Freightliner brake squeal

bobwallace · 03-01-2007, 01:17 PM

Just wondering how common brake noise is for other frieghtliner owners. Mine normally are a problem when going slow though a campgroud or in town traffic. Have no reason to thank I have abuse them. The exhaust brake dues a great job going donw the mountains. This issue has been with me since new. The folks at frtlnr say the brake are glazed from over heating. If this is the case it was delivered to me that way. The local frtlnr dealer would like to replace the front shoes and drums at my exspense. To be fair to frtlnr they paid the shop to inspect the front brakes and polish the shoes and drums. This did not fix anything. Is this a common problem?????

bobwallace · 03-01-2007, 01:17 PM

Just wondering how common brake noise is for other frieghtliner owners. Mine normally are a problem when going slow though a campgroud or in town traffic. Have no reason to thank I have abuse them. The exhaust brake dues a great job going donw the mountains. This issue has been with me since new. The folks at frtlnr say the brake are glazed from over heating. If this is the case it was delivered to me that way. The local frtlnr dealer would like to replace the front shoes and drums at my exspense. To be fair to frtlnr they paid the shop to inspect the front brakes and polish the shoes and drums. This did not fix anything. Is this a common problem?????

Pusherman · 03-01-2007, 01:24 PM

Bob, yes it's a common problem. I have heard the folks from Gaffney talk about this in seminars, and it's as you describe: glazed brakes because many people don't use the service brakes hard enough in lieu of their exhaust brake.

Before you spend $$ on replacing brake components, you may try going thru the break-in procedure in your Freightliner manual regarding brakes break-in. It is a series of quick stops from different speeds. Nothing to lose. If it works, great! If it doesn't, then call Gaffney (1-800-FTL-HELP) and ask them what to do next.

Also -- these brakes will squeal BIG TIME when wet, leaving your camp site. If the squealing stops after the brakes dry off and work OK to your satisfaction, I'm not sure there's anything wrong with them.

bobwallace · 03-01-2007, 01:51 PM

Pusherman are you saying that even brakes in the best condition will give the damp morning wake up your nieghbor call.

smlranger · 03-01-2007, 02:12 PM

I will guarentee this...if you step on them while going backwards when they are wet, they will wake the dead.

Mine squeal too when wet but not when they are dry.

Pusherman · 03-01-2007, 02:50 PM

Bob -- Absolutely!!!

smlranger is exactly correct! I have raised quite a few eyebrows (and eardrums) when leaving the campgroud, especially if I have to back up when the brakes are wet. They squeak, squeal, shutter.... just like our old bones in the morning.

If the sound goes away when you drive, drying the brakes, save your $$'s for another tank of fuel.

SteveG · 03-04-2007, 04:23 PM

Our 36G Journey is stored under a roof so brakes are never wet when departing. I will confirm that when backing out of our parking space the brake squeel is an unsettling head turning noise. But once moving forward we do not have the noise. As long as the noise is gone while going forward I am not planning on having the brakes looked at.