csmaan12

Changed my brake pads today all around. When I got to the front passenger wheel I noticed some things.

1. My sway bar link had popped out (who knows how long I've been driving like that). Can it be popped back in, or do I need new ones? Nothing appears to be broken, and everything is stiff. I tried compressing the strut/spring to align the link back up with the 4 notches but it just popped back out when I lowered the car.

2. Again, after the pad change in the front passenger side, after a good 30 min of trying to muscle in the new pads, more specifically the one with the metal on it that's on the back of the caliper. I tapped it in with a rubber mallet, put everything together, and now when I drive when I turn left, I can hear a "skree skree skree" sound. Its not loud, sounds like the little brackets that the pad goes on are the culprits, but they're snug so I have no idea how to go about fixing this, other than disassembling and reassembling again.


And for reference I have the StopTech Street Performance pads in there now. The old pad slid in without effort, the new one had to be muscled in there, I have a feeling its because the old pad on the edges, was even and smooth, and the new ones had some paint or some material that was bulgy. Meh that will sort itself out.

Any input on the 2 inquiries above though? I swear, all I've had is bad luck with this car, wheel lock key broke, sway bar link popping out, squeak after pad change, what's next

SeaJay

For the brake pads did you clean the clips and the caliper before you put the new pads in?
That "scree" sounds like the clips are touching the rotor, which is bad. I've never needed to use much force to get a new pad in after cleaning.

I'd check it asap, you can gouge a rotor easily with those clips, which is annoying.

csmaan12

Yeah I cleaned them with a metal brush and brake cleaner when I took off the old pads, I even greased them a little bit. Maybe I didn't put them in right

Simba91102

Try to make sure they're the right pads; the front ones should slide in place pretty easily, especially if you in fact cleaned everything up (the front ones are easier to replace and the back ones seem to sometimes need a little muscle). I'd spend the time to disassemble everything and make sure that you got it back together OK.

Don't fool around with the old sway bar end links, if one or both are not working properly there's obviously something wrong. New ones (I like Moog parts) are cheap and better than the OE ones, and though I haven't replaced front ones, it doesn't look too tough.

csmaan12

For me it was the opposite, the rear ones went in without issue. And on the front, the only problems I had was the inner pad with the metal on it, the outer one slid in like a glove.


As for the sway bar link, I ordered a new one (Moog actually). Should be in tomorrow, gonna see if I can get it in on Saturday. I just really hope the sway bar isn't warped, because I really don't feel like dealing with it, looks like a nightmare to replace it.

TexasHonda

Fully compress the piston in the caliper w/ a C-clamp or other tool and pads will install w/o interference. Glue shims to back side of pads w/ anti-brake squeal adhesive.

good luck

csmaan12

Ok new sway bar link is in, and holy crap, I was driving a boat compared to now.

Brake noise scratchy sounds went away as I described, maybe 2 days after I made this post sounds were completely gone.

But now a new problem has risen.

My rear passenger side pads, aren't making full contact with the rotor. I took it all apart again (and keep in mind they slid in without any struggle, fit like a glove), checked to see if I did something wrong, couldn't find anything. I did take out the caliper pins (again), and greased them once more, but lightly, but I'm not sure that did anything.

All other corners are braking fine, just the rear, right side rotor, isn't contacting the pads on the inner most part, nearest to the hub. I re installed everything, greased again, and it seems to have made a difference, but that ring around the rotor is still there.

Also may be worth mentioning that when I took out the rear pads when I was changing them, the passenger side rear, were less worn, but evenly, than the driver side rear?

Any thoughts? I'm baffled.