High Pitched Squeal from Front Passenger Wheel

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sherman banks

Member
I've been doing my research for the last hour or so here on the forums and hopefully can get some explanation to help diagnose my problem.
Car is a 2003 Protege 5 with around 70k. The other day, a very high pitched squeal started coming from the front right side of the car. It's not the belts as they have been an issue previously and I'm very familiar with how annoying they can be and this only happens when the car is moving. It really sounds like something is stuck in the brakes but in a brief inspection yesterday (without the wheel off), it didn't look like anything was there. No indication of wear on the rotors either. My first thought was the wheel bearing was going out but in reading here, it appears it could also be the brakes (seized caliper?). Is there any way to tell if I do have anything stuck in the brakes? And is replacing the pads/rotors on these a difficult job? The sound is not always continuous and at first was mostly an issue when turning left, but now it's squealing just going straight. Anyways, I can provide more info if necessary but I just wanted to see what some of you veteran P5 owners think.

Thanks in advance!
 
I can't speak to the caliper, but make sure the brake dust shield is away from the rotor. Mine started rubbing and making a horrible noise.
 
No, that was the odd thing...it just started happening out of the blue. I bent it back just a little and all was fine!
 
Are the pads pretty worn? Could be the metal prong that's supposed to rub & make noise when they're about gone.
 
I'm not sure about the pad wear, would I need a micrometer to check or can I eyeball it? Also, would the prong be rubbing at almost all times? I guess that's one way to make owner's aware of needing a brake job, albeit an annoying one.
 
yeah it would rub pretty continuously, tho maybe a little more when you do brake. You can eyeball it - look esp for uneven wear across the pad - it's the thinnest pad area that you have to go by. You can get down to a couple mm or so.
 
sherman banks said:
I'm not sure about the pad wear, would I need a micrometer to check or can I eyeball it? Also, would the prong be rubbing at almost all times? I guess that's one way to make owner's aware of needing a brake job, albeit an annoying one.
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You can check with your eyeballs, if it looks like the prong is close to rubbing, that's probably what is making the noise.

We always called those prongs "squealbars" cuz they let you know when your pad is gone.

I'd bet that's what it is.
 
So I just pulled the wheel and I have about 3-4mm of pad left on the outside, but the inside looks a lot thinner. Plus there is a metal tab which is pressed up on the rotor, which I'm guessing is the prong? The rotors have hardly any wear on them so it looks like I'll have to change the pads on the fronts. Is this a particularly hard job? I've had the whole front end off of my Audi to change a timing belt/water pump so I'm pretty good with cars, but I've never done brakes. Any recommendations?
 
A caliper seize would prevent the wheels from spinning freely right? When I rotate them on both sides, I hear a bit of resistance but the wheel still rotates. The pad replacement looks easier than I thought, any recommended pads?
 
RABID_MP5 said:
Could be the metal prong that's supposed to rub & make noise when they're about gone.
Click to expand...
Won't happen on mine. That stupid thing gets broken off somehow every time I put new pads on. Not sure how that keeps happening. Oh yeah, vice grips. lol.
 
Pedal seems soft and travels further. Braking seems fine when you get down on it, but I only took it for a low speed test drive (25mph).
 
maybe you need to bleed the brake lines. Usually a pad job doesn't need it but that sounds like the problem to me.
 
conewagon said:
maybe you need to bleed the brake lines. Usually a pad job doesn't need it but that sounds like the problem to me.
Click to expand...


I'd hold off on a full bleed.

Give it a few pumps when you are sitting still to allow the caliper to push all of the way out.

It might take a dozen good pumps before pressure builds back up against the piston.
 
Word. Glad you didn't need to bleed them. I just sort of figured your shop would have made sure the pads were set and all.
 
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