changed brakes, now facing 2 serious problems

[Pharmacist]

So i spent the whole day yesterday changing the brakes and flushing out the fluid. I went with stock rotors all around but with hawk hp+ pads. Now I am facing 2 problems after driving the car:

1- There are a lot of sqeals coming out of the pads when braking. I know the hp+ can be noisy but that doesn't feel right! Occasionally it can get pretty loud. Now in the service manual it says to put the shims onto the pads and then put the pads into the caliper, and to use grease between each part. I didn't do that because the hawks did not come with any shims, and the ones on the original stock pad were all bent out of shape and looked like crap, so i threw them out. I only greased the sliding pins. Should i apply some brake antisqueal to the back of the calipers, or maybe see if the dealer sells those stupid shims?

2- More importantly, my parking brake doesn't work! It slips a lot now. The lever engages the pads against the drum but it isn't generating the same friction it used to. Previously i can hold the car on an incline with just the parking brake, but now the car slowly rolls down the slope. Is it possible the new rotors have a slightly larger drum and the shoes aren't grabbing as well? Or maybe they are coated in oil and i didn't clean them properly. When I pulled them out of the box the rotors were soaked in oil! I thought I cleaned them ok but maybe I didn't?!?!?!?!

[Da.Menace]

I don't know enough to answer #1, but as for #2...
Did you re-adjust the parking brake wire?

This is a pic from a G35 but you get the idea.


For G35..

The service manual recommends tightening a lugnut onto the wheel to keep the rotor from separating from the hub. I did it but it’s probably not necessary. Anyway, what you need to do is “tighten” the parking brake until you can no longer rotate the rotor. This is done by using a flathead screwdriver to rotate the sprocket “down” toward the center of the wheel. If you look through the hole and just a little to the left, you can see the adjuster lengthening as you rotate the gear. Once you get to a point where you feel resistance and cannot rotate the disc, stop tightening, and loosen the brake by rotating the adjuster in the opposite direction 6 clicks. Note: in the picture below, the arrows represent the direction you should move the handle of the screwdriver.

[m4a1mustang]

Originally Posted by Pharmacist

So i spent the whole day yesterday changing the brakes and flushing out the fluid. I went with stock rotors all around but with hawk hp+ pads. Now I am facing 2 problems after driving the car:

1- There are a lot of sqeals coming out of the pads when braking. I know the hp+ can be noisy but that doesn't feel right! Occasionally it can get pretty loud. Now in the service manual it says to put the shims onto the pads and then put the pads into the caliper, and to use grease between each part. I didn't do that because the hawks did not come with any shims, and the ones on the original stock pad were all bent out of shape and looked like crap, so i threw them out. I only greased the sliding pins. Should i apply some brake antisqueal to the back of the calipers, or maybe see if the dealer sells those stupid shims?

2- More importantly, my parking brake doesn't work! It slips a lot now. The lever engages the pads against the drum but it isn't generating the same friction it used to. Previously i can hold the car on an incline with just the parking brake, but now the car slowly rolls down the slope. Is it possible the new rotors have a slightly larger drum and the shoes aren't grabbing as well? Or maybe they are coated in oil and i didn't clean them properly. When I pulled them out of the box the rotors were soaked in oil! I thought I cleaned them ok but maybe I didn't?!?!?!?!

1) The HP+ pads will be pretty squeaky, but you can cut down on a lot or most of this by coating the entire backing plates with Brake Quiet. Get a tub of it from your local auto parts store and go to town.

2) You probably need to adjust the parking brake spindle to ensure the brake shoes are contacting the inside of the rotor when you engage the brakes.

[USMCASA]

+1 for the brake quiet, its put on all pads (not the side facing the rotor) upon installation of new pads.

[cossie1600]

you are not going to stop all the noise, this is what you get for having semi aggressive pads

[ChrisSlicks]

The HP+ are horrible pads, not sure why you went with these. BTW I've got some for sale cheap if anyone wants them

I would have kept the old shims, doesn't matter what they look like. You would probably get some squeal anyway, I know I did.

[kenchan]

i would look into getting endless pads for the Z if my akebono's wear out before ownership.

using them on my G's brembo's no noise~! great clamping.

[AlphaSnacks]

Not using shims is 95% of what's causing the noise. That and Hawk pads tend to sound...well...*rough* when they stop. Not necessarily squeaky, just harsh.