First time poster. I have a 2001 LS that I bought with 70,000 miles. I have noticed a rattling noise coming from the front end between 30-45 mph. Took it to dealer, and they said the brake pads were missing the anti rattle clips, which was causing pads to move and make the rattling noise. Has anyone had or heard of this problem with their LS. Dealer said not to replace pads until they wear out.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Anti rattle clips
- Thread starter broncos91
- Start date
Jim Henderson
Dedicated LVC Member
broncos91 said:First time poster. I have a 2001 LS that I bought with 70,000 miles. I have noticed a rattling noise coming from the front end between 30-45 mph. Took it to dealer, and they said the brake pads were missing the anti rattle clips, which was causing pads to move and make the rattling noise. Has anyone had or heard of this problem with their LS. Dealer said not to replace pads until they wear out.
I don't have enough experience with the LS to say, but anti rattle clips are on other cars and essentially they maintain mechanical pressure on the pads so that they don't rattle around. I do not know if the LS has them but would suspect they do.
On my old SS the anti rattle clips were essentially some ears on the ends of the pads that you had to bend over the caliper backing. If the clips are not snugged down the pads can rattle against the caliper. There is also often a spring that helps maintain the tensiontowards the center of the pad and if I recall snapped into the piston. Without those I assume the pad could also rattle on the piston.
I would guess your car has had a brake job and some cheap pads were used that did not have the clips.
Pads are cheap(relatively speaking) I would just get some good pads and do a brake job. If you do it yourself and just replace pads, it takes maybe an hour and maybe $50 per axle. To do it right you might need to resurface the rotor, rebuild the caliper and flush the system, all this add maybe another $50 and depending how you do it, just a minor amount more time.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
broncos91 said:First time poster. I have a 2001 LS that I bought with 70,000 miles. I have noticed a rattling noise coming from the front end between 30-45 mph. Took it to dealer, and they said the brake pads were missing the anti rattle clips, which was causing pads to move and make the rattling noise. Has anyone had or heard of this problem with their LS. Dealer said not to replace pads until they wear out.
When I replaced the ball joints a couple of weeks ago, I had to remove the brakes. The darn anti-rattle clips came off and one was broken. JUNK. Maybe they were aftermarket pads with a Ford number on them, as again...the clips were complete junk. So yes....I have experienced a problem with the clips, but I guess I have enough of them on there to stop the rattling. My brakes don't work very well anyway, so I plan on getting rotors and new pads soon. I actually thought that those clips might have been the part of the front end noise I was experiencing, but it ended up being the sway bar bushings for me.
broncos91 said:First time poster. I have a 2001 LS that I bought with 70,000 miles. I have noticed a rattling noise coming from the front end between 30-45 mph. Took it to dealer, and they said the brake pads were missing the anti rattle clips, which was causing pads to move and make the rattling noise. Has anyone had or heard of this problem with their LS. Dealer said not to replace pads until they wear out.
Yes on the anti rattle clips...
I had the front end clunking noise problem at the end of the winter. The LSE was in storage for the winter so I had time to take a closer look. The aftermarket pads I had installed did not have the anti rattle clips. Those clips made my caliper move around on every bump I hit. My front end noise would disappear when I applied my brakes. Turns out the clips actually hold the caliper nice and tight to the pads. If you have no clips you may get a front clunking noise. Before changing the ball joints or the sway bar bushing, check the pads 1st.
Now I just need to find the right pads that come with the clips. I really dont want the factory pads, due to the amount of dust they create.
Eleanor