[Ipe]

Okay... warning! Totally newb question. I've never been a mechanic and before the JK didn't do much of my own work on cars/trucks, so please excuse the vague description below....

It seems I've got an issue in the pass side rear area. As I'm driving along I get a "chirping" sound that seems to correspond to wheel speed in frequency. Go slowly and I get chirp ---- chirp ---- chirp ---- chirp, etc. Drive quickly I get chirpchirpchirpchirp, etc.

I put the Jeep in 4-LO and walked beside it in a parking lot but I guess it wasn't going quickly enough to chirp as I got nothing.... Well, except for a nice walk

If I step on the brake pedal the chirp goes away. If I keep one foot on the gas and step on the brake pedal the chirp still goes away. Once the brake pedal is released the chirp returns.

I'm pretty sure its coming from the pass rear as I drove beside a long wall and the noise was louder when the pass side was near the wall vs. the drivers side.

I've got about 13500 miles on it so far.

So folks, any thoughts? Is it time for new brakes? Bad wheel bearing? Potential issues with the rear drive shaft? Flux Capacitor on the fritz or the DiLithium Crystals not aligned?

 

[chevyjeep]

Remove the wheel and do a inspection?

 

[John L]

I agree, a wheel off inspection is due. Been wheeling lately?
Sounds like you have a bit of FOD somewhere between the roatating pieces that is displaced when you hit the brakes.
Maybe a little piece of a stick, or a small rock wedged somewhere. Does it sound like a metal/metal chirp or more like metal/wood or maybe metal/rock?

 

[RotorHead]

Could also be that the brake wear indicator is starting to rub. The rears have been going quickly for people. I got lucky and got 20K out of mine, but others have gone sooner.

Take the wheel off and you should be able to see if the tab on the brake pad is the problem. The fact that it goes away when you put your foot on the brake leads me to believe this could be the problem. The good thing is that the break pads would be the cheapest fix.

 

[JoeBlob]

Roadkill?

Maybe it's a dead cat stuck to the wheel and it's head is slapping against the wheelwell on each rotation...?

 

[Ipe]

Could also be that the brake wear indicator is starting to rub. The rears have been going quickly for people. I got lucky and got 20K out of mine, but others have gone sooner.

Take the wheel off and you should be able to see if the tab on the brake pad is the problem. The fact that it goes away when you put your foot on the brake leads me to believe this could be the problem. The good thing is that the break pads would be the cheapest fix.

You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the brake wear indicator, would you? I'm not sure I would know what that would look like. Where on the JK caliper would that show up?

Is it this:

 

[gold knight]

It would be something like, just a skinny metal piece that touches the rotor first to annoy you before doing damage.

I didn't see a wear indicator on ours when I rotated the tires at 24K, but the pads were looking mighty thin. Good thing is it's the wife's dd and she's not hard on brakes

 

[WTF_LOL]

I agree, just pull off the wheel and look at the brake pads.

Sometimes the spring that helps pull the calipers open when you release the brake comes off one of the sides or some debri gets in someplace. I would imagine the problem would be visible with a quick inspection

 

[Ipe]

Looks like I'll be pulling a wheel off tonight! LOL

 

[jacktuttle]

It could be just some dirt on the pads, especially in the little slot down the center of the pad. Remove the wheel, inspect the brakes for wear and clean it all up. The fact that the noise goes away when you put on the brakes shows that they may not be worn out yet.

 

[Ipe]

Without removing the caliper from the mount how would I get in there to clean out any debris?

 

[SDMF]

You'll have to remove it, It's only two bolts tho.

 

[dayton1999]

Just to add my 2cents, I just had my brakes inspected and found that the rear brakes were completely worn down, but the front brakes were only 40% worn.

 

[Guest]

I’ve been having the same problem ipe. My pads are not warn but same symptoms. It somewhat when away using some Stop Squeak but its still comes back from time to time. Next step is new pads even though I don’t need them (8,000 miles).

 

[Guest]

Is it possible that you've just developed a glaze on the pads and that they drag a bit, causing the noise. You might just try a couple of very hard stops (being very careful, of course) to see if it makes a difference. If the pads are glazed the quick stops often take care of it.

 

[vegasjeep]

mine have been doing the same thing since 1k miles.

All the same exact symptoms and if I turn right slightly it unloads the passenger rear tire and it gets loud. if i slightly turn to the left it puts pressure on it and it will go away.

have looked and found nothing

 

[Guest]

mine have been doing the same thing since 1k miles.

All the same exact symptoms and if I turn right slightly it unloads the passenger rear tire and it gets loud. if i slightly turn to the left it puts pressure on it and it will go away.

have looked and found nothing

That's exactly what mine does but it's the DS rear.

 

[Ipe]

Well... its revelations time. I learned a few interesting things.

1. I had a lot of dirt and debris packed into my rt. rear caliper.
2. Its not too difficult to remove the caliper and wash away the offending dirt and debris
3. That I will be very happy for the first mile and a half where I was totally squeak/chirp free....
4. Doing a panic stop will cause the squeak/chirp to return
5. That I will no longer be happy upon the return of the squeak/chirp

All this makes me suspect that maybe its the front caliper????

I also learned that at least one of my Staun Internal Beadlocks has ruptured. I checked the pressure in the tire and it was 35psi. I checked the beadlock and it was also 35psi (it should be 50). So I start inflating the beadlock.... damn its taking a long time to inflate... check the tire and its now the same pressure as the beadlock - 42psi. Relase pressure in the tire to 35psi and then check the beadlock. Yep, its back 35 again. Hrmmmm issed:

This is good news and bad news. Good news in that I may have finally tracked down my balance issue. Bad news in that its going to be a PITA to replace the tube in the beadlock.

Soo... its looks like I've got some work ahead of me. All the wheels will need to come off the check the pressure in the beadlocks (unless I can contort the gauge into being able to check them). When the front pass side wheel is off I'll clean that caliper too and I guess I'll apply some Stop Squeak like Alec mentioned above.

I also noted the same turning thing that Vegasjeep mentioned where turning in one direction will cause the squeak to go away. What a total PITA...

On a positive note, I had another article published on Off-Road.com. This one covers the Smittybilt XCR8 winch and Viking Combo Line.

 

[vegasjeep]

i have disassembled, made sure everything was clean, and it has to be something other then grit.

 

[Big Chris]

On a positive note, I had another article published on Off-Road.com. This one covers the Smittybilt XCR8 winch and Viking Combo Line. [/quote]

Nice write up.. I was looking for a inexpensive winch to go with the bumper I am building. I was having a hard time trying to choose..