2006 Honda Civic disc brake noise after wheel bearing replacement

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I changed out a bad rear bearing but I seem to have traded one noise for another. There is a repetitive sound while driving - kind of a swishing. Not very loud, like a light repetitive scrape.

Some pertinent info - I ran into issues while reassembling the brake. I had a hard time getting the pads back in the bracket - I was going off of a YouTube video that showed the guy just gently setting them back in, but mine needed to be tapped in with a hammer. Everything was covered in rust so I used brake cleaner on it and lubed the contact points. But then the caliper slide bolts did not want to align with the holes on the bracket. It took some force to line them up, at which point the caliper was firmly clamped to the rotor. I couldn’t spin the wheel by hand.

So I took the caliper and bracket back off, removed the rotor, carefully cleaned behind it to ensure it was seated evenly on the hub, and put everything back together. This time the caliper bolts aligned more easily and I was able to hand-rotate the wheel, but with the slight scraping noise at one part in the rotation.

I’m lazy and have been driving on it for a couple weeks. It’s gotten a little quieter. Should I be worried or can I just let it go? Any idea what I did wrong?

2

Did you slightly bend the backing plate . . . ?

Put the car back on jack stands

Rotate each rear tire by hand, while paying close attention

you should be able to determine which side(s) the scraping is coming from

and if it is the backing plate, you should be able to slightly pull it away from the rotor by hand, so that it no longer contacts the rotor

1 Like
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It may also be the rust that caused you to pound in the pads is now not allowing the pads to retract after you apply the brakes. The pad then drags on the rotor making more noise than it should. The pad should slide in and out easily. Not loose, but easily. Clean it all off with a wire brush so that it all moves freely.

4

Rust can grow behind the caliper bracket channel.I would use a file and sandpaper to clean that channel because the hardware could pinch the ears of the pads and get stucked…they will not slide properly.I usually sandblast the whole bracket until its completely free of rust. As for the noise,your pads need a break- in period before they mate to the surface of the rotors. Some squeeking and light grinding noise might be heard during that time.