My rules for quiet brakes on a street car (these do not apply to race cars!)
- Before you start, look at the old pads. Were all 4 worn about evenly? If not, repair/replace/rebuild your calipers. A sticking piston does nothing for stopping power, even if you have the best sintered metallic racing lining material and cross-drilled/grooved rotors on the market. All 4 pads HAVE to press against the rotors with pretty much equal pressure.
- Make sure the REAR brakes are in good order - no grease or brake fluid leaking, and wheel cylinders functioning, good linings and adjusted properly.
- Inspect fluid (should be clear - if cloudy gray/black - change it). Inspect brake lines - both metal and flexible. If you can't remember when you changed the flex lines, it's time to replace them.
- (Most important to eliminate squeal) Use the softest STOCK pad you can find -not ones made for racing, not ones guaranteed for 5 million miles. Soft ones will stop you just fine in street driving if all components are functioning as they should. These pads will wear out in about 6-10,000 miles, depending mostly on your traffic conditions and driving habits. Replace them before the lining is gone and your rotors will last a long, long time. The harder the pad, the shorter the rotor life. Order the standard product from an MG specialist - don't get from the neighborhood Toyota/Chevy parts house and stay away from the racing pads unless you're building a race car to not be driven on the street.
- Bevel the leading and trailing edges of the lining on those pads to about 45° with a grinder/sander/rasp, whatever you have. Use the silicone goo on the backs as directed.
- Install the 4 bolts holding the rotors to the hub in criss-cross fashion, tightening evenly in 3-4 steps to proper torque.
- As an extra measure, I had some very thin copper sheeting that I cut into the same size/shape as the pad backing plate. I used those against the caliper piston so there is the copper, then the silicone, then the backing plate of the pad.
My brakes are totally silent. I replace the pads about every 6000 miles or so.
NEVER intentionally "ride" the bakes to overheat them. Heat is your enemy - it will glaze linings, it will warp rotors and even drums. A little to dry things off if you go thru a deep puddle, but just a little.
















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