*S*O*L*V*E*D* -- the mysterious front end noise!!!

[kuoh]

So it was a caliper bolt! Still, I wonder how much further it can be tightened before stripping? That would definitely be a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

KuoH

Originally posted by Henry
The PIVOT bolt is the noisemaker. Evidently it can look tight, feel tight, but not be tight. I would have SWORN it was tight after we put pads in the car, and even checked it once or twice while searching for the noise. The (non-Subaru) mech insists that he's had that front end noise on other SVXs, and even after other mechs have thrown up their hands he walks in and tightens what appears to be a tight bolt. Voila! Noise is gone.

If the noise goes away with very light braking, go for it now.

Your fingers won't have time to get numb! Don't remove the wheel - just crank it to the appropriate side, reach behind it with the right socket, and give it a LOT of torque.

Just loosened that bolt on the other side, and got exactly the same noise.

Tightened it - noise was gone.

I'm a very happy camper.

[mattski]

Originally posted by Henry
SYMPTOMS


Steering rack. $1,345,088.72 (after core charge)

That is one expensive core!

I am going to look on E-bay and try to find one. Anything less than $1,000,000.00 is a bargain.

Matt

[vkykam]

Henry,

Which bolt are you referring to again?

I don't seem to find anything that needs tightening on the pivot (top) bolt, just the bottom bolt can be tightened. Or am I missing something?

VK

Originally posted by Henry
The PIVOT bolt is the noisemaker. Evidently it can look tight, feel tight, but not be tight. I would have SWORN it was tight after we put pads in the car, and even checked it once or twice while searching for the noise. The (non-Subaru) mech insists that he's had that front end noise on other SVXs, and even after other mechs have thrown up their hands he walks in and tightens what appears to be a tight bolt. Voila! Noise is gone.

[DavieGravy]

Originally posted by vkykam
Henry,

Which bolt are you referring to again?

I don't seem to find anything that needs tightening on the pivot (top) bolt, just the bottom bolt can be tightened. Or am I missing something?

VK

Make sure it's as tight as humanly possible.

Anyway, would this cause a vibration when braking? I guess I'll find out when I do my front pads. Assuming they'll get here some time this year.

[kuoh]

There are also two bolts that hold the entire caliper assembly on the car. These are different from the bolt on the bottom slide.

KuoH

Originally posted by vkykam
Which bolt are you referring to again?

I don't seem to find anything that needs tightening on the pivot (top) bolt, just the bottom bolt can be tightened. Or am I missing something?

[vkykam]

So it's not the bolt on the caliper or the pivot bolt, but the two behind the "dust shield"?

VK

[kuoh]

That would be my guess since if those bolts are loose, the entire caliper assembly would move slightly.

KuoH

[Chicane]

Which bolt is it?

[Chicane]

Originally posted by Henry
Today I visited the mech who did the 1-minute fix.

There are two bolts through the caliper assembly. To change pads, the threaded one (smaller) is removed, and the entire assembly pivots around the other one. Perhaps the easiest pad change in the industry.

The PIVOT bolt is the noisemaker.

Um.. that's a bolt? when I did the brakes on my SVX, I took out the 12mm bolt, and the pivoted the caliper upward... if I push back on the caliper, it will slide right off... the PIVOT you are referring to... does anyone have a diagram of this part? I think my bolt might have lost it's head. :|

- Rob

[kuoh]

No you didn't, it isn't a bolt and thus doesn't have a head. There is one bolt (#6) that holds the caliper (#1) in place and two bolts (#20) that hold the caliper support (#4) to the strut. Now the guide pin (#5), or the "pivot bolt", does appear to thread into the support bracket and I suppose it could be loose and allow the caliper to move and make noise, but I wouldn't think that it would just loosen by itself during normal use. I would check the support bolts (#20), if you've ever had the rotors changed, as those would've been loosened. Click on the link below for a diagram with the part numbers referenced above.

http://www.subaruparts.com/diag/?mod...category=262-A

However having said this, I know for a fact that nothing in my brake system is causing the "clunking" over bumps in my front suspension, because I just overhauled both front calipers and made sure all the bolts were as tight as possible without stripping the threads.

KuoH

[Chicane]

Ah. Makes sense now. Those bolts I tight, but I'll wrench on em some more.

- Rob

[Chicane]

Ah. Makes sense now. Those bolts I tight, but I'll wrench on em some more.

- Rob

[Chicane]

Holy Cats! IT WORKED! WOHOOO!!! I"M ECSTATIC BABY! YEAAAHHHHHH my car is SOOO FREAKING QUIET! RAH! NO more rattly brakes, no more sounding like hte SVX is going to fall apart over bumps.

Well, here's the thing... I did two things and I'm not sure what solved the problem. I wrenched on those two caliper bolts (that hold it to the dust shield thing), and yes, one of them was able to be tightened almost 3/4 of a turn. The other one just moved a little bit. I also applied anti squeal compound to the backing plates of my brake pads.... so, together, it has almost SOLVED any noise in the cabin. The car FEELS a lot more substantial as well. The only down side is that I only had time to do the front driver's side wheel, so there's still a tiny bit of noise left to be taken care of next weekend.

AWESOME THOUGH! WOHOOO!!!

You're hearing from one happy SVX owner. EVERYONE TIGHTEN YOUR BOLTS! GET SOME COMPOUND! IT WORKS!

- Rob