grinding sound

[slpdave]

OK, my wifes QX4 has an intermittent grinding sound. It has made this randomly timed sound for the last 2 sets of pads. The pads show no signs of abnormal wear, I took the drums off the back and checked the shoes on the back they still have 1/2 the tread left no signs of anything abnormal on the back either.

On my explorer the ball joints in the front end can cause simular noises when brakeing.

But on the QX4 I really don't know where to start or what to look for. I prefer to do the work on the car myself just because of the cost of repairs otherwise.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know what to check and how to check it.

Thanks, David

[SnowSurfLax]

Does she use the emergency brake every time she parks? Infiniti did a neat little thing where they require you to use the parking brake everytime you park to keep the rear brakes in alignment. I smoked a new pair of front brakes that way in 4 months because I didn't know it needed to be done. I did hear a funny grinding sound until I got a new set of pads and discovered that the rears were out of alignment. Hope that helps