ARGH, The squeal!!

New owner of a '07 GXP here. When I bought the car the dealer put new pads/rotors on the car. This was a GM dealer but they used autozone parts (duralast gold) I've used duralast before on previous cars and have had no problems with them. But my god, I have a symphony of brake squeal coming from as far as I can tell all 4 wheels. The car has about 43k on it and I've put about 1k on it since I bought it.
I'm no expert, but I'm not a novice with auto repairs either (my past cars were Fords ) I have dismantled all 4 brakes 3 times now. I have put disk brake quiet on the back of all the pads (wasn't any before), cleaned and lubed the hell out of all the slide pins, bent the hardware kit to hold the pads snug.. etc. I've deminished the squeal, but haven't gotten rid of it. The car is certified, but the dealer that put the brakes on is almost 2hrs away so I don't want to take it back there.
Is there anything else I should look into? is a duralast combo just prone to squeal? Should I upgrade to ceramic? Is there any reason to pull the pistons? Thanks for the help guys.

I would get the GM ceramic pads they make for the GXP. Thats what everybody likes on those cars..

monsterpartsonline has them cheap.

get a file and put a champher(i think thats how to spell it) on the edges. duralast dont come with them from the factory. or get the factory replacement pads for it.

if you are using semi metallics, thats your issue. I bought new R1 concepts rotors and put semi metallic pads on it, and the pads screeched and put nice deep grooves in my rotors. I ended up having to buy new rotors and put ceramics. Stil using the same pads and its been 2 years since replacing them.

you also have to be easy on the brakes when first installed. do about five slow 50-0 mph stops after installing and be easy on the brakes for a couple days. This gives the pads a nice even surface and beds them to the rotor

Actually, about bedding in pads and rotors, this article is based off the long and boring StopTech explanation: Instructions for bedding in your brakes

You can try carbon metallic shoes made by Performance Friction. They're sold at O'reillys auto parts. I use them on my 01 GP and they're sinfully quiet. They have stainless steel backing so no need to use anti-squeal compound. A little over a hundred bucks a set.

Thanks for all the replies guys, I went with the Duralast c-max pads (because of the lifetime warranty). Replaced the hardware and broke them in with the method listed in the link above. NO MORE SQUEAL!

Well, update, the fronts are still squeak free but now the rears won't stop squeaking. I took the duralast pads off that came with it and put on some ceramic pads from O'riley's I was squeak free for about 2 weeks. Now they squeak when they are warmed up. only way I can make them stop squeaking is by braking harder or lighter than normal. The squeal is extremely high pitch and very annoying. I'm going to take them off today and grind the leading and trailing edge down to an angle today because thats the only thing I haven't tried.

I had the same problem... but on an '02. My driverside would squeal like you are describing once they got warm. Thankfully some dumbass opened his door while he was in the emergency lane as I'm coming over the hill on the on ramp. Never thought my car would've stopped that quick, but I think it had something to do with the seating of the new pads... after that it went away. I was checking for groves, or irregular wear patterns, but saw nothing. I also took everything apart again and cleaned everything, and put fresh lube on.... but it was still there. Only after the above incident, did it go away.

My brakes are slotted rotor pros and whatever "riding on chrome" uses for pads. I had read 1,303 pages and decided to use what he suggested alot on CGP... cant remember what they are...... **** wasn't cheap though.

Originally Posted by Carpepoon

Well, update, the fronts are still squeak free but now the rears won't stop squeaking. I took the duralast pads off that came with it and put on some ceramic pads from O'riley's I was squeak free for about 2 weeks. Now they squeak when they are warmed up. only way I can make them stop squeaking is by braking harder or lighter than normal. The squeal is extremely high pitch and very annoying. I'm going to take them off today and grind the leading and trailing edge down to an angle today because thats the only thing I haven't tried.

All those pads will squeal. Go to O'reillys and get some pads called "Performance Friction". They have stainless stell backing and they don't need anti-squeal compound. I've used them for over a year noe coupled with the Wagner rotors and they're sinfully quiet. they run about $100.00 a set. Try them and you'll never use another pad. These are the best pads that nobody's ever heard of...

