Noisy brakes

[youwish2bme]

Well since my purchase of my vette I've been working out the bugs and this is one of them. They have been noisy since I bought it two weeks ago and now I'm getting to fixing it. I pulled both drivers side wheels this morning before work and the pads have plenty of life left in them. I thought that I may have been on the warnings but this is not the case. Does anyone else have this problem???
I plan on pulling the calipers off tomorrow and changing the pads only and not turning the rotors. I've recieved different opinions on this so now I'm posing it to you guys. It does not pull in any direction when I apply the brakes so I don't think that I have a caliper problem just the pads. Also I'm noticing that it feels like they are dragging. Any help as always is greatly appreciated. Dave.....

 

[JohnZ]

"Noisy" is usually a function of the type of brake pads; the OEM organic pads are pretty quiet, and are perfectly adequate - I just bought another set of the GM pads for mine (GM #18028641). Metallic or "race" pads are noisier, and they'll eat your rotors, too; the rotors will last forever with the OEM pads.

You will notice some resistance if you turn the wheels by hand - the Corvette system has fixed calipers and "constant-contact" pads; the springs behind the caliper pistons keep the pads in constant light contact with the rotors by design.

If it stops straight, has a good pedal, and doesn't show any leaks, you're in good shape. The Corvette pads don't have any "warning" tab feature like later cars do. New OEM pads are 3/8" thick, and you'll start scraping the rivets when they get down to a little less than 1/8" thick.

 

[youwish2bme]

John,
Thanks man, I think that the front pads were just el cheapo's. I replaced all the pads today and the fronts were different from the rear. The bolts up front were not frozen so I think someone just thru cheap pads in to replace what was there prior. The rears were a pain to get the calipers off but I finally got it all completed about 6 hours after I started. This include getting the pads and stopping to run out to Lowes to get two more c-clamps to be able to apply even pressure on all four pistons.
The calipers were replaced in the past w/ s/s inserts so I have no leaks but the noisy brakes when stopping were driving me nuts. So I had to change them...Also once I changed them I realized that there was no warnings on the pads.. Chalk that comment up to inexperience... Dave...

 

[magicv8]

The easiest way to pull the front or rear calipers is to make a wedge of wood about 5 inches long and 5/8 to an inch thich. The third dimension should taper from 1/8 thinner than the rotor to 1/16 thicker. While lifting the caliper, insert the wedge to hold the pads apart. If you need to replace pads, force the wedge between them after replacement - then drop the caliper over the rotor while removing the wedge.

I DO NOT pull the calipers to replace the pads. Pull the cross pin, replace one pad, then the other. Rock the worn pad back before removing, and them slip the new one in right away. Pad replacement takes 10 minutes after unbolting the wheel.