[bug_girl]

I have a funny problem with my brakes. (and I don't mean "ha ha" funny.)

Whenever I apply the brake lightly, there is this wierd ticking sound.
It's sort of like the sound you got as a kid when you put a playing card on the spokes of your bicycle.

My fear is, given the bad transmission history of my car, that it isn't actually a problem with the brakes at all, but with the CVT's interruption of the drive train when braking.
Sigh.
Thoughts?

I know my brake pads are a little on the thin side, but were still ok the last time they were checked about 5 months ago.

You know, i'm really, really curious about the previous owner of this car. What the heck were they doing?????

 

[jbrasure]

Does the ticking sound happen all of the time, or does it only happen when you are breaking on rough or uneven pavement? I've had 2 Insights, and both of them would tick when breaking on rough or uneven ground. I believe it's caused by the anti-lock brakes kicking in. It seems to happen to me a lot when I'm coming to a stop right on top of a bridge seam.

However, if it happens 100% of the time, then that's not normal.

James

 

[bug_girl]

It's all the time.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Can you determine if the sound is coming from the front or rear :?:

To isolate the "problem" to the rear; on _dry_ pavement, with NO traffic behind you, _LIGHTLY_ apply the emergency brake just enough to "feel" them apply. Keep your thumb on the release button so that you can immediately release the lever without it locking. If you hear the noise then the rear drums have worn in a "threaded" fashion and are grabbing the shoes and their retaining spring clips are snapping them back on the back plate.

Requires rear drum machining or replacement and rear shoes too. Not critical, but a mid term failure could be that retaining hardware fails allowing the shoe to totally damage an otherwise machinable drum. A rear drum experiencing this type of hardware failure could lock-up and or totally fail.

HTH!

 

[bug_girl]

Well, I am relieved that no one has said "that ticking is the sound of a transmission flywheel that won't engage" or any such sorth.

I will see what I can find out--fortunately, I live on a back road with little traffic so that will be easy to test. The ticking seems to definately be coming from the front, not the back.

In fact--could some gravel from a dirt road have gotten into the brakes?
Hmm. Yeah, grasping at straws.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

A "ticking" can be due to imbedded gravel in the tire tread grooves. And while the noise can be enhanced when braking its usually faint and fades at higher speeds. Nor is it common for a gravel to be able to remain lodged in a groove at higher speeds or for long.

Gravel etc. between the front rotor and its back plate rarely makes a ticking sound. More like a scraping / screetching as the stone wears against steel.

Diagnosis of noises via the Internet rarely has a sucessful outcome. And no a .wav won't help either. Too many other specifics required as to direction and conditions that cause / enhance / reduce the noise are lost.

But keep us informed as you work toward and find the solution (in this thread please ).

Sincerely,

 

[buyer?]

my car makes the same brake noise occasionally, I think I overtightened the lug nuts which warped the rotors.

sounds like : clack, clack, clack, . . . . clack, . . . . . . . . clack

if I have sufficient brake pad remaining I'm never worried about rotor or drum condition, noises are just an annoyance.

 

[ringsofbenzene]

If it comes from the rear wheels, an easy thing to try is to check if those rear wheel covers are attached correctly to the vehicle.

My car used to make a repetive clicking noise once the car started going under 9 mph and while applying the break lightly. Made a quick vehicle inspection and saw that they weren't attached properly. Once the mechanic (yes, I can't do anything...not even change a tire or fix a rear wheel cover) adjusted the rear wheel covers, I haven't heard the noise again.

 

[moses]

If you want to eliminate the drivetrain for your peace of mind it should be easy.

Drive on a flat or slight downhill at whatever speed you have noticed the ticking before. Take your foot off the gas and just touch the brake pedal (stocking feet might help) keeping an eye on the boost. You should see the gauge go to full or nearly full charging before you actually apply any hydraulic brake, you'll be in the loose zone of pedal travel just off the pedal stop and before you feel any real back pressure from the pedal.

If you hear the ticking under these circumstances it's bad news. I'm now in the process of replacing the inner CV joint which was also making a ticking noise but under different conditions. But if you don't hear the ticking until you press the pedal a little more and actuate the hydraulic brakes then it's probably at one of the wheels and a lot cheaper to fix.

 

[bug_girl]

well, it turns out the front brakes were locked up--they replaced them and my mileage popped up almost 5 mpg!


Unfortunately, after a week or two of relative quiet....the ticking is back.
Worse, when I was braking, it ticked very loudly, and then the tach popped up, even though I was coming to a complete stop.


so, back to the drawing board. Although, at least i have better brakes until I figure the problem out.
I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Thanks for the update bug_girl.