Brake Questions

[Jedi276]

My wife drives an '01 civic and when we push down the break peddle while the car is going, it sometimes makes a piercing sound(metal on metal?). So I am wondering if she needs some brake work done. Is there any way for me to look and see for myself what needs to be done so that I don't have to take it into a shop and have them tell me I need a bunch of things I don't need? And how difficult are brake repairs? I have an '01 Mustang GT and I have been learning how to do car stuff on it, so I am not totally mechanically incompetent. Thanks for all the help!

[ales]

Changing brake pads is probably one of the easiest things to learn. I'm not familiar with the car in question, but with a good FSM you won't have much trouble with this. But please do this as soon as possiblebecause metal on metal grinding indicates that the pads are totally worn and the discs are soon to follow, and they could already need replacement. Try to ask some help from a friend who has more experience that you to quide you through the process. And good luck.

[Doug000]

Originally Posted by Jedi276

My wife drives an '01 civic and when we push down the break peddle while the car is going, it sometimes makes a piercing sound(metal on metal?). So I am wondering if she needs some brake work done. Is there any way for me to look and see for myself what needs to be done so that I don't have to take it into a shop and have them tell me I need a bunch of things I don't need? And how difficult are brake repairs? I have an '01 Mustang GT and I have been learning how to do car stuff on it, so I am not totally mechanically incompetent. Thanks for all the help!

Chances are you are only having trouble with the front brakes (because the car is an '01 unless you have high mileage on the car). Jack up the car and secure it on jackstands (you only have to have 1 car fall on you the learn this). Remove the front wheels. The brakes are disc-brakes on the front of this car and easily seen once the wheels are removed. Look at the brakes pads, the lining material will have an indicater marking to see if you need to change the pads. If you cannot find the indicater mark, don't worry to much. Make sure that all four pads (2 on each wheel) are about the same thickness. On the thinnest pad, make sure that there is enough lining (not the metal backing plate) to safely drive with (usually about 3/16"). Next check both rotors for grooves. Minor groves are ok, but deep grooves on the rotors might tell you that it is time to replace the rotors or have them machined. The surface of the rotor should be highly polished on both the inside and outside surfaces. If the surface is not highly polished, have the brakes repaired immediately. the means that one or more brke pad is out of the lining material and you are stopping using the backing plate. The other thing to pay attention for is when you stop, does the steering wheel shake? If so, the brake rotors need to machined because they are warped.

[Auto_newb]

Originally Posted by Jedi276

My wife drives an '01 civic and when we push down the break peddle while the car is going, it sometimes makes a piercing sound(metal on metal?). So I am wondering if she needs some brake work done. Is there any way for me to look and see for myself what needs to be done so that I don't have to take it into a shop and have them tell me I need a bunch of things I don't need? And how difficult are brake repairs? I have an '01 Mustang GT and I have been learning how to do car stuff on it, so I am not totally mechanically incompetent. Thanks for all the help!

Hondas are equipped with brake pads that have a strip of metal attached to it so when the pads wear down, the rotor will have contact on that strip of metal, its pretty much an indicator, telling you the best time to change your pads