Squeaking and grinding noise when braking now it's gone and my brake sinks all the way

[carlos22]

I started hearing a grinding noise whenever I drove and especially when I am braking. I jacked up the front about a week ago and checked the brakes. They looked find and then I turned the wheel. I can't pin point where the grinding noise is coming from. Then today as I'm driving, the squeak is super loud and then it gives one huge squeak and then it stops doing it and my brake sinks all the way to the bottom. It's barely got any resistance when I push down. Does anyone know how to fix this?
Video from when I jacked it up
Update: My dash told me I have low brake fluid and the brake light is on.

 

[jws123]

sounds like a bad wheel bearing to me.

 

[carlos22]

sounds like a bad wheel bearing to me.

I hope so, I'm going to jack it up tomorrow. We gave a "tropical storm" passing so it's drizzling.

 

[62Blazer]

I can't say for sure without looking at it, but your description really sounds like worn out brake pads that finally completely wore out and fell apart. The grinding and squealing sounds like the worn out pads, and the final clunk and pedal going to the floor is consistent with what is left of the pad falling off, which lets the caliper piston fully extend and blow out the seal. Not sure how well you "looked" at the brakes without removing the wheel. Did you look at the inside pads? Did you look at the back brakes any?

 

[Mike Duckmanton]

What 62Blazer said. Sounds like a failed inspection, followed by a failure. Be ready to buy a caliper, rotor and pads.

 

[carlos22]

Yea, all that time I was hearing that noise and inspecting the front breaks and caliper I didn't think it was actually coming from the rear. Attached are the pics of the rear pads and passenger side caliper. The passenger side gave out and dumped most of my break fluid. The rear pads were worn to the metal. I really thought it was the front breaks but in fact I was hearing the rear.

 

[2003F350]

Yeah if you can't tell where it is coming from for sure it's best to check all four brakes if you think it's a brake problem.

Generally speaking, I go through a set of front brakes in 80k miles (I do a LOT of highway driving, so not much for stops/slow downs), and I just replace the rears at the same time. They don't do much stopping unless you're braking hard or loaded, but it's peace of mind to spend the little bit of extra money and time to make sure you're good all the way around.

 

[mtofell]

Yeah if you can't tell where it is coming from for sure it's best to check all four brakes if you think it's a brake problem.

Generally speaking, I go through a set of front brakes in 80k miles (I do a LOT of highway driving, so not much for stops/slow downs), and I just replace the rears at the same time. They don't do much stopping unless you're braking hard or loaded, but it's peace of mind to spend the little bit of extra money and time to make sure you're good all the way around.

I don't know if my dealer was just blowing smoke up my butt but they said the rears had less meat on them so they all wear out together. I was at 100K miles and figured whatever was there worked great so I just had them replace it all. At the time it was a company truck and downtime in the shop was more costly than a couple extra bucks for brakes I didn't quite need yet.

 

[2003F350]

I don't know if my dealer was just blowing smoke up my butt but they said the rears had less meat on them so they all wear out together. I was at 100K miles and figured whatever was there worked great so I just had them replace it all. At the time it was a company truck and downtime in the shop was more costly than a couple extra bucks for brakes I didn't quite need yet.

You know, the last time I did them, they did seem to have less meat out of the box (the new pads I mean). That said my rears were still in better shape than the fronts and I could have pushed them a bit further...but I already had everything out, why not just get it done?

 

[62Blazer]

In regards to front vs. rear brake wear, I've seen it both ways on vehicles. The rear brakes are usually smaller also, so that tends to even out how fast the front vs. rear wear.

 

[BenchTest]

It's a shame these types of vehicles are on the road. What a hazard. Not trying to be a Richard, but that kind of lack of maintenance is hazardous to people's health. I'm coming from a place of driving over 2 million combined miles (between work and personal) of dodging people blowing out worn out tires and losing control, collapsed suspensions, failed ball joints, pole-vaulting u-joint failures, entire axles coming out, the list goes on. I've seen some nasty MVC due to poor maintenance. Driving is a responsibility as is maintenance. Ranks right up there with putting your cell phone away, not putting on makeup while driving, etc. etc. Hard to stop a 70mph+ guided missile going down the road if it has failed brakes. That kind of wear didn't happen overnight.