Accord brake, alignment issue, front end noise

JOESMITH

MEMBER
2000 HONDA ACCORD
141,000 MILES

This car had a really crappy brake job done a couple years ago after one of the front calipers froze up. It actually went back to them twice after it was supposedly done, and it's still not as it should be.

Here's the symptoms

---There's some vibration when brakes are applied, so obviously rotors are not trued

---The pass side makes a clicking sound like a rock is stuck in the tire tread, it's not loud at all but that's exactly what it sounds like is a rock. There is no rock. What could this be?

---The inner edge of the pass front tire is wearing as if the alignment is off. Seems pretty heavy wear also. I don't want to align it until I find out what's up w/ the brakes and if they f---ed up a wheel bearing etc.

---A mechanic who checked the front end on a lift couldn't find any obvious reason for the bad alignment ie: bushings, ball joints etc

Basically, I want to try to remeady the horrible work this shop did on the brakes, and I'm wondering what to look for and correct as it has these symptoms? It was a couple years since the work was done so I can't take it back there.

thanks for any help

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

The rotors are bad and you would need to have them turned or replaced, depending on the condition of rotor and amount runout. The brake calipers have to be rechecked. It could be bad dust seals resulting in the pistons getting contaminated and does not return freely after brakes are applied. It could also be due to seized slider bolts.

The clicking noise could be due to bad CV joints but the mechanic whoc lifted the vehicle should have noticed if the CV joint boot is bad. Clicking noise can also be due to a single bad bearing in the wheel bearing assy. It could also be due to something loose on the CV shaft (dampers etc). Check the brake rotor and wheel rim clearance. Note if any balancing weight has been dislodged or brushing against the brake caliper.

Inner edge of tires wearing indicates the possibility of camber not correct and possible causes are :

Bad bearings,
Loose CV shaft central bolt.
Worn upper arm bushes.
Worn lower arm bushes.
Bad steering links.
Toe-in out of specs, this would have an effect on the left tire as well.

You would need an alignment machine to check if the camber is out of specs since you are not able to find anything wrong with the bushes etc.