Originally Posted by gpbastard

All those pads will squeal. Go to O'reillys and get some pads called "Performance Friction". They have stainless stell backing and they don't need anti-squeal compound. I've used them for over a year noe coupled with the Wagner rotors and they're sinfully quiet. they run about $100.00 a set. Try them and you'll never use another pad. These are the best pads that nobody's ever heard of...

Also, they're a carbon metallic shoe...

Originally Posted by gpbastard

Also, they're a carbon metallic shoe...

The reason brakes squeal is because of a high pitched vibration between the back of the shoe and caliper. Thus the use of anti-squeal compound on the back of the shoe. Forget all the voodoo about champfering brakes and slotted rotors, ceramic shoes etc., get the Performance Friction brand shoes and your squealing problems are solved. I've used thes on 2 GP's with sinfully quiet results...

Interesting, I read/hear all the time about squeaking brakes. The strange thing is I have never had squeaking brakes without some kind of component failure, and I have been doing my own brake jobs for 20 years.
But I also believe it is the little stuff that matters when doing a brake job. The little things like a clean edge on the piston, and a well lubed caliper bolt go a long way.

Originally Posted by cerick08GP

Interesting, I read/hear all the time about squeaking brakes. The strange thing is I have never had squeaking brakes without some kind of component failure, and I have been doing my own brake jobs for 20 years.
But I also believe it is the little stuff that matters when doing a brake job. The little things like a clean edge on the piston, and a well lubed caliper bolt go a long way.

Hmm, component failure on a 2007 GP. I'm positive if he uses the pads I recommended his squealing will go away more so since he has new rotors..

Well I did say in my experience, but then again I probably do maintenance a little different than most people. For what I lack in experience I try to make up for in attention to detail. I used to deal with machinery in which a couple 10,000th of an inch alignment could make or break you. Simple thing like a clean bolt (especially the head seating surface) can make all the difference. IMHO a “good” break job is all about alignment, a good part alignment is critical to brake longevity and noise reduction. I have used many different rotors and pads over the years with zero issues. I will add I haven’t used “racing” pads which obviously make more noise. Only twice do I recall having noisy brakes. Once I had a caliber bolt break on me (Honda), and the other time I had a brake cylinder cock on me (POS Ford).

My point is that if I had an objectionable amount of noise from my brakes I wouldn’t jump to the assumption it was my choice of pad material.

Originally Posted by cerick08GP

Well I did say in my experience, but then again I probably do maintenance a little different than most people. For what I lack in experience I try to make up for in attention to detail. I used to deal with machinery in which a couple 10,000th of an inch alignment could make or break you. Simple thing like a clean bolt (especially the head seating surface) can make all the difference. IMHO a “good” break job is all about alignment, a good part alignment is critical to brake longevity and noise reduction. I have used many different rotors and pads over the years with zero issues. I will add I haven’t used “racing” pads which obviously make more noise. Only twice do I recall having noisy brakes. Once I had a caliber bolt break on me (Honda), and the other time I had a brake cylinder cock on me (POS Ford).

My point is that if I had an objectionable amount of noise from my brakes I wouldn’t jump to the assumption it was my choice of pad material.

He started off having squealing on 4 corners. He changed shoes and then the rears started squealing again. I think some cars are just more sensitive to ceramic shoe's than others. again I think it;s the shoe's he's using. To have an "alignment" issue on all 4 corners at the same time might be a bit of a strech...

It is a stretch, but to be honest this is why I do every bit of maintenance that I can myself. Hard to say what might have gotten messed up. Maybe the dealership did get a hold of a bad batch of pads, because duralast golds are not known to be noisy pads. I will throw this out there, once a pad has headed down the path to the dark side, forever will it dominate its destiny. In other words, if they were mis-aligned initially they will never be right.

