Akebono Ceramic rear pads: clinking, clunking and screeching

[Tsinsta93]

Hi All,

Hoping some of you can chime in with experience with these pads. I read one or two other threads from nearly 5 years ago discussing similar issues and am wondering if anyone has any other solutions other than contacting Akebono. As the title describes, I installed some Akebono ceramic rear pads with new brembo blanks (fronts will be done in the spring, they were probably replaced once. Rears were definitely original and 110k on them...). The order was through Europa parts. The original pads were held in place by shims. And by that i mean they had frozen to the shims and were no longer really acting as brakes. With everything apart i set to wire wheeling and lubing everything. Upon reassembly i found that the tabs of the akebono pads did not fit in the factory shims. the factory shims had a trapezoidal shape with the short side towards the pad, while the tabs on the pads were very rectangular. Most pads i have done before came with new shims, and these did not, so i decided to run them without the shims. My problems began soon after.

Without shims, the pads seemed to have have pretty decent play in the carrier. I wasn't immediately alarmed but in hindsight it was a little excessive. Having done battle with both of the rotor screws to try to free them from the hub, i was ready to just bolt things back together, bed them, and return to normal driving. It wasn't long before i noticed loud clunking from the back at low speeds going over bumps. I'm not sure but it may be getting worse. A screech has also developed at low brake pressure that sounds like it is coming from the front, but others have experienced it when having similar issues to me with akebonos pads. I already checked that all of the hardware was still tight and torqued as i left it, so i am confident it must be these pads. It has become clear it won't be solving itself and I am hoping to act quickly to minimize possible damage to surrounding parts, because more than likely a sorry is all i will get from vendors if its found i got the wrong part and it has damaged my calipers or carriers. I will be contacting both akebono and europa to see what they know. Any other advice or possibilities would be appreciated.

Tom

[Audibot]

It's been a while, but I recall my shims having a distinctly rectangular slot for the pads to slide into. If your pads don't match, you have received the wrong part numbers or something. I haven't had any bad luck with EuropaParts, but they are people and mistakes do happen.

If you haven't been driving on them for long, you may get away with roughing up the discs, and running a new set of pads with shims.

[menace1930]

Do yourself a favor and go with a different pad. I had nothing but problems with my Akebono pads. I ended up switching to the Hawk ceramics and they are perfect. Almost no dust and absolutely no more noise. My Akebono pads clunked and screeched and drove me nuts!

[Tsinsta93]

Thanks Audibot. You are hitting the one thing i didn't address. I still recognize the high likelihood that I just derp'd here. did you place the shim in the carrier first and then the pad into it, or shim on the pads first? I placed my shims on the carrier as that seemed much easier and in the carrier, the shims had the pinched shape in contrast to the square ears of the pads. I've spoken with an Akebono engineer and he confirmed with a set of oem pads, oem clips, and the correct akebono part number that everything SHOULD be compatible, although that didn't include actually testing installation. I actually ran into the exact same thing when doing the rear pads in my brothers c6 a6 (I recommend never agreeing to do these to anyone if they aren't ready to battle the EPB). Could not for the life of me put the akebono pads into the factory shims. Square peg in a round hole. This makes it seem more like my issue, but i don't know what i would have done differently. Haven't seen anyone else have issues with their shims/clips. Going to call Europa next and see what they know.

[Tsinsta93]

Do yourself a favor and go with a different pad. I had nothing but problems with my Akebono pads. I ended up switching to the Hawk ceramics and they are perfect. Almost no dust and absolutely no more noise. My Akebono pads clunked and screeched and drove me nuts!

I will see how the conversation with Europa goes. If we can work out an exchange, maybe I will upgrade to those as you suggest. If i was pretending to be a Racekor i'd run Hawk HPS or HP+ for a real track car. A lot of the racers i know in PCA trust Hawk, and I do too.

[Tsinsta93]

Well Europa covers nothing past 14 days after shipment. Looks like I am out in the dark on this one. Gonna see if my audi dealer can get me new clips and will try installing those with these pads if they don't look horrible and i can fit them this time. Otherwise guess its my loss and moving on to the Hawks

[drewgold]

I have akebono pads waiting to go on new S4 rear calipers. I assume the pads are different from the A4 but not 100% sure. I'll Check fitment in the caliper with the shims and report back.


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[i96wh33lman]

I had Akebono pads on the front for a little while but eventually they started making weird noise almost like a squeaky door so I just junked them. They never had good bite anyways. I recommend going with a different pad..

[drewgold]

Not sure it helps but I just checked fitment of my Akebono euro ceramic pads in my rear S4 calipers and fitment is nice and tight, no play with the metal clips installed.

Is it possible that your shims were bent or overheated? I did lots of research on the pads before buying and didn't see any complaints of rattling in the back. Only the fronts. Seems that maybe you have the incorrect pads somehow.

I know it's not the same pads but here's pics of mine with S4 carriers for reference:






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[Tsinsta93]

Thanks for the pics, Drew. I have been working with a developer at Akebono to try and figure it out. So far I'm getting some cool info out of them.
I contacted my Audi dealer to get new clips. Like you mentioned, the old clips may also have been suspect. I'll get some pictures of the pads off my phone to upload here to show just how bad the old ones were. With any luck, I can at least quiet things down with the new clips. Those in themselves were a journey. The parts guy said there are 3 possible clips and that they probably had the right ones around. We ran the VIN and confirmed that I needed the only ones he would have to order. In another thread a member mentioned having similar drama and believing it was related to build location. My car is a Sportline Avant with MT that was build in Germany. Minor differences in OES specs could exist, but i'm hoping its just junk clips or junk pads. As others have suggested, if these pads are pretty banged up after a month of loose duty, I will probably switch to Hawk. Lots of pics in the thread to come

[Tsinsta93]

[konarider94]

Ive had a rear pad rattle with ebc redstuff for a while. I just bought some new clips from rockauto. Im interested in the 3 different variations you mention. I'll probably install them this weekend. Any luck with yours?

