Brake Pad Replacement Question

[Nayr747]

I'm trying to replace my pads cause they're squeeling. But I've got a couple q's.

1. How do you get your rotors turned if you're doing the pads yourself? Is there a way other than putting the car completly on jacks and taking the rotors down to a shop in another car? Or is that how it's done?

2. How much are stock 2g awd rotors supposed to be? The only ones I could find are brembos for $58. But I always heard that you can go to autozone and get ones for like $20.

3. What about the rears? How do you know if they have to be replaced too? Just take the calipers off and check the material left? Or do the fronts, then check if there's still squeeling?

4. How much is it ussualy to get pads changed/rotors turned at a shop is you supply the pads?

5. Best pads for street/some heavy use, front and back? I was thinking Green Stuff for the front cause they're only $45, but what about rear? What is the cheepest and best rear pad?


Thx

[Gsx_hooptie]

1) That's what I've always done. The rotors don't necessarily need to be turned, but if you hear the metal to metal sound, that's not a good sign.

2) I went to Advance Auto Parts, they wanted more per rotor than I could get them for aftermarket. I don't remember the exact dollar, just laughing at the guy .

3) Most cars have calipers with a peep hole on top so that you can check out pad thickness. Run a gloved finger across the rotor... this isn't high art, but if the rotor has even tiny grooves that you can feel, it may need to be turned.

I've always done what you just suggested... if I know the fronts are bad, change them, then see if there's still a problem. Quality mechanic stuff.

4) No idea. Probably not much?

The first time changing them will be a real pita, especially if the rotor is frozen on. Bleeding the brakes is also an experience. It's a two hour job that becomes double that. But, after time, you get quick. My dad could swap out the front brakes in less than thirty minutes. I guess it's an acquired skill, if you care to acquire it.

5) EBC Greens or Metal Masters. The EBC are organic/kevlar/FG pads that are a little high performance. MMs are metal style pads that stop you quicker, leave dust, and sound not so nice. I had MMs and I liked them. Both are cheap, just a preference thing.

Also, there's brake bias. Some people purposefully have one kind of pad on front, and on the rear, to change the braking pattern.


I personally hate changing brakes, but I've never taken them to get done... I might look into it.

[Nayr747]

Thanks for the help hooptie.

What about this for bleeding the brakes. http://www.machv.com/motpowbleed.html

[gthompson97]

1. The only time I usually get my rotors turned is when they are warped or wearing un-evenly. If you hit the brakes and they pulse pretty badly then I'd get them turned, otherwise don't bother with it.

2. Not sure, I've never had to buy new ones.

3. The rotors should actually be measured with a micrometer and then compared to stock specs. to know if they need to be replaced or not. Unless they are so wore out that you can see they are starting to wear through. I see you have a '99, you shouldn't need new rotors unless you do do alot of braking and ride the brakes alot.

4. I would just let them provide the pads if they're going to do all the work in changing them and turning the rotors. That's the way the most shops would like it anyways and you probably won't save much, if any at all, by supplying your own.

5. Green Stuff's would work great for whatever your looking to use them for, both the fronts and the rears.

[drdisque]

EBC Greens take too long to come up to temp in m opinion.

[Nayr747]

Originally Posted by drdisque

EBC Greens take too long to come up to temp in m opinion.

Which ones are better in the same price range as the Greens? I don't really want too much noise or dust and I just thought ceramics take too long to heat up and semi-metalics had other problems. I don't really do any racing as of now so all I really need them to do is stop if there's an accident in front of me.

Originally Posted by gthompson97

4. I would just let them provide the pads if they're going to do all the work in changing them and turning the rotors. That's the way the most shops would like it anyways and you probably won't save much, if any at all, by supplying your own.

Well I just didn't know if they had the kind of pads I wanted. And whenever I get work done at a shop they charge a lot more for the parts than I could probably get them for. I guess I'll just give some shops a call and see what they charge.

Originally Posted by Gsx_hooptie

Run a gloved finger across the rotor... this isn't high art, but if the rotor has even tiny grooves that you can feel, it may need to be turned.

I put a latex glove on and ran my fingernail along the rotor. I could just barely feel some grooves. When you look at the rotor you can slightly see a bunch of lines on it. Don't know if that's normal or not. And I don't feel any pulsing when I brake, but I haven't braked very hard.

[gthompson97]

i don't think you should need them turned then. by the sounds of it they seem to be in pretty good shape. just make sure every time you take your wheel(s) off, you torque them back down and not just tighten them with a wrench. this is the major cause of warping.

[Nayr747]

Originally Posted by gthompson97

just make sure every time you take your wheel(s) off, you torque them back down and not just tighten them with a wrench. this is the major cause of warping.

Yeah, I always torque them down right. In the right pattern too, that's important.

[gthompson97]

Originally Posted by Nayr747

Yeah, I always torque them down right. In the right pattern too, that's important.

yes sir, you are right. i'd say just change the pads and don't worry about the rotors on this time through.

[Gsx_hooptie]

Your rotors are probably fine. They measure the ish in thousands of an inch, but if it feels small to you, it is. Small lines are normal. Like gt said, there are fancy tools for gauging this thing more accurately, but they're probably not necessary.

EBCs take awhile to heat, but they're fine for your application, IMO. They make other colors that are oriented toward track wear, but their lifetime sucks. It's a balance between grip and pad life.

I looked at your powerbleeder. It's nifty. They're taking all the pain/fun out of working on your car, 49 dollars at a time. I bought speedbleeders, myself. They're a bit cheaper and make bleeding the brakes pretty failsafe and quick. You still have to manually fill the reservoir.

Torquing right is good times. The guy who owned my car last had a heavy hand, and it cost be a bit of money to buy new brakes.

[drdisque]

I use hawk HPS pads, they're semi-metallic and dust a lot but they perform beautifully. At the temperatures that you're likely to drive your car, the Ceramic pads like EBC won't offer much more than a good set of organic pads would.