Brake pad squeal--- request for reviews on ATE front pads

[jreed]

Sorry for yet another forum post on brake pads.... I know there have been a lot of them and I did search first to see if there was a recent comprehensive comparison of pad options and didn't find one....
I have replaced the pads and rotors on my '97 855 with Volvo blue box (Roulunds) pads and ATE rotors and I'm getting a squeal just as the car slows down to a stop when braking. Before switching to the Roulunds pads I used Akebono ceramics which were great -- no squeal and no dust -- but they seemed to not grab as well when cold compared to the Volvo pads.
I am using ATE plastilube grease between the pads and the calipers.
I'm thinking of switching to ATE pads as sold by my favorite forum sponsor FCP

Screen Shot 2020-05-12 at 4.19.04 PM.png (86.56 KiB) Viewed 4297 times

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... e-31341243
I noticed there were no reviews of these ATE pads on their website. Has anybody tried ATE pads? How did they perform? How do they compare to Jurid, Pagid, Textar, Bosch? I noticed IPD (my favorite MVS site sponsor) only carries Akebono, Bosch and Volvo... is that indicating that they are really the top brands for our car?
https://www.ipdusa.com/catalog.asp?CAT_ ... archwords=
Thanks.

[misha]

Did you performed bedding-in for new brakes?

ATE rotors and brake pads are oem for Volvo...at least in EU.

[scot850]

ATE may be the OE manufacturer, but they may not be the same spec of pad. When living in Europe, we used to say if it squeals from the brakes it is a Volvo. There brake pads are also variable. I think they have changed the source of their pad manufacturing site. The older pads were mostly made in India if I recall, the newer ones I bought most recently were made somewhere else.

I agree with the view on Akebono pads. I have the same experience. Not great when cold, but good and low dust when warm.

I did use ATE rotors on the 97 850 that went to my brother in CA. The car has done a relatively low mileage and he had to replace the rotors due to warping and wear. Actually that sounds like our 06 XC70 brakes?! It used OE Volvo and went through 3 sets and 2 set for front warping in 30.000km. I have now switched to Brembo rotors and Akebono pads. Low dust and our son said he found no noticeable loss of performance.

As to ATE pads, sorry can't advise either way.

Neil.

[RickHaleParker]

I used Akebono ceramics which were great -- no squeal and no dust -- but they seemed to not grab as well when cold compared to the Volvo pads.

Metallic is for performance. Ceramic is for cosmetics.

Ceramics need to be warmed before you get the superior braking, not an issue in warmer climates.

If you do a lot of heavy-towing, race your vehicle on a regular basis, live in a colder climate, or make frequent short trips without adequate time for your brake pads to warm up, semi-metallic pads are a better choice.

[Roger_850T]

The squeal is from the pads vibrating in the frame. I've always had good success by putting the anti-squeal compound on both the back of the pad, as well as where the ears contact the frame. I use the CRC "Disk Brake Quiet" on all my Volvos - 240, 850, V70, XC90, and all variety of pads. I've even disassembled ones that were squealing, applied this, and reassembled, and silenced them. Of course, you want to make sure you keep it off the friction surface!

https://www.crcindustries.com/products/ ... 05016.html

[JimBee]

On my 3 850's, my rear brakes always squeaked until I changed out the pads to Bosch organics, now they're all nice and quiet. I think I'm running metallics or semi-metallics on all fronts, not sure of the brand, but they're all very responsive to the brake pedal.

[abscate]

It’s scary that people buy brake pads to keep their wheels pretty vs braking action

Don’t put “ racing pads” on a street car.

99% of us drive in conditions where we need our brakes suddenly and Unexpectedly, like when the guy in front of me on the Mass pike locked up without any brake lights

[850oldschool]

I live in Minnesota and I've used Akebono exclusively for almost 20 years. It gets cold here. My first set were part of an upgrade including stainless lines on a VW golf. That car had Konis and a wide set of Potenzas on it and I pushed it hard. I thought it was some kind of alien magic that I could get so much braking with so little dust. I'm kind of gobsmacked to learn that not everybody loves Akebono.

[pgill]

I believe that you have single piston ATE style calipers.

If that's not true then you can ignore the rest of this post.

1. Make sure that the slide pins are very clean

2. Use a Silicone Grease on the bushing that the slide pins are inserted into (I prefer Silaramic by CRC)

3. Replace the bushings if they are old or if they are swollen due to contact with petroleum based grease

4. Flush the Brake fluid

5. Verify that the brake piston is free to move (you should be able to compress it by hand)

If the slide pins don't allow the caliper to squeeze the rotor using both pads then an unpleasant noise is created.

Start with step 1 and 2 and see if the noise is eliminated

Good Luck

Paul

[jreed]

Thanks for the advice, suggestions and opinions -- much appreciated!
I did bed in the pads after installing them, following the instructions in the little booklet included in the blue box. I am using cleaned up original Volvo slide pins with ATE plastilube grease, which may be silicone based... I can't tell from the MSDS or product information sheet on the ATE website. The calipers and rubber bushings look like they are in good shape... I'm using calipers that were rebuilt in the last five years. I flushed the brake fluid with ATE Typ 200 DOT 4 fluid. The pistons were free to move -- I used pliers to compress them and they were easily pushed back into the calipers.
I think I did the brake job correctly. When I used Akebonos I got no squeak at all. When I switched to Volvo pads, I am getting the squeak even after installing new ATE rotors.