I did a brake job about 2,000 miles ago, and coming off the ramp yesterday I noticed a grinding/rubbing noise from my LF brake. It isn't constant, happens once per revolution, like having a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel. It goes away by 20mph, but is noisy again coming to a stop. I have almost no tools at my apartment in Philly, and I don't know if its safe to drive the 60 miles to my parents house to take it apart and have a look. Any ideas what might be wrong?

Thanks,

Jon
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Jonathan Knauer - 94 945Ti - fun!

In addition to the excellent suggestion to check wheel nut tightness, did you lubricate your caliper guide pins when you did the brake job? These can corrode and seize in the absence of lubricant and mimic those symptoms. See the FAQ.

Thanks for the suggestions. The pistons were free when I replaced the pads, the pins are well-lubed, etc. The work was done for an inspection, so it got a professional going-over right after I did it.

Wheel lugs are a great idea, I'll check that right now. Any chance it could be ABS related? That is what most of the FAQ discussion focuses on.

Thanks,

Jon
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Jonathan Knauer - 94 945Ti - fun!

ABS does not even come to life until one wheel sensor provides a signal greatly different from the others. For nearly 100% of the car's life (unless you love smashing the brake pedal and locking wheels), the ABS sytem is just along for the ride. Same for SRS (a/k/a airbags).

Too many people miss the answer to easy stuff because they overlook the basics. Loose nut, nail in tire (making noise each time it hits the ground), something picked up on the road. Keep it simple before seeking complicated fixes.

The bolt holding the caliper guide pin was very loose.

I was thinking about the ABS because in the last week, I've done two really hard 60-0 stops on rural roads (a dog and racoon) that gave the ABS quite a workout. I thought maybe a sensor had come loose during the brake job.

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Jonathan Knauer - 94 945Ti - fun!

Hard to tell from your description of the sound, but loose wheel nuts can make a creaking or crunching type sound as the wheel rolls. Considering that you just had them off a few K ago, check the nuts for tightness. Most any other cause will probably be more an annoyance than a safety issue, giving you time to get over to your folks' place to check it.