front brake caliper rattle

[oltronj]

I have a 1990 GMC Suburban V1500 and the front brake calipers rattle against the caliper mount. The bolts are plenty tight and I put new bushings in the bolt holes. It is rattling against the ears that come down against either end of the calipers. There is a good 1/8-1/4 of an inch gap between the ear and the caliper. It looks to me like they should be tight against the end of the caliper to help handle the stress on the caliper while braking. The bolts are not bent or anything and it stops good enough and nice and straight but the rattle is driving me crazy. Does anyone have some pics of their brake caliper set up that I could look at or has anyone else had this problem?

[jayoldschool]

The calipers can't rattle. The pads can. You need to swedge the pads to the caliper body. The tabs on the pads need to bent so the pads sit tight in the caliper body.

[oltronj]

the pads are tight against the body of the caliper but the whole caliper is what is moving. I have been around a ton of disc brake setups and have never seen this. I wish there was a way to post a video of this so everyone could see it.

[69chevytrucker]

the caliper bolts are worn had it happen to me on my firebird the bolts get worn then the bracket starts to wear and rub on the caliper lip and then you get loose caliper time for a new one

[oltronj]

So I need to replace the calipers or just the bolts?

[69chevytrucker]

Originally Posted by oltronj

So I need to replace the calipers or just the bolts?

the caliper the metal lip on the caliper is going to be worn down so it will never fit right again if it doesnt bother you you can live with it but it will allways rattle i bet you can really tell when you go over a bunch of little bumps

[oltronj]

Yeah any little bump makes it rattle and it drives me crazy. I think I am going to try to tighten up the pads in the calipers by bending the tabs a little just to make sure that isn't what it is. If I understand what 69chevytrucker is saying it would be the top edge and bottom edge of the caliper correct?

[69chevytrucker]

Originally Posted by oltronj

Yeah any little bump makes it rattle and it drives me crazy. I think I am going to try to tighten up the pads in the calipers by bending the tabs a little just to make sure that isn't what it is. If I understand what 69chevytrucker is saying it would be the top edge and bottom edge of the caliper correct?

yes where the caliper goes into the bracket if you can move your caliper around by hand its that for sure

[69chevytrucker]

you can get anti rattle clips that slide over and help stop the rattle
here is a pic of a clip just for a idea

[69chevytrucker]

kinda works like a shim

[oltronj]

Just a thought but could a guy build up the caliper bracket a little with a welder and the kind of custom fit it to the caliper so it is nice and snug or do the bolt holes in the caliper get wallowed out? Does that clip prevent the pads from rattling or the caliper?

[69chevytrucker]

yes they help with the rattle as for the welding for the cost and safety of the brakes i would just get new calipers

[oltronj]

Well I decided to get new calipers, bolts pads and rotors. Seems that one of those components took care of the rattle. I am guessing it was a combination of the calipers and the bolts. Thanks for all the help.