Mysterious "Chirping" from Front-Left Side Wheel

[mmulcahy1]

I had my brakes done on Saturday (4/5/08) and had to take my truck back in due to a soft, spongy brake pedal. Well it turns out the lines had some air in them and that was the cause of the soft pedal. While heading home from the repair shop I noticed a "Chirping" sound coming from (what I believe) the front left wheel. You can really hear it when you're driving in the left lane next to a median due to the sound bouncing off the curb.

I took my truck back to the shop and the mechanic looked at it but couldn't determine what was causing the "Chirping." He lifted the truck and removed the brake pads from both front wheel calipers and lubed them up where the pistons push up against the pads - thinking that may stop the "Chirping." Well it didn't stop the noise and he said to drive my truck for a few days and let the brake pads get seated real well and if the "chirping" didn't stop to bring my truck back in this Saturday and he'll look at it again.

I don't know what to do. The mechanic did re-surface the rotors - could that be the culprit? I don't feel any pulsating when I brake, though. Could it be the way the parking brake was adjusted? The pedal is very tight now and only goes about half the distance it did before the repair work. I just don't know. And the "Chirping" noise is about to drive me CRAZY!!

ANY thoughts or ideas on how to solve this problem would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

[DevinSixtySeven]

OTOH...

Worn pad on that side, wear indicator rubbing?

Dust shield got pushed around and slightly contacting the rotor?

-Sean

[Ashley83]

If your 100% sure it's coming from the front of the truck then I can't help you with that. Now it sounds to me(actually my mechanic)lol like it could be your leaf springs in the back of the truck. I had that problem a few months ago and I also thought it was in the front but my mechanic who works for toyota said it was the leaf springs in the back. My 2 cents for ya. Good luck.

[Marauder]

If it just showed up after the brake job, I wonder if its a wear indicator on the pad maybe got bent on the new ones and is rubbing the rotor. Either that or maybe the dust sheild is a little bent and rubbing the rotor.

[Flashgordon]

Drive next to a median or curb again and slightly turn the wheel without braking.
Does the noise change or go away completely?
I have found in the past that it's where the wheel mates to the hub/axle.
If it doesn't go away by Saturday, have your tech pull all 4 wheels and apply a thin layer of brake lube to where the wheel and hub/axles touch.
Have him/her properly torque your lug nuts and drive again....
Hopefully this will cure the noise.

As far as the brake pedal, that's good that it only travels half the distance now.
Sounds like everything was done properly.

Let me know if this helped.

[MEvang]

This sound is very likely the pad being move back and forth. I would bet they machined runout into your rotor. The pad is being kicked around. This will also cause a low pedal the first time you hit the brakes as you now have to push the pads back against the rotor. Leave it go and it will begin to pulsate at some point.
You will likely need to replace the rotors now,
Mike

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by MEvang

This sound is very likely the pad being move back and forth. I would bet they machined runout into your rotor. The pad is being kicked around. This will also cause a low pedal the first time you hit the brakes as you now have to push the pads back against the rotor. Leave it go and it will begin to pulsate at some point.
You will likely need to replace the rotors now,
Mike

You can have runout even if the rotor resurface was perfect. It's caused by runout in the hub assembly.

If excessive runout is found to be the cause, change the orientation of the rotor and measure the runout. Repeat until you can reduce the measured runout. If you cannot solve the problem this way, you'll need to either resurface the rotors using an on-the-vehicle lathe or use runout correction shims.