My first brake job yesterday went great. I just replaced my front pads and noticed a world of difference, so that’s good news! My issue comes from when I start the car rolling, there is a grinding sound / metal squeaking sound. It is not a constant thing… sounds like it is traveling in revolution with the wheel. What could this be?
Just a light chirp? Wheel spinning freely when brakes not applied?
There’s anti-squeal goop available you can put on the backs of the pads.
Available at your local auto parts store.
How smooth are the rotors?
The squeak might also just go away on its own as the pads wear in.
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Right! Light chirp is a great way to describe it. Wheel does spin freely. I was having a hard time identifying it, because it definitely sounds like it travels around the wheel, scrapes something, then continues on its revolution until it hits that “thing” again.
I will look into the anti-squeal stuff. Any recommendations?
The rotors are nice and smooth.
Make sure the dust shield isn’t rubbing on the rotor.
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A search on Amazon for “brake anti squeal” turned up the stuff I used back in the day:
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That’s a great one. Thank you for that. Can it be bent back if it is? How would it have gotten that way?
Yes, take wheel off and snug up the rotor by putting 2 lug nuts on. Then spin rotor and just bend dust shield back by hand until no contact is made. The shield can get bumped while doing brake work. Also if it’s corroded, any light bump will throw it off.
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I appreciate that! Thank you for your help. I will be checking tonight 
When the squeaking occurs at slow speeds, if you apply the brakes just slightly, does the noise go away?
If it does go away, then it’s very likely the “brake anti squeal” stuff or backing material will help.
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Thanks to everyone who helped. I found out that one of the pad clips had bent and was rubbing against the rotor. Not sure why it was only scraping against them at rotational intervals, but nevertheless, it is working properly again. Thanks for all of the help!
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