Making Noise

[Machine]

I am not sure if this is the place to ask this.....I am not sure it is brake related. My truck is making a kind of rubbing noise, some times it almost sounds like a squeeking rub. It sounds like it is coming from the left front. I know wear indicators will squeel, but this doesn't sound like that (at least none I have heard). It is more a rubbing, thumping. But here is the weird part. As soon as I touch the brakes it goes away. Anyone seen this? Will bad hub bearings do that? It doesn't get better or worse turning....only when I push the brakes. I won't have a chance to check them until this weekend, but I was looking for some input. Thanks.

[Wicked_Sludge]

any pulsing in the brake pedal while braking (hard or soft)?

your best bet it so just get the front end up and the wheels off and see what you see. make sure you check your brake bads to be sure the anti-rattle clips are in place.

[Machine]

No pulsing. It is stopping smooth. How do I check if the wheel bearings are bad? I will be able to check it out this weekend. I guess I am kind of looking for people's ideas on what to check. The pads I will check for sure. Anything else? Siezed or sticking caliper?

[Joshs93four-oh]

If the squeaking is consistent with the wheel speed and goes away when the brakes are applied the most likely culprit would be worn brake pads. I know that it dosent make sense but about 50% of the brake jobs that I have done have had this symptom.
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[Machine]

That is where I was leaning, but this sounds a little different than any other brake pad problem I have heard. I acts like that, but it sounds more like a rubbing than a squeeling.

[Wicked_Sludge]

check the wheel bearings by jacking the tire off the ground and checking for play (grab the top and bottom of the tire and try to "tip" it in and out). then spin the tire with your hand on it and feel for smoothness.

just get the front end up and get the tires off and start checking things...you'll see what needs to be checked.

[Sunk]

Maybe check to see if the backing plate or something else is rubbing slightly on the rotor. Maybe the application of the brakes causes just enough pressure to stop it from rubbing... Just a thought and only takes 2 second to check.

[mhughes165]

sounds like glazed brakes to me, make a sound while cruising until the pads are applied, seen it too many times, but do check everything else that has been suggested as well

[Machine]

Glazed brakes? Never heard of that. Can you go into more detail? Do I need to replace them because of that? How can I check this?

[mhughes165]

galzed brakes sound exactly like what they are, when ull pull the wheel the rotor will have a reflective surface, the exact term is high speed glazing, its more prevalant on trucks and cars doing alot of stop and go driving, since ur gonna pull the wheels anyways just rough up the rotors and pads if there still got plenty of life with some sandpaper and remove the glazing, if thats causing your problem then you will notice better breaking and no noise

[WildSide]

Machine,first check to see if the pads are loose in the caliper, if they have excessive end play then you can use a spring clip to eliminate any sloppiness.

[Machine]

Thank you all very much for the suggestions. Keep um coming. I hope it is something easy. I have only had this truck for 3 weeks, but I have only had it for 1. The rest of the time it was at my mechanic getting a ton of work done. So it would be nice if I can fix this and it is cheap.

[Machine]

Update:
I jacked the truck up and checked for play in the tire. It was VERY solid. No play at all. So I assume that rules out bearing hub. The pads look great. Almost new. But when I tried to turn the rotor is was VERY hard to turn. Then it got to a spot I couldn't turn it at all. (both hands even). How do I tell if it is a bad rotor or a maybe a stuck caliper?

[WildSide]

Use a dial indicator to check for disk runout and you can remove the caliper to check for proper piston movement. If you can't do this yourself then have a shop do an inspection for you.

[Wicked_Sludge]

your rotors may very well be toast, but they wont cause the tire to be that difficult to rotate (and if you dont have a pulsing brake pedal, i would give them the benifit of the doubt).

what you have is stuck caliper slides or a stuck caliper piston...or both.

[Machine]

Update:
Ok, it is fixed. It actually turned out to be a piece of rust had flaked off and got stuck between the caliper and the rotor. So it was acting like the caliper was stuck. Thank you all for your help and suggestions, I REALLY appreciate it.