There is a constant swishing noise coming from the front left wheel.

It sounds like there is a bit of contact between a pad and the disc when the wheel is rotating.It is not loud and follows the speed of the car, kind of like a rotating metallic kinda sound.

When I hit the brakes, sound diminishes.

I thought the pads were worn and that the sensors were shot (coz NO brake pad warning on dash).

Just lifted the car a couple of minutes ago.

Did the 3/9 o'clock and 6/12 o'clock tests at the same time and no play.

Rotated the front left wheel and could hear a soft swishing sound coming from the caliper area.

So I take the wheel off and check the pads.The pads have about 75% left (took the dimensions of a new pad).Btw, they are Jurids.
So I guess the sensors are still OK.

Rotated the disc (just came back from a 45 min drive and double checked that the left front wheel was not hotter than the rest - so definitely not dragging a caliper) and could hear the swishing sound - very soft coz the weight of the wheel is gone.

Looking into the caliper, it looks like the inner pad may be the culprit, looks like it's resting slightly against the rotor but I'm not sure.But rotor was rotated, measured and checked.No warping and within spec.

So it seems something like a dragging caliper problem-just not serious YET.

I remember on my Daewoo, I had a similar problem - same symptoms.It turned out to be a rubber kind of bushing that was supposed to push the caliper back in place when the brakes are not pressed (???).

Is it the same kind of problem?

Now this guy in a W124 walks up to me and asks me abt the problem.I tell him and then he shows me this rubber kinda boot on the caliper and peels it back.

He tells me to put in a little grease and to re-fit the boot.

"Should solve your problem" he says.

Wtf???

I courteously acknowledge his tip and he goes off.

Is that a fact?

If you grease all of the brake components, pads, rotors etc, the noise should go away. Unfortunately so will your braking!

I had a noise that could be described as a swishing on my 190E. It turned out to be the dust shields rubbing on the rotors. The high points were obvious when I removed the rotor. A bit of careful straightening and alignment sorted this out.

A slightly dragging caliper could also be the culprit as you suspect. So might loose bearings if this allows the rotor to wobble slightly.

I think I would take off the caliper and the rotor and give everthing a good clean, looking for rubbing marks, and reassemble.

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Cheers, Neil

Yeah, yeah, yeah , but he specifically mentioned putting grease into that little rubber boot at the top of the caliper.What the heck is that?

Dustshield rubbing on the rotors?Damn, missed that one...guess I'll have to pull the dang wheel off again and check.Cool tip.

What do i do if it's a mildly dragging caliper?DIYer?

I've checked and found that the dustshield is not rubbing against the rotor.

It looks like a very mild case of the inner caliper dragging.

Is the Caliper Repair Kit I see on Fastlane used to solve this issue, or is it deeper than this?

If you are due for a bleed of the brake fluid I would give that a try before I started rebuilding calipers.

Azhari

Make sure you front wheel bearings are adjusted properly, are packed and while there, that the ABS sensor area is clean.

Haasman

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'03 E320 Wagon-Sold
'95 E320 Wagon-Went to Ex
'93 190E 2.6-Wrecked
'91 300E-Went to Ex
'65 911 Coupe (#302580)

Just had to close this post.

The issue has been solved!!!

Shortly after the previous post, opened up the front left wheel again.Still, after close inspection of the caliper. pads, bearings, etc, NO SHOW!!!

What the f.....!

So I refit the wheel, and go about installing the LANZAR amplifier taken off a friend's 1997 W202 which was exported overseas.

During the course of installation, I spent time terminating cables on the garage floor near the left rear wheel.

I look up, and what do I see...

Attached Thumbnails

 

Holy sh.......t!

It's the left rear pads that are worn.Simple.

Stooooooopidddddd!

How could I have missed that?

I swear I had inspected ALL the discs (with the wheels on) and didn't see any of 'em being "eaten alive" by the pads (no scoring).

Guess I wasn't looking close enough...but at least the issue i sout of the way for good!

Looking back, it sure sounded like it was coming from the front left wheel though...