Clacking sound when letting off of brakes

[tswannnlk]

Over the last month or so my 4th gen 1500 4x4 has developed a strange sound when braking. Whenever I am at about less than 15 miles per hour and I depress the brake pedal, just when i have fully let off of the brake pedal a “clack” occurs. This could certainly also be happening at highways speeds but due to road noise i cannot hear it. I sometimes notice this happening at the moment I feel the brake pads engage with the rotor. However, it is much louder and annoying when letting off the brakes when I assume the pads are disengaging from the rotor. This only seems to happen on the front brakes. The rears seem free of this issue but my brakes are certainly screechy and noisy when braking at low speeds. I checked my pads when I did a tire rotation a few weeks ago and they have moderate life left on all of them. I also got under the truck for a good amount of time and nothing regarding the driveshafts swaybar or control arms seem visibly loose. I do not believe that my suspension is involved as this issue does not occur when traveling over bumps without using my brakes and does not occur when I cycle the suspension by standing on the bumper. My best guess would be that the sound is coming from when the pistons are retracting. However, I’m not really sure how to adress the issue.
Any ideas would be great.

 

[Pushrod8Speed]

Get some new pads w/hardware and grease for slide pins. Don't forget brake cleaner, a nylon bottle brush (pin bores), and a wire brush . Take off calipers, take off pads and see what you have going on. If pads end up fine, you have a set ready when needed, but sounds like perhaps a pin got stuck and pads are worn (or starting to wear) uneven. Clean everything up, don't over grease the pins, check the boots, and let us know.

 

[tswannnlk]

Get some new pads w/hardware and grease for slide pins. Don't forget brake cleaner, a nylon bottle brush (pin bores), and a wire brush . Take off calipers, take off pads and see what you have going on. If pads end up fine, you have a set ready when needed, but sounds like perhaps a pin got stuck and pads are worn (or starting to wear) uneven. Clean everything up, don't over grease the pins, check the boots, and let us know.

Gotcha. Uneven pad wear seems like it could definitely be causing the issue. For the slide pins, if they get stuck or seized does that just not allow the caliper to "float" around the rotor like it should? Thanks

 

[hemihustlin]

before you take anything apart, with the truck on the ground (or on ramps/alignment rack) grab the caliper with your hand and shake it. try and make it rattle. it should not. there should be no movement up and down and minimal movement in and out (direction of slide pins). sometimes the pins and/or holes use and you get a bit of slop which can be heard sometimes. a kit of new guide pins can be purchased but if the holes are oval you need new or rebuilt calipers
inspect old pads for delamination
all guide pins should be free and caliper pistons easy to retract. if not new calipers.
sometimes the guide pins get jammed in rust and it prevents the caliper from actioning both side equally.
some times the pads get jammed in rust at the contact point. in this case you might get diagonal wear on one side where the top part of the pad is less worn than the bottom on the same side.
and some times the piston gets jammed in rust and will either brake too much or too little on one side. the vehicle will tend to pull towards the side that brakes more.
sometimes you can have a combination of these conditions. good luck.

 

[Pushrod8Speed]

Yes, they're "floating" calipers.

How To Perform a Professional Brake Job (Pads & Rotors)

Do you want to make sure your brake job has no noises, vibrations, or any other issues when you’re done with it? Do you want to make sure it lasts as long as...

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[tswannnlk]

before you take anything apart, with the truck on the ground (or on ramps/alignment rack) grab the caliper with your hand and shake it. try and make it rattle. it should not. there should be no movement up and down and minimal movement in and out (direction of slide pins). sometimes the pins and/or holes use and you get a bit of slop which can be heard sometimes. a kit of new guide pins can be purchased but if the holes are oval you need new or rebuilt calipers
inspect old pads for delamination
all guide pins should be free and caliper pistons easy to retract. if not new calipers.
sometimes the guide pins get jammed in rust and it prevents the caliper from actioning both side equally.
some times the pads get jammed in rust at the contact point. in this case you might get diagonal wear on one side where the top part of the pad is less worn than the bottom on the same side.
and some times the piston gets jammed in rust and will either brake too much or too little on one side. the vehicle will tend to pull towards the side that brakes more.
sometimes you can have a combination of these conditions. good luck.

Thank you. I'll order a new set of pads and then strip everything apart to see what's going on. If the pads are fine and it turns out something was seized at least I will have a set of pads for when they do wear down. Is there a brand of brake pads that people recommend for our trucks? Are the stock ones good enough that they are worth buying again or is it best to go with another brand?

 

[Pushrod8Speed]

As for brands and pads...I'll probably go with PowerStop pistons/rotors/pads next time, but pretty much see same results as these 2 videos conclude...

New Brake Pads out of Box are Garbage. Parts Quality - It’s getting worse

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

I Tested Every Major Parts Store Brake Pad... You're Being Ripped Off!

Are you wasting money on parts store brake pads? In this video, I test and compare brake pads from AutoZone, O’Reilly, Advance Auto Parts, and NAPA to find o...

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(Edit): Pay attention to short video and check pads are square before installing.

 

[Pushrod8Speed]

Here's a shop video on pads they use...

What Brake Pads Do We Recommend?! And Why Does It Matter??

Brakes are a really big deal! And having the right products is key to having a safe vehicle. In this video we will cover what brake pads we recommend and why...

youtu.be

 

[tswannnlk]

Thanks! I’ll check those out and reply back here once I take everything apart.

 

[El_Dude]

How did it go?

 

[tswannnlk]

I replaced the pads last week and the issue has definitely gotten better. There is so much less brake dust and the brakes dont squeal any more. The right front set of pads on my truck were quite low. The others had a bit more life on them but I figured I should replace them all. Occasionally, the strange clacking sound still occurs but is much quieter. I made sure to regrease all of the slide pins. It is slighly annoying that I have not been able to fully pinpoint the issue but it is much better now so I'm not too bothered. It may be the sort of thing that is dependent on the temperature of the brakes or the ambient temp of that day.

 

[hemihustlin]

I replaced the pads last week and the issue has definitely gotten better. There is so much less brake dust and the brakes dont squeal any more. The right front set of pads on my truck were quite low. The others had a bit more life on them but I figured I should replace them all. Occasionally, the strange clacking sound still occurs but is much quieter. I made sure to regrease all of the slide pins. It is slighly annoying that I have not been able to fully pinpoint the issue but it is much better now so I'm not too bothered. It may be the sort of thing that is dependent on the temperature of the brakes or the ambient temp of that day.

go ahead and order a new set of front guide pins, clean the hole in the caliper bracket, use lots of good quality brake grease

i should have taken a picture when i did mine the old pins were all scuffed up and noticeably used compared to the new set. got a raybestos set from the parts store i dont remember the price but it was under 20 cdn

 

[tswannnlk]

go ahead and order a new set of front guide pins, clean the hole in the caliper bracket, use lots of good quality brake grease

i should have taken a picture when i did mine the old pins were all scuffed up and noticeably used compared to the new set. got a raybestos set from the parts store i dont remember the price but it was under 20 cdn

Will do. When I took them apart they did not seem to be too worn out. They all still had a coating of the factory lube on them. I guess it can't hurt to replace them.