I have 45k and recently my right rear brake has been acting up. I'll be coasting down the road and all of a sudden I hit a small dip or bump in the road and my right rear brake will start to make a high pitch squeel/rattle .. after a few seconds the sound goes away. It comes and goes constantly through out my drive. Is this the indicator sound on my pads that it's time for a replacement or something else?

 

It's the indication that your brakes need changing. Started happening to me about four weeks ago and it only gets worse from then on out. You begin to hear it in stages, when you reverse, brake, and then when in drive (which you should not let happen). You may want to take a look and see how many MM you have left.

 

happening to me right now. 32k miles on the car. it sounds like its coming from one of the front brakes. guess i have to check the wear when the weather clears up

 

The simple answer is "It's time for new pads!!!" It will only get worse noise wise until you end up digging into your rotors. Now's your chance to upgrade to some big boy pads and get better braking response. Don't cheap out and only change the front or rears. Do 'em all and you be glad you did.

 

I am going to get Hawk HPS pads from Heeltoeauto for $140 for the whole set, front and rear. My dilemma is deciding where to get them installed. Heeltoeauto offered to install all 4 pads for $75 except it's a bit out of the way for me. I wish there were some in depth intructions to diy so I can save some money. The last thing I want to do it jack them up and run into a wall. What to do? Where do you guys go to install your pads?

 

There are a number of threads already that include pretty good instructions on changing pads (search). It's a fairly simple job with hand tools, but if you don't have the tools and can get the job done for $75, it might be worth it to have it done. You'd probably spend at least half that (probably more) for the tools you'd need if you don't have them (1/2" ratchet, 14MM and 17MM sockets, tools to retract the caliper pistons (front and rear are different), disc brake grease, and more). And you'd most likely not use most of the stuff again. It is fun and kind of satisfying though.

 

I just got mine changed today @ @21,648mi. Gotta love the silence. Took OEM pads to my friend's BP gas station since they weren't busy and had them changed in about an hour.

 

I would say I'm pretty mechanically inclined, I installed my icebox, rsb, end links and moleskin but then again I would consider these a difficulty level of 1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. Where do you think pad replacement would fall? I have all the tools to get it done, I might just need some pad grease. Is it a pretty straight forward process without too many chances of messing up?

 

It's about 2.5 I'd say. You need this one special tool to retract the piston on the rear calipers. It's a small metal cube that goes on the end of your ratchet and it various prongs sticking out of it to fit different cars. For the front piston you just a block of wood and C clamp. You might need breaker bar to crack the bolts loose.

There isn't much to screw up. Keep your greasy hands off the face of the pads and your rotors. Make sure you tighten down the caliper bolts when your done (2 per wheel). Ummm, what else... put the wheels back on right.

 

I'm still unsure about the whole rotor resurfacing debate. Currently, I am not getting any vibrations/shimmies with my brakes (maybe an occasional squeal) do I need to have the rotors resurfaced before replacing the pads? Having to resurface the rotors would be the only thing stopping me from changing the pads myself or going to a shop?

 

You could have the run out checked but if they're not pulsing and the scoring isn't too bad you should be fine. Just make sure to follow the bed in procedure after you get the new pads.

 

Where exactly do you apply the brake lube, between the caliper and pads? How much? Any photos?

 

Do a search on "rotors" or "brakes" and you should find some threads with photos. The disc brake grease goes between pad plate (not the pad material side) and the shim. The pads come with new shims and some will already be lubed, so with those it's just a dab of white grease on the pad top and bottom contact points, and you'll be good to go. It's actually even easier than it sounds. Once you get the wheel off and examine the brake, it's kind of self explanatory. When you get the caliper lifted and the pads exposed, it's pretty obvious what's involved. If you're just doing pads, there's only one bolt in front that need to come out (on each side), though the rears are different; there are two bolts on each side (don't forget to release the emergency brake). Replace the pads (it's easy, but take your time), push the caliper piston back in (go easy on this as there's a rubber boot that looks very thin surrounding the piston and it can hang up at first. You have to turn the rear piston clockwise as you push it in and this can catch the rubber). Don't worry about pushing it in too far; once you pump up the pedal when you're done, they'll end up where they belong. If you're at all mechanically inclined, you can do this. It's sound a little intimidating, but it really is easy.

 

Is it safe to use Simple Green (degreaser) to clean the rotors before replacing the pads?

 

Not sure what you mean, but you shouldn't have to touch the rotors. I think some may clean the very outside edge of the rotor that doesn't have pad contact, but I see no reason for this. Unless the rotors appear worn to the point where there's a ridge on the outside of the rotor (where there's no pad contact) or you're concerned about warpage, there's really no reason to fool with the rotors.

 

hmm the soundwent away for me..

 

Well I gave it a go and was able to successfully replace my rear pads. All in all it was a very easy and pretty straight forward process. The only part that I was confused was with the metal shims. The Hawk HPS rear pads came with what looked to be shims so I wasn't sure if I still needed to attach the ones that were on the stock pads. But I just went ahead and added some lube and attached the stock shim to what looked to be shims on the Hawk pads. I figured 2 shims couldn't hurt, what did everyone else do?

 

I think you did what you're supposed to. Were the ones that came with new pads just thin pieces of metal that are the same shape as the pad? I don't know if the shims do anything other than reducing brake squeal. You definitely want to transfer the stock shims from the old pads to the new when changing pads, this I know. I'm not sure how necessary the additional shims are, but it's not going to hurt anything.

The fronts are even easier.

 

Why is it necessary to re-use the OE shims?