Someone must know what is making me loose my mind!!

Hi everyone, Well you might have read my last post about my sunroof rattle. This post is about another very annoying clucking/rattle that comes from the front of the car from the wheels. (i think!) Ok in Edinburgh there are allot of bad roads and bad cobbled roads. as soon as the car hits any sort of big bump or it touches cobbles I get a really bad clunking/rattles sound from the front of my car.. hers the strange bit, If I add enough brake while driving over the cobbles and still add throttle the noise is not there and it's bliss! as soon as I let off the brake the noise come back straight away. I know It could be the drop links (I've checked them and they are fine) but would the noise stop when the brakes are put on? I was thinking it could be the pads rattling around in the caliper, maybe the anti rattle pads have been left out? is there any way of telling if there in there? Does anyone know, ever had or heard of this before? I've read somewhere someone saying if you have rattles that go when the brakes are aplied then there is a problem with your brakes, he said no more about what it cvould be wrong with them though. Can anyone shed anymore information on this as I'm about to loose my mind! I'd like my car to not sound like it's falling apart! Thanks for any help. Hope your all well A

Sounds like your pads are loose withing the caliper, probably as a result of no shims or knackered old shims. The only stick to the pad by an adhesive strip which after some heavy heat cyles stops working. The only way to check is to take the wheel off and have a look. Try grabbing the pads and moving with your hand. Or better yet take the spring plate off and see if you can physically slide the pads out. It really is an easy fix with the hardest part taking the wheel off... :thumb:

This would explain why it's not too bad when the car is cold (brakes are cold) as it gets worse as they warm up. I've tried to move the pads about with no luck in getting them to move, I havent taken the wheel off though and removed the spring clip to see if they come out. ive just been looking at what these anti rattle things look like and if im correct then if I have them the pads should not be able to be removed as they go inside the pistons of the caliper. I'll have a mess about with it when I get the chance. It must be something to do with the pads as there is no other reason why it would stop making the noise when the brakes are put on.. I'm needing to replace the pads and discs at some point too so I'll need to make sure the anti rattle pads get put in with the new pads. Thanks for you help though. I'll let you know what i find. cheers, :thumb: A

I chased an annoying rattle around the front of my car... and finally traced it to knackered Top Hats...