Dear Tom and Ray:

I have a 1989 Ford Ranger 4X4 with 35,000 miles on it. I recently had new front brakes installed. I got new pads, new calipers and had the rotors turned. Since then, when I drive I hear a clicking noise. When I touch the brakes, the clicking noise stops. Could you help me figure out what it could be? -- Keith

Ray: We'll do better than that, Keith. We'll tell you what it almost certainly is.

Tom: Your brake pads are moving around. It's not a serious problem, Keith, unless the noise is driving you so nuts that you're on the verge of doing something serious to somebody because of it.

Ray: It's easy to fix, too. Go back to the guy who did the brakes for you, and ask him to road-test the car, as he should have done in the first place. Once he confirms that the clicking is there -- so he can't give you the "I couldn't make it do it" excuse -- he'll probably figure out that he left off a piece of brake hardware when he did the installation.

Tom: It's probably a missing clip that's causing the clicking. Although on some cars, the outboard pads need to be "staked," a procedure in which the ears on the pads are bent around the caliper body to keep the pads from rattling and clicking.

Ray: I thought staking is when you pour A1 sauce all over the brake pad and then reinstall it.

Tom: I've tried that, and that stops the clicking too.

It's NEVER cheaper in the long run to buy a new car. Want proof? Order Tom and Ray's pamphlet How to Buy a Used Car: Things That Detroit and Tokyo Don't Want You to Know. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1996 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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