So I have had my DBA rotors since summertime. About a month ago I noticed a rotational squeak coming from the rear wheels. The sound has gotten worse. I replaced the pads with semi metallic pads but the sound persists.

I took my car to the dealership and they said the sound is due to the pads hitting the inner ring of rust that has formed on the rotors. Has anyone else had this problem??

Now for a solution. Should I shave down the area of the pad that is hitting the rust? Should I get ceramic pads; would they not squeak? Or should I wire brush off the rust and apply some type of paint/anti-rust?

 

First thing I would do is remove the pads and apply a thin coat of hi-temp brake grease / anti-squeek to the backside contact portion of the pads. Most brake squeeks are from the pads vibrating so I would do that first. It's fast, cheap and easy.

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I applied the anti-squeak grease when I replaced the pads and it is still on there.

 

Any other suggestions or opinions on any of the 3 solutions I have thought of?

1) Shave down the area of the pad that is hitting the rust?
2) Get ceramic pads; would they not squeak?
3) Wire brush off the rust and apply some type of paint/anti-rust?

 

Make sure before you do any of this stuff to re-bed in your pads with 8-10 40mph-to-5mph brake cycles. Then let the brakes cool without use for 20-30 mins. Improper pad bedding is the most prolific cause of brake squealing/noise.

 

When I put the pads on, the first drive was in the rain. I think there is a good chance that they are not properly bedded. The squeak seems to get worse with time (I think because the rust ring gets bigger) would rebedding the pads take off some of the rust?

 

Rotors don't squeak, pads do on contact.

 

I dont see the reason for this post...

The reason there is a squeak is due to my DBA rotors rusting. Not the pads. If you have a suggestion on how to fix this problem it would be helpful.

 

Show us some pics of this rust ring so we know what you're working with.

 

My car is currently under a foot of snow (under the cover of course). But I will dig it out soon and take a picture.

Basically the ring of rust is the area of the rotor that the pad does not make contact with. You can see a little line on the ring where the pad is rubbing slightly and creating the sound. The stock rotors often get a ring of rust in the same place, but for some reason my stock rotors did not create a squeak. Probably a difference in diameter of the rotors.

 

Here is a picture of the rust ring on my stock rotors. This is the same location of the rust ring on my DBA rotors.