03 Forester squeaky brake

[vincentmoy]

Hi all, I have a 2003 XS. Last Sat I decided to change the front brake pad as the shop said it only has about 25% left on the pad. In the process, my friend and I managed to break the lower caliper bolt on the driver side. So we went to a local hardware store (Ace) and grab one that is closest to the stock one. We put everything back together and I didn't notice anything wrong for a few days.

 

However, starting Wednesday, I started to hear some squeaking from the front during low to medium cruise speed (rolling to about 30 mph). It sounds REALLY like a brake with old pad on, except it's about 10 times louder (It sounds like it's from inside the cabin, until I rolled down the window this morning). Also, it happens after about 15 min of driving and earlier if the car is warm. However, never really have a problem if the car has sat for a while.

 

The squeak doesn't change with speed, as long as it's within that speed range. Also, the car is not pulling. I tried driving straight & brake with my hands off and it still going like an arrow. A fact while we changed the brake, we didn't change the rotor nor get the rotor turned due to time. Would that be just the rotor?

[Rooster2]

I think you need to pull off the road wheel, and look at the pads to see if there is any abnormal wear. Maybe even remove the caliper to get a better look at the pads to see what is going on. As you said, the replacement bolt is not the correct size, so it may have backed out some to cause the caliper to be loose. This sounds like something you should look into right away, as this could be a safety issue.

[johnceggleston]

is this the slide pin bolt or the bracket bolt? usually bracket bolts don't have to be removed for pads.

 

if slide pin bolt, did you use high temp grease on the bolt?

 

i'd probably get the correct bolt from the dealer and install it. (i'm thinking slide pin bolt now. bracket bolt maybe not but it will only be a few $ and then it will be stock, and right.)