Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Dragging sound when applying brakes in 98 Ford Escort?

I have a 1998 Ford Escort SE 4 door sedan. Recently I noticed that it made a metal-to-metal dragging or grinding type sound, like what you'd hear when you need new brakes. The sound occurred constantly, both when in motion and when applying the brakes. So I replaced both the front and rear brakes. This alleviated the sound when the car is in motion, but it still occurs when I apply the brakes. When I was changing the front brakes I noticed that they appeared to be in really good shape, hardly looking as though they needed replacing, however the rotor on the front right side had a groove worn into it as if the brakes weren't working properly or something. Could this be causing the sound I'm hearing? Can this be corrected by having the rotor resurfaced? How much does that generally cost? Could anything else be causing this kind of sound?



Also, since replacing the front brakes I've been hearing a clicking type of noise coming from the front of the car when the car is in motion, but it stops when the brakes are applied. Is this some kind of issue with the brakes I just installed?



Thanks for your help!Dragging sound when applying brakes in 98 Ford Escort?the metal to metal sound you hear may very well be a front wheel bearing which is a sealed bearing meaning there is no way for you to put grease in it when it rubs its bad and has to be replaced. Now on that same note if the bearing is bad and has been dragging it could also cause your cv shaft (constant velocity shaft) to heat up and go bad therefore causing a clicking sound if they are both coming from the same side of the car 9 times out of 10 this is what happened. Hope this helps you out.Dragging sound when applying brakes in 98 Ford Escort?The rotor should not be resurfaced. Just buy a new one. I don't think the rotor causes a grinding sound when you apply your brakes unless its metal to metal. I would check over the brakes to make sure you did everything correctly.Dragging sound when applying brakes in 98 Ford Escort?if you have rear drum brakes you might have a spring broke or came loose.Dragging sound when applying brakes in 98 Ford Escort?cv joint maybeDragging sound when applying brakes in 98 Ford Escort?Badly gouged rotors will cause a dragging sound, but they need to be reeallly bad before you'll hear them, also the car will not brake as well if it has rotors that have grooves in them



How often do you drive the car?, as if it sits for a while in between drives the rotors will get a surface coat of rust which will make a rubbing sound until you clean off the rotors by applying the brakes..



Resurfacing your rotors will run you between $15 and $20 each, I bought new rotors for my 97 Escort the other day for $20 each.



The clicking is likely your CV joint going out. Does the sound disappear when you when you take your foot off the gas or is it when you apply the brake?. Does it get worse when you turn a corner. If so its your CV joint, which'll run you around $45 for a rebuilt one