Oldsmobile/Buick Repair: Bleeding Alero Brakes, lug nuts, 2000 alero

Question
I put new front rotors and pads on my 2000 Alero and now the brakes make a crunching/creaking noise when I put pressure on the pedal while in park.  I reseated everything again to double check the installation.  I was wondering if it might need bleeding, and how exactly to do that.  What do you think?

Answer
Hi Dave,
I don't know anything about an Alero, so I'm not sure if they have anything different.
But I would jack it up and remove the wheels, and then put the lug nuts back on to pull the rotors up tight. Use some washers as spacers if the stud threads don't go all the way, or the nuts have caps that will bottom out.
Just a few on each rotor would be fine.
Then get down there and look and listen while someone else presses the pedal, and see if you can isolate it.
If you didn't open the system, you shouldn't need to bleed them due to air, but if you squeezed the pistons back into the bores, and there was rust and crud in the caliper bores, you may have pushed it back into the antilock system.

But listen down there and see what you find.
The ends of the pads will be contacting a different area, and might just be rubbing some rust off.

Van