clicking noise

Hello,
I have a 2013 toyota tacoma 4x4 with 56000 miles, lately i hear a clicking noise when i apply the brakes, any ideas what it might be before i take it in and spend a ton of money for them not to find anything

 

Does the click happen only the first time when switching from forward to reverse and vice versa with the brakes?

 

Yes only when i apply the brakes

 

First off it's a common issue if you do a search, but it's not a problem just an annoyance. If you pull one wheel off and have someone apply the brakes lightly and try and twist the rotor back and forth. You'll see the pads shift up and down in the caliper and the clicking is caused by the pad contacting the caliper. That's why you normally only hear it once after switching directions because the pad stays shifted to that side until you switch directions again. I'll tell you what I did, and its been fine for awhile now. Remove the pads and clean the backing plate and caliper where they contact each other, and then apply ceramic brake grease to those surfaces and only those surfaces. Also you'll see a spring installed on the bottom pin on each caliper. Take that spring and collapse the "v" until it barely expands past the spacing of the installed pads. The uninstalled spring free width originally is about 2 3/4" and after bending about 1 3/4". Then you have to bend the sides so they parallel the pads and stay against the backing plates when installed. You'll see after doing this the spring keeps both the pads shifted to the top of the caliper at all times. If done correctly you can push the pads down but they'll return to the top when released. I personally believe this is what Toyota was trying to achieve since they installed just one spring. When braking while travelling forward this is the side the pad should be shifted against to prevent clicking. I think the reason that they don't click when new is the coating on the backing plate is enough to deaden the sound and as it wears away or chips it's metal on metal. If you try my method don't grease the back of the pad or the pins you want the pad to move freely and stay against the top of the caliper. Also don't install an additional spring on the top pin then the two springs just counter one another.

 

Hey jason, thanks for your reply, i took it to a shop and they said the breaks were in good condition but did tell me that my lower control arm bushings were going out. I dont understand how this could happen to a truck under 2 years old