. Usually you can verify that by jacking that tire off the ground, placing the transmission in "neutral", then rotating that wheel by hand.

If you need to remove the wheel, look around inside it for "witness marks" that show where something was rubbing. Look on top of the caliper too for a shiny spot or a long shiny scratch. Those will be matched by a scratch inside the wheel.