Hey guys,

Really need your help and advice here!

So before I had crap brakes and had replaced it about a week ago. I replaced my previous front brake pads with Monroe ceramic pads (supposedly good quality (?)).

I did not do this on my own... I couldn't get the rusted screw to turn. So I went to a private shop. Charged me around $80 @_@. Please tell me how easy it is to take off pads!

So now when I'm driving, especially when passing parked cars to my right (where sound echoes back). I hear a slight screeching sound when driving/rolling on my driver's side wheels. Not when braking.

I figured it was something stuck between the brake pads and rotor so I blasted with pressurized water from the car wash for about 1 minute. The slight screeching sound came back around 20 mins of driving.

Please help me diagnose this problem! I am really losing hope for this car. Constant "Check engine light" is always on, along with a steering wheel alignment problem. This is a '04 Lancer Es.

 

Did they install the pads re-using the shims from your original brake pads? The ones you took off.. Or were the new pads supplied with new shims?

 

I believe they are new shims supplied with the new pads. Shims are the most outer "metal" layer between the caliper and the pads?

The sound is very slight. You can't really hear it when driving in the open but can when you are driving in a closed area such as beside a parking lot or a building (sound echoes back to you).

I want to try taking out the brakes and jnspect it as now I believe the mechanic has loosened the rust on the bolts tha I could not remove before.

I still don't know what could be making the noise. All I can see the problem is that there is a rock dislodged between the pads and rotor. I cant really find any scraping scars on the rotor as I don't know if its normal wear or because of the rock. Is there anything I should check?

 

So I took a chance and took out the brakes myself. I believe it was the tiny metal clips that clip on the top and bottom ends of the pads. They were not "bent" properly thus was loose and constantly scraped against the rotor.

Yes! I feel like a mechanic now..