LexBrett2

Hey All;

Took a chance and bought ebay brakes.

Big mistake, and a few months after I put them in they started squealing like crazy! This weekend I put in some Akebono Ultra Premium pads and they are beautiful- super quiet and stop excellent.

BUT

Was surprised when I heard a click sound coming from the front, under the car, maybe the sound is the brakes, maybe not. I uninstalled the brake pad last night (PITA!), re-lubed metal parts and shims, and retorqued brake caliper bolts and added blue thread locker. Everything seems fine.

When I drove to work in miserable DC stop and go traffic the brakes felt perfect.

But when I go to park, I feel the ping.The click, ping, metallic sound feel is only when I slowly pull into a parking spot at a slight 1 or 2-degree decline.

I know this is a long shot, but anyone else have a similar experience??

Things I plan to check:

1. Dust shield hitting something
2. Brake wear sensor getting stuck
3. Shims stuck

Since it could also be the suspension, will check:

1. Torque on sway bar end links
2. Top 13mm bolts on strut mounts
3. The locking nut on the steering knuckle
4. Tie rods

I also had an alignment recently and changed out front airmatic struts!

Any thoughts???

LexBrett2

Maybe it is loose shims!

cmriv

aftermarket pads slap.... pads aren't direct oem replacement parts, aftermarket pads do this often! some people live with it some can't stand it. oem pads don't even have shims!

LexBrett2

I learned this the hard way. Never again will I go aftermarket with pads. Just ordered OEM direct replacement pads, and they were actually about the same price as Akebono.

cetialpha5

I have Akebono's on mine and they're fine. The big difference is that there's no brake dust, I don't even bother to wipe down the wheels after a car wash. Had to do that all the time before. It might also be something else, lots of threads on here about people chasing down various noises from the front end.

LexBrett2

The Akebono's were literally one or two millimeters too small. The portion of the brake pad that is supposed to be touching the brake hardware to keep it in place was a tad too small. This caused the pad to visibly move back and forth and cause the sound. Hopefully, the OEM pads will do the trick. It's helpful to know others have had similar problems, thanks for the tip.

LexBrett2

So I finally got my OEM Mercedes front brake pads installed; the noise I was experiencing is completely gone!! Clearly, OEM is the way to go with these cars.