How to change your Brake Pads
You do not need to turn the rotors.
Why or why not? My car breaks straight and true, no pulsing or shaking nothing, just my pads are beginning to ware thin, so just pop in breaks and go? That simple???
Originally Posted by umiami80
Why or why not? My car breaks straight and true, no pulsing or shaking nothing, just my pads are beginning to ware thin, so just pop in breaks and go? That simple???
The only time you'd need to resurface the rotor is if you get minor warpage (Shimmy or pulsation) or a defect in the surface that affects your braking..
Once you resurface the rotor, you remove thousands of miles of life from it.. Once it become warped or damaged, then they need to see how much material needs to be removed to fix the problem, additionally it may then remove too much material to still be usable and you have to replace it..
Generally I don't resurface rotors, if I get warpage its usually pretty severe (on my older cars) where I ended up replacing them anyway, because resurfacing it just made the thickness of the material in different locations inconsistent, and the warpage kept coming back due to uneven heat/expansion and dissepation..
Last edited by MalibuJack; Sep 5, 2004 at 10:19 AM.
TIP #3 : OPERATION : BRAKE QUIET
Well I got some high coef of friction ENDLESS pads:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/at...chmentid=33596
to test out on the car (not sure what compound as it was not marked on the pad and I didn't get the box). Judging from the moderate lack of friction when cold, and the excellent fade resistance when hot.. I think they maybe CC-X or better.
To quiet the Squeal you get with more aggressive pads, I took these steps:
A. Preserved the Shims and reinstalled them properly (see how-to - Tip#2)
B. Applied high temperature Copper Grease to the back of the pads and the side rails (see howto - Step 6)
C. Applied Copper Grease to the spring contact area (see hot-to - Step 9)
Verdict :
Before : Squeal.
After : Silence!
Picture : The yellow lines point to the side rails. This is a major source of friction/noise and is why its so important to lubricate the sides of the pads as per service manual.
Well I got some high coef of friction ENDLESS pads:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/at...chmentid=33596
to test out on the car (not sure what compound as it was not marked on the pad and I didn't get the box). Judging from the moderate lack of friction when cold, and the excellent fade resistance when hot.. I think they maybe CC-X or better.
To quiet the Squeal you get with more aggressive pads, I took these steps:
A. Preserved the Shims and reinstalled them properly (see how-to - Tip#2)
B. Applied high temperature Copper Grease to the back of the pads and the side rails (see howto - Step 6)
C. Applied Copper Grease to the spring contact area (see hot-to - Step 9)
Verdict :
Before : Squeal.
After : Silence!
Picture : The yellow lines point to the side rails. This is a major source of friction/noise and is why its so important to lubricate the sides of the pads as per service manual.
Last edited by jemm; Sep 6, 2004 at 05:17 PM.
Guys, I followed these instructions and it took me 30 min to do each wheel but on the last front caliper things are going like hell. Ok here is what happened. I installed the first brake pad after pushing (gently) the pistons. I was about to install the second pad and I was pushing the bottom piston and the top one went out all the way and hit the rotor. I took my time trying to push it back but it only went back 2 CM and now I can’t push it back. How can I push that piston back?? I am worried that it popd out of its place and now I have to remove the whole caliper to reinstall it??
Thanks
Thanks
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
From: Norfolk, VA
....so... after a very long evening of trying to replacing my pads and trying to sand the rotors (lesson 1, dont combine 2 tasks you have a very nebulous feel for) to get rid of my breaking shimmy, I'm cruising around on a back road and i get this clattering, and then my car starts sounding like chitty-chitty-bang bang (well, that could be exaggerating). So, thinking the wheels are loose I jump out give both of the wheels i removed a good jerking-on, but everything seems to be in order.... so i drive home still making a scary noise ( I do want new wheels, tires, and brakes, but not this week). I get in the garage and have a look around... Hmm, that lugnut seems to be sticking out awful far... HOLY ****, IT'S FINGER TIGHT!!! I drove for about 5-6 miles with my rear lugnuts untorqued and some of the worked their way out to be about ready to come off! So, even though I was following these directions I skipped step 11 (lesson 2 dont skip steps) which is recheck everything. You see, I was planning to do all four sets of pads, but it was midnight so i decided to leave the rears for the next day... well what I did was do all of my untorquing before I did any jacking, so when I finished with the fronts I didn't retorque the back nuts.... very scary. I word to the wise, even simple jobs can have effects you would never expect if you are not careful...
so in conclusion: I'm dumb but lucky
so in conclusion: I'm dumb but lucky
