Brake Pads that don't squeal

[cn90]

OK update time re REAR Brake Pads...

1. Factory Volvo pads were OK until thickness = 3-4mm, then started squealing louder than a school bus.
It is made by Roulunds (A Danish company), made in India.

2. I have had good luck with Autozone "Duralast Gold" pads. Note that Autozone usually offers 3 lines of products with increasing prices:
- "Basic" or Everlast.
- "Gold"...this is what I use in my Honda, zero problems.
- CMax, probably good too.
However, Autozone does not carry "Duralast Gold" for 1998 S70, so I bought the "Basic" version.
MKD31 type. What a disaster, it is loud like 3 school buses put together!
This happens even I used anti-squeal compound.

3. Just happened to be at junk yard and saw newish looking pads (with about thickness = 9mm), pulled them, they were Mintex. I paid $4 for this junk yard set.
Installed Mintex, zero squeal.

So, IMHO, Mintex is the ticket!

PS: Want some good laugh? The Autozone brake pad box says:
"Made in Mexico", then another part says
"Exported to Mexico, from the USA"....LOL!!!

Volvo-DuralastPads.JPG (118.42 KiB) Viewed 1554 times

[soxmartin70]

I hate to put it this way, however, the BEST REAR Brake Pads for the Volvo 850/S70 is the Centric StopTech 309-00310.

They have the "half-shim" affixed to the Pad. The shims are identical to the OEM Volvo Set 272272 - yet better, because they're affixed to the Pad. Fyi: Any other Rear Pad that I've installed began to squeak before they required replacing.

That said, I most recently applied a very light coating of Permatex #80078 Aluminium Anti-Seize Lubricant to the face of the Piston & Pad contact points. Fyi: My calipers are original to my 1997 Volvo 850 T5 with 250k miles - so I applied the Lubricant as a further preventative measure.

I purchased these pads at RockAuto and, for what it's worth, I'm also a big fan of the Centric High Carbon rotors. In fact, I prefer them over any/every Brembo, Zimmerman & OEM Volvo - and that's going back nearly 20 years. Fyi: I am pretty much "OEM all the way", but for brake items.

On a parting & important note, the arrows (on the shims) are to be installed "pointed" in the direction of "forward rotation"! Yes... the "cut-out" section of the shim "faces/opens" down, towards the ground. I hope/trust that makes sense.

All the Best:)

[cn90]

The REAR Mintex pads (New rotors from Zimmermann) were quiet for about 2 years, now it is noisy again. And since it is down to 2mm, I need to replace them anyway.

After reading some forums and amazon reviews saying Akebono pad is quiet, I settled for Akebono EUR541 ($36 on ebay etc.).
WRONG! Installed the Akebono (yes I use anti-squeal compound) and it is noisy for the last few days, even after I went on highway and did some "brake bedding" (a series of braking from 70 mph in the middle of nowhere).

So, I can only hope that the Akebono becomes quiet with time. I will give it a few weeks to settle down.
As a consolation, the Akebono was made in USA...lol.

PS: I think the root cause could be the "fixed caliper" design that does not allow the caliper to "flex" a bit here and there to conform to the piston angle.
The FRONT is floating caliper design and I never have squeal coming from the front!

[erikv11]

You keep mentioning the compound but that is only a band-aid. I can't tell from your posts - are you using the factory half-shims or not?

In my experience, the rears do not squeal with the shims.

I've never gone so cheap-o as organic rear pads, but everything decent quality (semi-metallic or ceramic) has been fine when the shims are used.

[abscate]

My Jurids are squealing like a pen of pigs on the back. I can play Dixie on them.

It lets people know I've arrived, though.

[cn90]

I also have a 2005 XC90 2.5T, did the Parking Brake, REAR Brake last year with Jurid pads (ATE rotors made in China whatever it means).
If the school bus brake squeal loudness is 5/10, the XC90 rear brake squeal is 2/10, not very loud but it is there at 4-5 mph, just prior to a stop.

You can see the brake parts that I installed in my 2005 XC90 2.5T:

[erikv11]

OK, so you're not using the factory shims. You might want to give them a try.

See the very first reply in this thread for more detail, from OzarkLee. The shims work great, Volvo part number 272272.

e.g. $12.50 at FCP https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... l-272272oe

[cn90]

I did try the factory half shims a few years back. It didn't work.
Noisy as usual.
Do a google search and you will see this half shim is a debatable idea.

[cn90]

OK, the half shim is a nice idea but after a few thousand miles, the pads no longer hit the rotor at the leading edge (of the pad).
It is now down to being flat w.r.t. to the half-shimmed position.

The MINTEX: was quiet for 2 years, zero squeal, then at 2mm depth remaining, it squeals.
This happens at 3-4 mph just prior to stopping. But if I stepped more on the break (heavy braking) the noise stops.

Not to deepen the mystery but go figure this out: ONLY Volvo (not BMW) and ONLY REAR noise!

I only use "brand-name" stuff:
- Rotors: Balo, Zimmermann, ATE and nothing else.
- REAR Pads: Jurid, Pagid, ATE, Volvo OEM, and Mintex only.

1998 BMW 528i: zero squeal during the last 10 years.
2006 BMW X5: zero squeal the last 2 years.

1998 S70: As mentioned, Mintex no noise last 2 years but last few weeks, noisy.
2005 XC90 2.5T: rear noise is very slight at 3-4 mph, especially during light braking.


So having 4 cars....my theory is....somehow Volvo brake hydraulic system puts more pressure (psi) into the FRONT > REAR, so the rear does not have enough psi, so the REAR pads don't have enough bite during light braking ---> squeal.
In contrast, BMW probably puts more psi in the REAR hydraulic circuit.
Just my conspiracy theory...

Go figure!