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Re: Brake cost please help! Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Tue, 4 May 2004 10:47:25
In Reply to: Brake cost please help!, KeithM, Tue, 4 May 2004 07:42:07 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
After five months, the pads should still have plenty of life. Yes, a sticky caliper could cause premature pad wear. But you would notice at least one, if not more of the following with a sticky caliper -
-Pulling to one side when braking
-Vibration/steering wheel wobble when braking-
-Nasty, burning smell after braking.
A sticky caliper doesn't wear pads down in 5 months without making itself pretty well known.
The difficult part is that you will have a hard time finding a shop that won't decide that lots of work needs to be done. That's the cynic in me. What you want to do is inspect the pads yourself. Hopefully the holes in your wheels are big enough to look in at the calipers with a flashlight. You want to see how much pad there is left. If it's more than an eighth of an inch, the pads are still OK. Typical new pad thickness is about 0.4 inches. If you can't see the pads, then jack up the car (and secure it), and take the wheel off and check.
I consider brake jobs to be the biggest money hole for folks. Your $600 repair is an example. Properly maintained, brake calipers and rotors should last the life of the car. Replacing pads is definately a DIY task, and one that is a great way to learn about your car. With your head in there, you'll know what's OK, and what isn't.
My guess, if the brake pad thickness is OK (not overly worn), is that your brakes are squealing. Yes, I know it sounds like a grind. Brake squeal is caused when the brake pad actually vibrates when you press the brakes - the rotor is squeezing past. It's just like a bow being drawn across a violin string. How fast the pad vibrates determines the sound. Fast vibration, and you get the familiar 'mice in a blender' squeal. But if the vibration is slow, you get a grinding sound. Annoying, but not a problem.
Three solutions to brake squeal, and it may take more than one to fix. Make sure the anti-rattle spring is in place. That presses on the pads to, well, keep them from rattling. Second, it might be just those particular pads, and a new set would do better. Third, you can put anti-squeal compound on the BACK of the pads. This is just a goopy stuff you can buy at the autoparts store. It's sticky, and never completely hardens, even under the heat of braking. The stickyness damps out vibration. You can get it as a tube of goop or a spray. I like the goop. My recommendation would be to check the anti-rattle spring, and if it's OK, try the anti-squeal goop.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 4 May 2004 10:47:25 <-- Viewing This Message
, Tue, 4 May 2004 18:55:06
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