Brake rotor in contact with Brake Baffle = Horrible Noise.

[cheepnis05]

Hi all;

My 2001 i30 began making a ringing/grinding noise when I would turn right about 2 weeks ago, it has steadily gotten more consistent to the point of only not happening during a left hand turn.

My initial thought was something to to with the brakes getting thin, and I am in the midst of replacing them now.

But when I opened this up I am seeing that the Brake Baffle is basically in contact with the rotor on the driver's side, and is certainly the source of the issue. I am able to replicate the sound simply by hand turning the rotor. This appears to be at the very leading edge of the baffle, coming in contact with the inside corner of the brake surface. The brake baffle does not appear to be damaged or bent, and the slow, gradual worsening of the noise would indicate it did not happen by any single event such as impact.

I do not think replacing the pads is going to do anything to alter this clearance. I am hoping someone knows what would cause this. I would think that it would have to do something with the bearing assembly but there are no other noises or indication the bearings are in need of service.

any help is greatly appreciated.

-Tim

[cheepnis05]

OK; so I just came back in and saw that I never pressed send on the original post.

I finished replacing the front brake pads, and noticed that the clearance did not appear to change in any manner before/after installing them.

So I took a bit of initiative and used a small screwdriver to bend the baffle back. I only gave it 1-2 mm so as not to deform the baffle too much. I hope I won't end up with any unintended consequences. The sound is completely gone.

Once again, any insight as to the root cause is greatly appreciated.

-Tim