Scraping sound from front passenger brake

[yo]

Hello all. During a nice joy ride in the NSX I heard a loud scraping sound coming from what I believed to be the front passenger wheel area. It sounded like a caliper pinching on the rotor with no brake pad. Definitely metal on metal. After releasing the brake, the sound would continue momentarily then go away. IF I turned sharp, you would hear it again for a brief second.

Could this be an 'early brake pad' warning or something? I know some of my previous cars have provided such a contraption, but have no idea about the NSX?

Any ideas?

Ryan

 

[nsxtasy]

The first, most obvious culprit (most likely and easiest to check) is that the brake pads might be wearing out. Most street pads (including the stock pads) come with a "squeaker tab", a metal tab that starts coming into contact with the surface of the rotor when the pad material is worn enough that it's time to replace the pads.

In the FAQ (in the do-it-yourself area), it tells you how to check the thickness of the brake pads by looking through the spokes of the wheels. If they look too thin, replace them. If not, you might want to remove the wheel and check the thickness along the entire length of both brake pads (outer pad and inner pad).

 

[tochigidream]

After releasing the brake, the sound would continue momentarily

Possible sticky caliper??? Combined with the worn pad indicator.

Just a wild guess.

 

[yo]

Thanks for the replies. I checked the thinkness of my brake pads and they look about as thick as the backing plate. Maybe even slightly thicker. According to the FAQ, this would indicate the pads are ok.

Unfortunately, the weather has been crappy in CO so I haven't been able to investigate much.

It was a very strange sound...

Ryan

 

[nsxtasy]

I checked the thinkness of my brake pads and they look about as thick as the backing plate. Maybe even slightly thicker.

Did you check the inside pads too, or just the outside ones by looking through the spokes of the wheel?

I just changed brake pads in my other car. The outside pads were roughly the same thickness as the backing plates (~4 mm) but the inside ones were around 2 mm, which is about when the squeaker tab starts to sound.

 

[yo]

Update:

After having Acura look at the front wheels, the tech noticed a slight bend in the 'braking shield' and a small rock in there. After removing the rock and re-bending the braking sheild, no more noise. After reading about someone else having to replace the axle bearing for a similar symptom, I am quite happy with the $25 fix...

Ryan

 

[ub2slw]

I had the EXACT same thing happen and it FREAKED me out I let my brother borrow the car and when I got in it the next day SCREEEEEEK WTF!?!?!?!?! I couldn't figure out what it was until it took the wheel off and sure enough between the brake shield and rotor was a tiny pebble.