PT cruiser brake change

[Drowned Rat]

Hi guys. I've got an '04 PT Cruiser that, when driving through a turn, you can hear a grinding (metal on metal) noise coming from the front wheel left side mostly. Is this the brakes? The sharper the turn the worse the noise. Going straight, you hear nothing. Has anyone changed the front brakes on a PT cruiser? Any tips would be appreciated. Also, if I need to get the rotors turned, can I just take them to an Auto Zone or something like that? Thanks!!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Grinding? Any rumble noise? You should check the disc brakes, look at the rotors and I would advise you have the wheel bearing checked. That is front wheel drive and a bearing that is going south could sound like that.

Doing the brakes and rotors is not hard at all. Actually very easy except having to take the rotors to be cut.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Bob, yes sort of a rumble too. Only when turning. 34,000 miles on the car. It does it whether you're braking or not in the turn. When you say check the disc brakes, you mean check to see if they're loose?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

If it were brakes you would hear the grinding whenever you applied them. It could be a loose dust shield or even the CV joints in the front end.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Thank you LT. I'm going to pull the wheels off tomorrow and see what's up. I'll check the shields. Thanks for the help, I'll post what I find tomorrow.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

If you can see the pads on the disc brakes - you can usually see a small portion of the pads - at least enough to see the thickness. With 34K on the car I would hope you have at lease 1/4" of pad left. A visual inspection of the pads and rotors is sufficient.

If it is a wheel bearing .... have that checked by a garage. It is common that if you have a bearing fail chances are it is the drivers side (more common than passenger and I don't know why) and it will actually sound like a rumble or a mild roar.

This link might help you a bit http://www.ptdoityourself.net/tl/tl_indexmain.html

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Thanks Bob. It is the driver's side and it does have a rumble to it. It grinds too though, like when the pads are too thin. Thanks for the link, that's a great site. The car is still under warantee so I'll take it in to have the wheel bearings checked like you say. I'll let you know the verdict.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Check the CV Joint boots when you have the tire off. You could have had a brake caliper stick on one side as well. I'd find it hard to believe that the axle bearing went bad in 34 k miles. You really shouldn't need brake pads yet, unless the caliper stuck or you ride your brake pedal.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Under warranty is good..... now you should hope it is NOT the brakes and the warranty should cover it. Warranties do not cover "wearable" items.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

I would be surprised if it was a bearing or CV issue, but you never know. Check the inside of the rim, there might be some junk or something in there that rubs the brake caliper. I had a metal bit that was part of my brake pads that would rub against the rim in turns, drove me nuts because I would take the wheel off and the brakes would be fine. Finally saw the rub line on the inner surface of the rim, bent the metal bit back (I must have boogered it when installing new pads), problem solved. Good luck...

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

Okay, I finished the job. It was the brake pads on the driver's side front. The "outboard" pad was down to the studs and the inboard one wasn't much thicker. The passenger side pads appeared to have normal wear and weren't that bad. Strange.
As usual, nothing is ever "easy" for me doing jobs like this. I cross threaded one of the lugs putting it on with my new Rigid 18V hammer drill so I had to take everything back off, replace the stud, but then I was good to go. No more noise and smooth braking.
Thanks to everyone for the help, it is much appreciated.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

DR ya may want to revisit the caliper on that side. If the other side shows normal wear the problem side may have a sticky caliper.........could jump up and bite ya in the future.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

LT, the caliper moved back and forth easily, but one side was definitely worn quite a bit more than the other. Is there some kind of lube I should put on it, or is this an indication that the caliper is bad?

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: PT cruiser brake change


DR, the caliper can stick in two different ways. First by not moving to center itself,,,,,,,,,,,this causes 1 pad to wear faster than the other in a major way. Second the piston in the caliper can stick...........not fully releasing the brake. This will generally cause accelerated wear to both pads, though the pad on the piston side may wear somewhat faster than the other.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

I would find it hard to believe that the caliper slide pins and holes would have worn in 34K miles. But it would not be unusual for them to stick. Make sure you get the proper pin lubricant and relube them.

 

[Solittle]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

I'm not sure that you may not have hidden the real problem. My thoughts are - - First if one side is wearing much faster than the other I would think the car would pull to the side that is wearing - did it? Second brake pads on todays cars should last much longer than 34,000 miles. I have 67,000 miles on my 2001 Nissan with original pads all the way around. Hmmmm

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: PT cruiser brake change

If the caliper is bad the dealer should replace it.Take the worn out pads with you and have them take a look.
Do it before that 36k hits and then you pay.