EBC Red Stuff Squealing after bed in advised in forum
 

Hi All,

I just put on new OEM rotors and EBC red stuff pads on the rear of my car after following the DIY on this forum. I put on some anti squeal grease on the back of the pads and on the caliper part where the pads sit on.

Then, i followed the high speed bed in process recommended from the DIY, going to 50-60 and slowing to 10, probably 6 times. On the last few times, it started to squeak really bad.

I have read that red stuff squeaks for the first 500-1000 miles, and i wanted to make sure that this is usually what happens?

However, i am worried that i did the bed in wrong. I went on the EBC site and found out their recommended bed in process is the exact opposite of what i read on the forum! It recommends to not apply heavy force on the brakes for the first 3-400 miles.

Troubleshooting Information | EBC Brakes

Can someone tell me if the high speed bed in was a mistake? And if it wasnt, will the squeal stop after a few hundred miles? its really loud as it comes to a stop.

thanks

I've always bedded my brakes the same way - multiple 30/35 down to 10mph, multiple 50/60 down to 10mph, then a couple of 20/25 down to 5mph. Squeaks/squeals always stopped within 100 miles of city traffic use. If worse comes to worst, pull the pads, scuff them really well on blacktop/concrete, and try again with EBC's suggestion.

I have used the red stuff pads and did not have any issue with squealing. I would say bed them again to see if that helps. Not sure if I do it right but I usual go 80-90 to 10mph and repeat until there is brake fade. Then drive for a while to let them cool off. Good Luck

Noise due to new pads usually goes away after about 500 miles or so of regular driving, so give it some time.

If you get to the point where you decide to disassemble everything again, make sure you thoroughly clean the caliper with brake cleaner (plastic bristle bursh, $2 for a 6 pack at Harbor Freight), clean the slide pins with some scotchbrite, degreaser and water, grease them and reapply the anti squeal compound. Any kind of binding with the rotor can also cause pads to squeal as they're not being allowed to move as needed, so instead the make noise fighting for movement. Most pads nowadays have a shim plate on the back of them to get rid of the need for compound, so if that's the case, maybe skip the compound if the pads are backed with shims.

Cleaning is a great idea, and I agree with the shim plate instead of the goop on the back of the pads, if the new pads come with shim plates. However, the guide pins need to be installed dry. They are not designed to be greased, and it causes problems as the lube dries out.

True, but I've always used a light coating of hi-temp synthetic grease just for the sake of doing it since they're moving parts. Admittedly, I'd say that most of the grease probably just slides off and resides in the endcap where they're tightened down anyways, but the grease makes them slide into the rubber boot much easier as well.

Bed in advice...
 

When I installed a full set of Akebono brake pads on my Volvo XC70, I called them and talked to their tech service guy. He was very helpful. In fact, he said do NOT to try and bed them in b/c "their" pads were already conditioned.:D
I've talked to a couple other pad manufacturers too and they said the same thing. In racing applications, you might want to high speed bed your pads, but in normal day driving, I'm hearing it's not really needed.:thumbup:

Here's a fact: if you happen to bed you pads in anyways, the Akebono fellow told me this: if you feel you must bed you pads in, though not recommended, whatever you do, do NOT stop between runs. If the rotor stops even for a fraction of a second, the heat generated will cause the pad material to bond to the rotor causing a high spot on the rotor.:( Then you will have vibrations and maybe some squealing.

Just some thoughts. Read up on the subject. I think there are even some post on here about it. :thumbup:

thanks everyone. I actually didnt stop during the bed in process, so hopefully it'll just sort itself out after a few hundred miles. Dangit

I never did get the EBC Red Stuff put on my S4 to stop squealing. I traded it while they were still squealing. For reference, they were installed the same time as brand new OEM rotors and I contacted EBC for bedding in instructions

David