Horico

I've got a rattling that sounds a little like a tambourine being played softly whenever my car is rolling. It doesn't seem to get louder or faster when I go any faster and the brakes don't affect it so can't be them.

it has got more prominent over the last few days so need to get it sorted...but where to start?

It sounds like it's coming from around the right front wheel at the mo.

Sound familiar to anyone?

Cheers

Horico

David MY99

heatshield from uppipe?

Horico

is there an easy way to check that?

Houghton

iTrader: (1)

Wear indicators on pads? Only heard when car is moving as opposed to heat shields that vibrate with engine revs.

Horico

no, it doesn't do it with engine revs....whats the wear indicator thing all about?

does it really make a noise? They're not scraping or owt

Houghton

iTrader: (1)

The wear indicators are bent metal strips fixed to the inner front pads iirc. They're at a set distance from the pad support plate. So as the pad wears to a few mm the end of the strip touches the disc and makes a light scraping sound.

Assuming you have OE pads that is.

Horico

not checked nut i've got subaru 4 pots on there....will need to find out what the min thickness of the pad is...i was sure the last owner bought some for it only 6 months ago.

Gridlock Mikey

Not just on OE pads, Ferrodo pads have them too, I snap them off before fitting as they are set to touch WELL before the pads need changing and also when going through a town or crawling through traffic, the noise is horrific and embarrasing to say the least.
Jack the car up at the front, remove wheel and with a pair of pliers, bend the offending piece of metal away from the disk. You could mess about trying to snap them off without removing the pad, but there is no need.
Once you have done this though, remember to keep an eye on the wear.
Generally you will know when it's time to change the pads, you can "feel" it through the pedal just before you get to metal on metal stage.
Alternatively, get suckered into changing your pads every 10k miles or so and thinking that you are driving like a demon everywhere or scoobs use alot of brake pads

Horico

cheers for that mikey

just checked - red stuff front pads in feb 05....only 5k miles since then....

i'll check em when i get a mo..

Houghton

iTrader: (1)

Red stuff aren't so good IMO and it depends how you drive. I destroyed mine on a track day at Bedford, more like 100 miles

Horico

haha, may well be the problem then....i do occasionally press on...