[GT-R & S4]

My stock pads with only 8K-some miles started squealing REALLY loud with the colder weather here in the DC area. And I don't mean slight squeal, but very annoyingly loud squealing. When I slow down to a light, the squeal is loud enough that several drivers around me turn and look at my S4. I don't know what the problem is with Audi and their OEM pads, but I've got Akebono pads backordered from my tuner.

[Tsinsta93]

Ive had a rear pad rattle with ebc redstuff for a while. I just bought some new clips from rockauto. Im interested in the 3 different variations you mention. I'll probably install them this weekend. Any luck with yours?

Well the guy on the phone was a dip and ordered some weird little spring that totally wasn't what i needed. Guy in the part department understood but only had it bundled with pads. I just went ahead and got the OE pads with clips so i can do this once and ignore if for a long time again. I've got all my parts and tools regathered so I will do it next weekend when i have time. Should have zero issues this time

[Tsinsta93]

My stock pads with only 8K-some miles started squealing REALLY loud with the colder weather here in the DC area. And I don't mean slight squeal, but very annoyingly loud squealing. When I slow down to a light, the squeal is loud enough that several drivers around me turn and look at my S4. I don't know what the problem is with Audi and their OEM pads, but I've got Akebono pads backordered from my tuner.

That's really odd. To be honest i'm not sure if my squealing was from the akebono in back or the oem up front. it started happening around when i did the rear akebono's but i also did that right before it really got cold. Let us know how the akebono are for you. I'm just going back to oem in the rear but will probably do hawk ceramic up front to keep brake dust down on my RXII's in the spring. Don't need race car stopping power in the 2.0T. Your Stage 2 S4 on the other hand probably does!

[konarider94]

Well the guy on the phone was a dip and ordered some weird little spring that totally wasn't what i needed. Guy in the part department understood but only had it bundled with pads. I just went ahead and got the OE pads with clips so i can do this once and ignore if for a long time again. I've got all my parts and tools regathered so I will do it next weekend when i have time. Should have zero issues this time

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...nid=427&jpid=1

I had trouble finding just the shims too. This is where I found them of all places. Also I was a slacker over the weekend and didnt install them. They havent been clunking lately but I know it will come back again.

[Charles.waite]

Ebay has all those clips/shims.

I had akebonos all around on my b6 with b7 calipers and never had issues with the rears. The fronts are a different story though.

[B72011]

Well Europa covers nothing past 14 days after shipment. Looks like I am out in the dark on this one. Gonna see if my audi dealer can get me new clips and will try installing those with these pads if they don't look horrible and i can fit them this time. Otherwise guess its my loss and moving on to the Hawks

This is why I tell people --buy from FCP Euro---they take ANYTHING back they sell --AT ANY TIME---FOR ANY REASON!!!
Thats worth a few more $$ if their prices are higher---but WAIT---THEY PRICE MATCH!

FCP Euro =no brainer.

[Tsinsta93]

This is why I tell people --buy from FCP Euro---they take ANYTHING back they sell --AT ANY TIME---FOR ANY REASON!!!
Thats worth a few more $$ if their prices are higher---but WAIT---THEY PRICE MATCH!

FCP Euro =no brainer.

Good to know man, thanks! I'm new to Audi owning as of last spring so still finding the best vendors.

[Tsinsta93]

Started by tearing things back down and hitting the rotors with an 80 grit wet sanding block to scuff them up for the new OEM pads. This seemed to work pretty well. I made sure to wipe them off well after



The OEM pads were actually a great deal for a few reasons. I was at the dealership having my oil changed (its about $10 less than local specialty shops and its open on saturdays) so I asked the parts guy about getting the clips. He wouldn't separate them from the pads, but for $77 (same price as most options online) i got the OEM pads, new clips, as well as the two bolts that go into the slide pins to hold the calipers on. I was pretty happy with the additional hardware, and since this is really just a street car, i was content with the OEM performance and wear rate. I could definitely tell the difference with these on vs the akebono ceramics in the rear, and preferred the semi-metallics. The Akebono's weren't in too bad of shape so I'm hanging on to them for now.



With the rotors scuffed and reinstalled, i greased up the clips and cylinder face and reinstalled everything. Went incredibly smoothly, and took me about 40 minutes per side start to finish. With the wheels back on, i set out to bed in the brakes at night... and it was snowing pretty decently. It took a lot of time to put some heat in the brakes but I had a great time doing it! Everything is quiet again, and the car is stopping great. Thanks to all who contributed to the thread. Also, regarding my initial problem with the Akebono's, i think my old clips were a little bent from before or after I wire wheeled them, and with a little more work and creativity, I'm sure I could have gotten them to work properly. I probably wouldn't try talking anyone out of them, but I would recommend considering OEM semi metallics for new hardware and better stopping power at only a $15 difference

[allstock]

Looks like TRW makes the rear brakes for Audi.

[Tsinsta93]

Looks like TRW makes the rear brakes for Audi.

Correct, and i believe that's what Europa sells as OEM. Curious whether or not they would come bundled with the hardware from there, which Akebono doesn't