List of causes:

Lack of friction material (brakes need to be replaced)
Loose fitting brake in the caliper
Loose fitting or missing brake hardware (i.e. shims, anti-rattle clips)
Loose lug nuts or caliper hardware
Debris caught between the rotor and the surface of the brake pad
Heat cracked or worn rotors
Uneven finish on resurfaced rotors

Isn't this ending up to be a "you get what you pay for" type of thing. Maybe I break different then most people because of this ClubGP Message Forum troubleshooting enjoy lol

Just wanted to chime in again. The rears still squeal. This isn't a GP, its a GXP. So it has the large drilled rotors all around. This is my first car with drilled rotors so I dont know if they are touchy to what pads you use or what. Trust me when I say I am a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff and I didn't spare any attention to any detail. I'm no pro but I've done a few dozen brake jobs.
The Duralast pads that the dealership put on are gone. Duralast ceramics solved the problem up front. But ceramics have not solved the problem for the rears. I took a scraping razor blade and scraped the piston surface and caliper contact surface back down to bare metal. I have used plenty of crc disc brake quiet between the pad and calipers/pistons. I also cleaned and lubed the hell out of the pins with synthetic brake grease. The pins did not appear worn at all. The only thing I have not replaced is the hardware, because it would have to be special ordered seperately. but even those I cleaned with a dremmel back to bare metal and bent slightly to make sure they held the pads tightly.
Now one question I have is about these "performance friction" pads. because O'reilly's doesnt have them listed. All they have listed is EBC, Wagner pads and Brake Best pads. No performance friction. I even tried to look up pads for a GT on their website and came back with the same options. I went with the Brake Best Select ceramics which also have some special shims for vibration.
One guy I know who works at a parts store told me I need to get Akebono ceramic pads, that this problem is common with this car and anything he sells gets brought back to him because they squeak like crazy. The Akebono pads are the only ones anybody seems to be satisfied with. I'm debating on getting a set of those, or even possibly forking over well over $100 to the dealership for a set of OEM pads.
So seriously, SOMEBODY has had to have put aftermarket pads on the rear of their GXP without having squealing problems, what did you guys use?

Originally Posted by Carpepoon

Just wanted to chime in again. The rears still squeal. This isn't a GP, its a GXP. So it has the large drilled rotors all around. This is my first car with drilled rotors so I dont know if they are touchy to what pads you use or what. Trust me when I say I am a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff and I didn't spare any attention to any detail. I'm no pro but I've done a few dozen brake jobs.
The Duralast pads that the dealership put on are gone. Duralast ceramics solved the problem up front. But ceramics have not solved the problem for the rears. I took a scraping razor blade and scraped the piston surface and caliper contact surface back down to bare metal. I have used plenty of crc disc brake quiet between the pad and calipers/pistons. I also cleaned and lubed the hell out of the pins with synthetic brake grease. The pins did not appear worn at all. The only thing I have not replaced is the hardware, because it would have to be special ordered seperately. but even those I cleaned with a dremmel back to bare metal and bent slightly to make sure they held the pads tightly.
Now one question I have is about these "performance friction" pads. because O'reilly's doesnt have them listed. All they have listed is EBC, Wagner pads and Brake Best pads. No performance friction. I even tried to look up pads for a GT on their website and came back with the same options. I went with the Brake Best Select ceramics which also have some special shims for vibration.
One guy I know who works at a parts store told me I need to get Akebono ceramic pads, that this problem is common with this car and anything he sells gets brought back to him because they squeak like crazy. The Akebono pads are the only ones anybody seems to be satisfied with. I'm debating on getting a set of those, or even possibly forking over well over $100 to the dealership for a set of OEM pads.
So seriously, SOMEBODY has had to have put aftermarket pads on the rear of their GXP without having squealing problems, what did you guys use?

I didn't know Performance Friction doesn't make pads for the 2007 GP. I have a 98 and a 01 GP that i put them on. Too bad as these are great pads. I've heard the Wagner Thermoquiet's are quet pads as well. They were my second choice. They have the backing shims as well to keep them quiet. They are a semi-metallic shoes. OEM shoe's might work but they are ceramic and ceramic tend to be hard on rotors. In your situation I would put my money on the Wagner's.....