Hi:

I'm prepping my car for the CA snow/ski season & I hope find some help here.

I've been hearing clicking noise from my front brakes for about 6 mths when I depress my brake lever. I can't identify which side the clicking noise is from, but it clicks 1x once I press the lever. This noise is associated with brake studders, which has gotten worse by the days.

The real problem comes when the car hits bumps on the street at high speed (40mph+), the brakes would "slip", the car wouldn't slow or stop, and a series of clicking sound would follow.

The best way to describe this is the noise sounds like the end of a rollercoaster ride, when the coaster is being stopped by the hydralic system, and the "machine gun" clatter that comes with slowing down the carts.

So...sorry for the buttload of info. Is this a caliper piston problem? A rotor problem? Brake pads are 1 yr old, so that rules out bad pads. Bigger than that? I am capable of replacing caliper & rotor myself, no problem.

Thx!

 

Sounds like your anti-lock brakes kicking in. This can happen on dry pavement when you are braking and hit a bump that causes one of your tires to lose contact with the road momentarily. Remove your ABS fuse to see if the problem goes away.

 

i'd say ABS too, i hate mine

 

Thx. What's the perm solution to this?

 

Go easier on the braking?

Seriously... there may actually be a problem with the system causing it to intervene with your braking when it is not needed. You haven't given enough detail for us to know.

In the conditions you are driving when it happens, would you say that the way you are braking could cause at least one wheel to lock up (you also mention braking on bumps... are the bumps bad enough to cause a wheel to momentarily lose contact with the road?) Are you on dry pavement or dirt roads or snow or ice when it happens? More details will lead to better answers.

 

Hey thanks. I wish I had Flintstone feet. The braking is gradual, nothing drastic. 99% pavement. Dry conditions. The best 2 examples I can think off occurred when I cross train-tracks or exiting the freeway on hairpin turnouts.

For the track scenario, the car would hit the track, I brake to slow once I pass the track, brake slips, and I would have to let off the brake & reapply for it to stop slipping. Same thing for the freeway exit scenario.

Once in a bluemoon this would occur from a simply bump on the road, or driving over a drainage crate.

 

Definitely sounds like the ABS. Mine does it all of the time when I hit a specific pothole here in my town. Your best option is to slow down AHEAD of time. It sounds to me like you are stomping the brakes and/or applying the brakes at the last minute. If you aren't careful you will hit the car or object in front of you.

 

That is definately the ABS kicking in. That in itself is not an issue but as was mentioned by others you should probably have the brakes inspected to ensure you don't have a caliper that is sticking or a leaky rear axle seal causing a drum to stick.

 

Thanks. I do have a busted rear axle seal (I hope that's all it is). However that is on the other side (drivers). I'm thinking this is a caliper problem, since I can hear a "click" everytime I depress the brake lever.

I'm going to take apart the caliper this wkend, is there anything I can be looking out for to a bad caliper?

 

Look at the seals around the pistons. Also there is a really torn up road by my house. When going down hill and braking my ABS would kick in. Now with new tires it doesn't do it anymore. I guess they grab a little better.