Installing brake pads

[jester]

Hi, all. Searched the forums, but found no answers!

My brakes are squeaky. Not all the time; I'd say maybe 75% of the time I use them, they squeak to some degree. Occasionally they are completely quiet. Other times, they are awfully noisy. They tend to NOT squeak the harder I apply them. They still stop me just fine. Very well, in my opinion.

Does this squeakiness indicate it's time to replace them?

Is there a way to visually inspect them? (I have a 1980 550L). What am I looking for?

Is this a DIY project? I'd give my mechanical skills 6 stars out of 10. Is it beyond me?

Just wondering...thanks for any info you might have to share!

[focus frenzy]

you can thank big brother for the squeek, this was much less a problem when asbestos was still used!

some materials are more prone to squeeking than others but it is a good idea to look at the pads on a regular basis.

thr brake pads will have a small step or notch in the side or more common there is a groove in the middle of the pad, when the pads are worn down to the notch or step, or down till the grove in the middle is gone, it is time for new pads..

don't wait till you see sparks flying off the disc!

[focus frenzy]

also, you can get a paint like compound at any worthy auto parts place that you paint onto the back of the brake pads and it will stop the squeek on good pads.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Rotors that start to get smooth and shiny will also contribute a lot to squeal.
Some people try to roughen them up with emery cloth. Don't use anything more agressive or (in my opinion) a power tool.
Sometimes you can be lucky and just blow out excess brake dust. Others say they've had a little success by chamfering the pad edges just a LITTLE bit and then roughing up the pad face with sandpaper, but not much.
Tilted pads can contribute to squeal.
As said earlier, some makers offer spray on "stop squeak" for the back of the pads. It doesn't seem to work very well in my experience, but works well on cars/trucks. Suzuki used to sell (still do?) a copper based grease that worked very well, but wasn't a permanent fix. You had to re-apply it according to how much you ride the bike/use the brake.
A different brand/material pad may work, but they all seem to squeal sooner or later. Like I said, I think it's more the rotor than the pad.
The squeal is actually caused by something called "stiction". The actual sound is coming from the point where the brake piston touches the pad...a very small spot. Because it's such a small spot of contact on your single piston brakes, the piston easily pushes through the thin film of typical spray on stop squeak. Very quickly, it's metal to pad contact again.
Stiction. Look it up and maybe you'll come up with a fix of your own.