A question (eventually) for you.

Just replaced the pads on the front recently since I was getting a lot of squeak. Made a couple of mistakes along the way but figured it out in the end. First mistake was not actually checking that the front pads needed changing before buying the pads. Oops! Took off the old and there was plenty of meat left. Turns out the rear were the ones squeaking. Oops again!

So the changeover went smoothly for this first-timer although it untimately wasn't required. I did however come across something that I found curious. The pads on the right hand side were very even in wear. However the left side had the inward pad worn about 3-4mm more than the other 3. Thought it was odd since the pads were still quite endowed with material. They probably weren't more than a year old. What could the wear on only one pad mean?

 

it might pay to add that the retaining clip seemed slightly deformed from whomever took it off last. It did go on though just not as solidly as the right side.

 

It is possible that you have a bad caliper. Replace the clip and check it again in a year.

 

Did you remove, clean, inspect and lubricate the caliper guide pins? They might be hanging up because of dirt or lack of lubrication.

They are under the (2) rubber caps on the back of the caliper about a 7mm allen to remove them. I use silicon grease to lubricate them.

 

Inspected but not lubricated. I had to pull them out to remove the old and install the new pads. I might just have to pull them again though to lubricate. If its a sticking piston, anything I can do to remedy that or do I have to pay someone to rebuild?

 

Because the inner pad is worn more than the outer pad I would think that the piston is doing most of the braking( it's on the inside) but the outer pad, because it depends on the guides to transfer the force of the piston, is not getting an equal force and hence is not wearing as much

 

you need to lube everything really well. I buy the ATE plastilube from FCP groton and it has cured my brake squeals. I've taken my brakes apart too many times this year and found how critical it is to lube everything.

incidentally the rubber that surrounds the guide pin has a cap to seal it on the OEM version but no cap on the aftermarket version. If you need to replace the calipers do yourself a favor and buy the OEM brake hardware that comes with the caliper bracket so you can lube it and seal it from the elements. : )

 

What needs to be done EVERY YEAR is a brake flush! Your calipers will rust because of the hygroscopic aspect of brake fluid. The fluid absorbs water and holds it in the system. I personally rotate ATE Super blue with "normal" ATE (which is yellow) and that way I know that all the 'old' fluid is removed and the new installed. Of course a benefit of flushing the fluid is a better brake pedal.

r.

 

Added some no squeal stuff to the rear brakes. They still had a lot of material left. Bendix brand which most over here say are quality. The anti-squeal was an elastomer style stuff. If works for the most part except it still squeals a bit when reversing. Hopefully its not the dreaded non-OEM thing. The brakes didn't squeal when I bought the car. What else might I try. Would half shims work? Do I need specific half shims or are there a number of vehicles who use the same ones?