Brake pad rattle

[gravitate]

I've seen a couple posts about this but nobody ever says what fixes it. So my 96 Legacy Outback has a very annoying rattle. I can hear a rattle coming from the front while on a bumpy road and now its even on a street. The noise stops when pressure is applied to the pedal. After some investigation I found that my front pads are loose. I thought maybe the wrong pads where installed by the previous owner so I tried putting new pads (different brand) in there but the same thing is happening. Here's a video of the issue. https://youtu.be/RRWVON6SNXc I have taken out the ABS system and installed a master cylinder from a svx to keep the same specs. I don't think it has anything to do with that though because the pads just move up and down and side to side and not in and out. The pads dont require shims. The retainer clips dont seem to have wear but there is a small gap between the shim and the pad as you can see at the end of the video. Any help would be great. Thanks

[Lilfluffynacho]

do you know if the caliper is good still?

[gravitate]

Yeah they seem to be fine. Whats weird is that they both started doing it at the same time. I just got this car and this is its first real road trip so I'm just getting used to all its noises so I say it just started but it's possible I'm just hearing it now

[Fairtax4me]

Does it only have that play on one side or are both sides like that?

 

Have you tried new shims to see if they make the fit any tighter?

 

That could be a replacement caliper and bracket (common for both to be replaced with rebuilt calipers) and the bracket was sand blasted and ground down too far in order to remove rust from the surface.

 

Couple things you can try if you haven't yet.

New anti-rattle shims.

Wipe antiseize on both sides of the anti-rattle shims.

Apply some disc brake quiet spray to the back of the pad to help it stick to the caliper and reduce the chance that it rattles around.

Replace the caliper bracket with a used one.

[gravitate]

Well the pads are definitely looser than other subarus I've checked out but I bent the anti rattle tabs in a lot and put some new grease and its no longer rattling.

[Bushwick]

My 95' does the same thing, and it started doing this sometime after purchasing, and seems the rear is the culprit. Bumps in the road and the pads clank around loudly, though mine doesn't pull.

 

I'd suggest installing new pads as your pad clips are probably bad, causing them to sit loose and clank against the rotor. New pads with the shim should fix it.

[maroon_subi]

Make sure that the caliper BOLTs are good and tightening. I have an Escort that bolt came clear off.

[ohbill]

I had brake rattle on my 2011 Outback from about 20k till now at 96k. I live on a rough road and the brakes drove me nuts. Light brake pressure stopped the rattle. Dealer checked, fiddled and denied the noise. Since my wife drove it most of the time, I didn't look at the brakes. Well, we gave the car to my daughter and I decided to inspect the brakes and found the problem.

 

One of the shim pads, the left side inboard pad, seemed too loose. I checked the locating tabs and they were bent outward on one side. So I bent them inward just enough to hold the shim to the pad but still loose enough to move slightly (just like the other side). Put them back together, test drove down our bumpy rode and SUCCESS, noise was gone.

 

Just like other things in life, I may have been just dumb lucky, but it worked. YMMV, and in case this works for you, your very welcome. Love my Subaru, espesially our new 2017, remarkable!