Alright must be my day to post. I have a 2003 savage that I just recently purchased. My front brakes are super touchy and when applied squeal and kinda sudder. Also when I am just rolling if back and forth it squeals like something is rubbing. Is there any sort of adjustment for the front brakes so they aren't so touchy or why it sounds like it's rubbing all the time. I have looked at the pads and they look brand new, also the back brakes squeal. So I am thinking front and rear brakes are new. I know that brake squeal is a common problem with the savages but is there something I can do to get rid of it. As far as the fronts go I barely have to apply them to use and really don't like to because of this.

There are brake cleaner products on the market that you could try. As to your brakes looking new...don't be fooled by just looking at them. Take them apart and check them thoroughly, front and back.

I had that problem after changing my caliper pads last year.
It turned out the stealership sold me a set that was for an ATV.
When I called EBC to ask what I should do, they sent me the correct ones without charge. It no longer squeels like a pig. This year when I was needing pads I knew which one to get.
BTW make sure your caliper is free to move on the sliding pins. This will stop a pad from dragging on the disc.

Phelonius

You should be able to grab the caliper assy & push & pull & create a slight gap between pads & rotor. If you cant, the bolts that it slides on need cleaned up. Might be a good idea to change the fluid.

Excellent replacement pads are EBC FA106 (with no suffix).

Pads squeal on the back sides.  The steel backing plate vibrates against the iron caliper or steel piston.  You can remove the pads, clean up any spots on the backs that show rubbing, lightly sandpaper the friction surface on some fine sandpaper placed on a flat surface, put various brands of anti-squeal goop on the backing plate at the contact points, and reinstall.  The minimum thickness of the friction material is 1 mm.

When reinstalling the caliper, be SURE you thread the bolts in easily and don't cross thread them.

Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air.  Water dissolved in brake fluid causes it to boil (flash to vapor) when heated from heavy braking.  Your lever goes to the handgrip (pedal to the floor in a car) and you have no braking.  The telltale is that the brakes feel OK again after they've cooled and you've changed your shorts.  New brake fluid every two or three years is highly recommended in cars and bikes.  DOT4 fluid has a higher wet boiling point than DOT3.  All brake fluid is synthetic, so don't get hyped.  DOT5 is silicone and must never be used in any system that is not originally designed for DOT5.

David M Smith wrote on 06/24/09 at 08:41:36:


I might be crazy, but if it were me, and I had fork fluid leaking onto the front brake pads, I'd change the pads out ASAP.

In my experience, brake cleaner will not totally clean oil-soaked brake pads.

If you REALLY need the brakes some day, they may not be there for you unless you put in new pads.

I'm just sayin'.

Ya'll be careful out there!

GrateFuLDad wrote on 07/06/09 at 06:37:34:

..and the problem remains through 2005 models.  Glad it's not just mine, I thought I might have a stuck piston seal or something. The anti-squeal backing goop helps somewhat with both the regular brake squealing and the lower frequency booOOOOOoooOOOoooop when backing up, but does not cure the problem.  Cleaning/resurfacing the disc and pads helps only temporarily.  I got some EBC kevlar pads and will install them this week.  Will also try the trick of installing one FA106 pad and one FA106/2, and thereafter just install the /2 pads one at a time per SV og LS's advice.  Same service interval, and twice the mileage out of the pads for the money.

rl153 wrote on 07/06/09 at 07:48:51:


You can spray it on when assembled, but you'll have to do some wrench work if you want to clean and lube the caliper guides.