Rear brakes ticking with new pads and rotors

[Michael Christian]

I replaced my rear pads and rotors on my ’13 Dodge Dart Limited about 4 months ago. When I took my car for a spin around the neighborhood to listen for anything out of place, I could hear a clicking/ticking noise coming from my rear passenger side. Everything was cleaned with brake cleaner and brushed with a wire brush. I lubed the caliper pins and compressed the caliper to get it back on top of the pads, everything is tight but not manhandled. I disassembled the whole thing and reinstalled it again. No change. I thought, maybe there is a small burr that is causing the noise and I just needed to drive and wear it down a little (side note, I did verify that the brakes are in fact engaging with the rotor) I drove some 500 miles, everything feels smooth and correct, yet there that clicking noise is still there. I also noticed that with everything assembled, that the pads are rubbing on the rotors with the brakes not applied.

I contacted customer support regarding the noise and they sent me a new set of rear rotors and pads, installed them, tested, and they still make the same noise. The place that I bought the rotors and pads from want me to take my car to a shop to be inspected. Before I do that, does anyone have any idea what I may have done to cause the clicking? Is there anything I can do to fix this? Is it normal for the brake pads to rub on the rotors causing friction and resistance when the brakes are not applied?

I know that it’s something to do with the brakes because when I’m driving next to a wall of sorts I can hear the clicking noise bounce off of the wall, and when I apply the brakes, it gets louder.

Any info or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Topic

[Rahul Jones]

Just check if this video helps: https://youtu.be/rMR4Wps2gN8?si=WbEG6eUWNgnxeZoA

[Michael Christian]

So this is much more of a clicking noise that is consistent with the rotation of the tire. Not a single clunk. As the car speeds up, the clicking speeds up.

[Rahul Jones]

Have you checked if the backing plate (dust shield) is touching something? It is worth trying to pull that back a little and then test drive to see if that solves or reduces the issue.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 1 week ago by Rahul Jones.

[Michael Christian]

I’ll double check, everything looked clear last time I was working on it. Is it normal for the brakes to have slight but consistent pressure on the rotors even when the brakes are not applied?

[Rahul Jones]

With the tires on you should be able to spin the wheel freely.

[Michael Christian]

So I tore everything apart again and did a thorough cleaning ov everything. I noticed that cleaning all of the grease out of the caliper pin holes and re-greasing them helped eliminate the majority of friction between the rotors and pads.

Now with everything back together and brake bled, and the wheel still in the air, I noticed that there is a “high spot” that the inner brake pad comes in contact with the rotor. To see if it was something with that wheel specifically or the rotors from this company, I lifted the other wheel and spun it, and it did the exact same thing. So I’m thinking that the rotors are either warped or badly machined from the factory. Off to Schwab to have them see what’s up.

[Rahul Jones]

Keep us posted. Would love to hear the final solution.

[Author]

Replies