Re: I could use some advice, brakes...Audi service

[ti@amb.org (Ti Kan)]

DOUBLDz@aol.com writes:
> The verdict was that there was nothing wrong with the brakes, etc., so there 
> was nothing they could do. I wondered (out loud) if there was an anti-squeal 
> product they could have applied and they said, "Oh we don't use that stuff, 
> its after-market." (I kid you not)

Well, the dealer is half right.  It is common for brakes to squeal under
light pedal pressure and there is nothing wrong with them.  The squeal
is caused by high-speed vibrations and is annoying as hell, but there
is no loss of braking performance and nothing bad will come of it.  My
A4q's brakes squeal and I have basically done nothing about it because
I know it's OK to ignore it.

That said, there *is* something that can be done to "fix" this.
You can either have the backs of the brake pads slightly greased,
or have anti-squeal shims installed behind the pads.  These usually
will do the trick.  Audi actually has issued service bulletins in
the past to dealers to address this very issue on some models.

Another option is to switch to a different kind of brake pad.  Some
pad materials are more squeal-prone than others, especially those with
high metallic content (but not all highly metallic pads squeal).  However,
pads with high metallic content also generally provide superior
performance...

-Ti
96 A4 2.8 quattro
84 5000S 2.1 turbo
80 4000 2.0
-- 
    ///  Ti Kan                Vorsprung durch Technik
   ///   AMB Research Laboratories, Sunnyvale, CA. USA
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