I've got a 1990 Dakota SE 3.9L V6 Auto. RWD with new front brakes. New rotors, calipers, and riveted semi-metallic pads. They work great... no noise while stopping.

The problem is, they squeal and squeak when I'm not stopping. The squeak occasionally becomes constant, but usually pulses consistent to the speed of the front wheels (both sides). No bearing slop when I pull on the front wheels, and the bearings look healthy and well-greased. The noise increases when I slightly turn the steering wheel in either direction, and gets worse when the brakes are hot. This problem started out of the audible range, but over the last 6 months, has become more and more unbearably noisy.

I've tried brake quiet, resurfacing the pads and rotors, filing the sharp edges of the pads, and greasing the metallic contact points. But these are the sorts of things you would expect to do to brakes that squeal during a stop... and they have made little to no difference for this peculiar case. The only difference I can see between the pads I took off and these new ones is that they used built-in mounting brackets instead of the wire-like clips that come with the calipers. These seem to be the norm now. I tried to find ceramic brakes for it, but they don't seem to be available anywhere. Possibly the risk of not being able to stop in time with a heavy tow?

Furthermore, if I jack the truck up, I can spin either wheel with my hands, and it sounds like the same pulsing brake squeals. "Eeeek, eeeeeeek, eeeeeeeek, eeeeeek" and so on as the wheel turns. None of this happens with the pads off.

I aim to sell the automobile soon and I am looking at my wallet, which at this point, is crying at me. Is there anything else I can try? This squeal, besides being annoying, makes the vehicle repulsive to potential buyers.

 

Sounds to me like your rotors are not true. What brand did you buy.

 

Replace the front pads with some good semi-metallics. Don't forget the Disc Brake quiet on the mounting surfaces of the pads. (not the braking surface......)

 

O'Reilly's only has the "BrakeBest Select Drum/Rotor/Hub - Brake Rotor"
Part #: 7987RGS

The only part now available is the 7929RGS, so I guess OReilly recently discontinued these.

You make a good point... but is there anything I can do to fix that if that's the case? I doubt they will take them back after 6 months... those 2-year warranties are usually quite limited to extreme failure.

 

Yeah, I have filled every contact point (besides the braking surface) with this stuff before. It seems to make no difference at all. Thanks though.

 

That's why I suggest replacing the pads.......

 

Yeah, I'm just not sure what better pads to get. I got the nicer ones that O'Reilly's had, and did so with the intention of not having things like this happen. I buy most of my stuff there because they're super close, but I suppose other places might have more expensive ones.

I want to test something first, before I do the pads again. I want to put one of the old rotors back on. The reason I replaced them was because I destroyed the passenger-side rotor when the rivets bottomed out. But the driver-side rotor should still be good enough for testing. I'll update once I've got some results.

 

It sounds like you have a good idea to do that test with the old rotor. If it works or even if it does not, I think you would be well served to tell this story to O'Reilly's. I think it is very plausible the rotors were bad from the start and you just took a while to narrow the issue down by eliminating all the other possibilities.

 

I put the good old rotor back on the noisiest side. I drove for about 15 minutes with only squeaking from the other side. Unfortunately, it didn't last. I think it was just a matter of breaking the pad back into the other rotor and now they are both howling. I'm pretty frustrated that pads with such an obvious flaw were sold to me in the first place.

So, are the pads really that bad? "BrakeBest Brake Pads - Brake Pad"
Part #: MKD344
Line: BB2

There is a more expensive model:
"Wagner ThermoQuiet - Brake Pad"
Part #: MX344A
Line: WAG

Does anyone know if this brand makes noise? Any other brands you all would recommend? Any other components I might want to check before I start drawing conclusions?

 

I believe the BrakeBest (O'Reiley's) is the same as Advance Auto's Wearever...Basically private label lower grade Wagner. The TQ's have a good reputation as do Raybestos. EBC makes the best brake pads, but they are $$ and don't know if they have Dakota pads. I've never heard of any of them having specific squealing problems, unless they aren't seated properly after installation. The lower brands just usually have slightly less stopping power and wear faster.