NEW MEMBER

[jbarker]

Hi All,

About 12 months ago I purchased a 2005 147 twin spark 2 liter Hatch back, which had only down 62,000km, great car.  Had it serviced and all was great except that the brakes squeal at low speed stopping with only a gentle touch of the brake pedal.   In a hard braking situation there is no squeal.   I have heard a number of solutions offered and according to my mechanic there is still plenty of pads left, hence no change at this stage.   One solution I seen on the UK Forum sight was to drive the car at about 100km and then apply hard braking and to do this about 4 or 5 times which should fix the problem?   Is this method sound and/or do any members have another solution to offer.  I would be very grateful for any suggestions to fix this annoying matter. 

Kind regards,  John 0414883071

[extraball]

shouldnt hurt the car to do that, but a new set of pads maybe easier...welcome!

[Cool Jesus]

Welcome aboard, we seem to be having a run on new members at the moment. The hard braking run is a quick way to try and resolve your squeal. What your doing is trying to remove any glaze on the pads. Will work on the front pads, put not so much on the rear. It comes down to your mechanical aptitude really, if you've never heard of the phrase 'lefty loosey, righty tightly' then your only option is the hard brake or mechanic. Otherwise, search the forum, we've addressed this on someone's 156 not long ago. It involves taking the pads out though. Don't be afraid to do a little tinkering, Alfas do make mechanics out of their owners, and you'll appreciate them more.

[colcol]

The squealing is most likely the pads vibrating due to a lack of friction and or they are too hard, try taking them out and deglazing them by rubbing in a figure 8 on rough concrete, to get all the shiny bits off, some brake pads use a metal shim between the piston and the brake pad, and you can put some brake pad silicone on the back of the brake pad to absorb the vibration, the silicone is like a silicone rubber sealant, not a silicone grease, see how you go, Colin.

[Garibaldi]

My 2004 147's brake pads squeal at low speed too but I really don't care, it just wakes up the other drivers who are falling asleep at the traffic lights. I am really doing the community a service because drowsy drivers die.

[jbarker]

Many thanks to all for their comments regarding my brake issue, look forward to meeting at the various events etc.

Happy New Year, best regards, John

[colcol]

We have a run down to the Morning Peninsula in February, organised by a 147 driver, so you know he must be a good bloke!.
Also in March, we are having a Technical night at Alfaman, a new supporter of the club, come along and ask a few questions.
Look forward to meeting you, John, Colin.