Squeaky front disk brake

[Breezerider]

My front brake is kinda noisy and I was wondering if there is a fix short of new pads.  Pads still have plenty of meat on them.  Some car pad kits have anti-squeak vibration damping shims.  Will this work on my boxer?

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

There are different compounds that can be put on the back of the pad.
I've been fortunate not to need any.
Check with your auto parts store.


You might try taking the pads off, lay some wet/dry sandpaper on a sheet of glass, and do figure-eights to remove any glazing that might be there.

[Breezerider]

There are different compounds that can be put on the back of the pad.
I've been fortunate not to need any.
Check with your auto parts store.


You might try taking the pads off, lay some wet/dry sandpaper on a sheet of glass, and do figure-eights to remove any glazing that might be there.

Sounds good, I'll give 'er a try.

[steve hawkins]

Also check your disk for cracks between the holes.

This will make the front brake squeel when the front brake is applied.

However, the mileage on your bike, means that this should be unlikely.

BMW brakes of this era have a reputation for squeeling.  As mentioned above, give them a good clean and use a bit of 'copper ease' on the back of the pads.  Then check the compound of the brake pads.

I used to own a BMW K100RS, which suffered from the same issue.  I was able to buy some thin sprung anti-squeel metal shims to place between the pistons and the pads.  I also found that EBC green stuff pads were good for quietening things down on a standard setup.

Good luck.

[rl900]

I had the same issue with my '81 (twin ATE calipers) and replaced the pads and resurfaced the discs with a 3M disc on an air grinder.  Still squealed.  I coated the back side of the pads with some anti-squeal compound from the auto parts store.  It looks like a silicone grease.  Squeal stopped and hasn't returned.

[MrRiden]

This werks  http://tinyurl.com/6htorc one can will last a very long time
rich

[Justin B.]

That was the only stuff that kept the brakes on our '80 320i from squealing...

[aussie]

Bummer..mine squeals as well - not all the time but enough to make it a bit of an annoyance. I've never seen that can in the land down under (or time forgot...)

[Justin B.]

I have been told (although never tried) that a couple of heavy coats of el-cheapo rattle-can enamel on the back of the pad will do the trick.  The thing to keep in mind, here, is that the squeal you hear is the pad vibrating against the caliper piston.  The shims, aerosols, etc., that are used work to dampen the vibration thereby getting rid of the squeak.