my car: 84 325E (feb 84 build) I am getting a squeak while moving slowly (5mph or so) down the street. It goes away if I touch the brakes. It gets louder as speed goes up until I can't hear it anymore...possibly the noisy gearbox or *&^(*&# boomer muffler masks it. I suspect it is coming from RR but cannot tell. Have not yet been able to put the car in the air and spin wheels and such. looking for suggestions on what and where to look. ( *&^(*&# boomer muffler means it is loud even at cruise, thus intentionally ...previous owner was a young person, I am not.<BG> It will be replaced when $$ is available<G>)
I have the same thing on my mini, it was driving me nuts (still is) I'm sure its something to do with my brakes what I did was ever so lighly pull up on my E-brake handle just enough to engage the brakes ever so slighly to see if it was the front or the back... it was the back. im not all to sure what it is but im fixin to melt the brakes as it is really driving me nuts. It might be the low pad squealer thing that got bent but im not sure. Best of luck
Just an FYI on the E30 (except M10 318i and I don't know about the MINI) the E-Brake/Hand Brake is a drum brake inside the rear disc brake. So the only thing this test will tell you is if it is the E-brake or not b/c it does not engage the rear calibers. Get the car up to a little speed and shut off the engine and leave it in neutral. This will help you eliminate some possible sources of the noise. But it goes away when braking, it probably is in that system somewhere. Check your calibers and see if there is a lot of dirt build up on them and the condition of your pads. You might just need new pads and/or rotors. GR
It's my understanding that most '84 318i's had drum rear brakes. I don't know if disc brakes were an option (probably were) but I know for a fact that some early E30's had discs front drums rear.
Botond: That is why I said "except the M10 318i". They came with drums in the rear. So the ebrake was just working the rear brake mechanically. The M10 318i was under braked. Drums in the rear and solid rotors up front. I upgraded my 318i to 325 brakes all around. So now I have discs in the rear and vented rotors up front. And the car still weights less than 2,400 lbs. So it stops pretty nicely! I think we are getting off topic again! GR
Just so everyone understands in case I wasn't clear on the above post. On E30s with rear disc brakes and probably other BMWs the e/brake is actually a small Drum brake inside the rear disc brake. If you will notice the rear discs have a large drum section, that is the e/brake. So the e/brake actuates this drum mechanically and is no way connected to the rear disc brake caliber. This is why it is important to use your e/brake on occasion. Otherwise it never gets any use. Now some cars, like Honda, the e/brake mechanically actuates the rear disc caliper. There is no separate brake for the e/brake. The rear disc brake and the e/brake are one and the same. I hope I am being clear in this explanation. GR
