I'm back on the road with new OEM rotors on the back and new pads all the way around. I put the half shims on the back just like you recommended Tech. It seemed real smooth in the test drive I took at 9:30 last night. It felt faster, but that might be because I drove the old Honda yesterday. Took me about 4 hours total time to do everything. That's does not seem too bad for a guy who really didn't know much about what I was doing. I hate to say it, but the hardest part was getting up off the ground every time I needed another tool or finiished something. The fronts were a good bit tougher to figure out than the rears.

Today is the first day my wife gets to drive it. I am driving Justin's BMW 325IS because he borrowed the V70 to move some stuff yesterday. We might have to line the BMW up next to the R. The old man wants the fastest car in the family. Daughter has an S80 T6 that she thinks is the fastest, and her significant other has a BMW 330I. I can't believe the amount of pull the 325 has in 5th gear. I kept thinking maybe I'm still in 3rd because of the responsiveness it had. Then again, like I said before, I drove the 5 speed Honda yesterday.

Happy Birthday Justin!!!

He's 26 today and I bet he reads this.

 

Congrats on getting it all done.Im glad it feels better for you.Let us know if you line up the 2 cars and which one wins!!


BTW Happy B-Day Justin

 

If you think the 325 has pull in 5th, try driving an M3!!! I remember the first time I drove one and my friend told me to put it in 5th while going like 25 mph. He said to floor it and I thought he was nuts, but it had so much power even at that low of RPM. Bimmers are phenominal with torque. Glad you got your brakes figured out. Happy Bday Justin, my 26th was in May.

 

Well today I dropped of my '97 R at the dealer for the 4th time for this vibration. They are saying that either 1. Im crazy 2. They are diagnosing incorrectly. JimKW let me know if the sound does/doesnt come back. For some reason ususally 2 weeks after new rotors/pads it would come back - but then again that's for me - I seem to have bad juju around me when it comes to cars!!

 

Did you make sure they had the half shims in there?

 

well I am going by what they 're telling me but they said they were.. .but I will admit, I don't know what I'd be looking for so I cannot say I have looked at it with my eyes.

 

So far my brakes are great, but it has not been two weeks yet. I have probably put on close to 800 miles though since I changed them. If you have had yours done this many time, I can not believe they are charging you every time. If you know anybody that is the least bit mechanicaly inclined, you could have them put the half shims in or chedk to see fi they are there. The rear pads are very easy to work on.

The half shims are easy to recognize. Until I saw them, I had not idea what they looked like either. It's kind of hard to explain. The pad is about 1.5" x 2.0" with two holes on the wider side that kind of stick out past the edge. The half shims have the same two holes, and they go the whole way on the 1.5" side but only half way on the 2.0" side. The problem is you will not be able to see them unless you pull the caliper off. I know when I showed them to the Service Manager at the dealership where I bought them, I had both the full shim and the half shim in my hands from the parts counter. He looked at the half shim and said that's what you want.

 

Sorry I looked I thought I had one but I can't find it.
Yes they are like JimKW explained and they also have an arrow stamped into the middle of them.
All you have to do to check is to remove one of the pads and take a look at the back of the pad.