New Hub, replace glazed brakes?

[RammaR]

Last night my '96 xlt started "screaming" somewhere in the front end. It was a metalic howl that only stopped when not in motion. I took it over to my mechanic this morning and its the left hub/bearing assembly. Apparently the grease leaked out and the bearing is now failing. Funny how these things happen as I broke 100K miles last week and had to replace my first O2 sensor this week also. Anyway, the grease got sprayed on the brake pads and are glazed. So they are suggesting new brake pads, and of course at 100K the rotors now need to be discarded as they cannot be machined again. I had the brakes done at all 4 corners about 6 months ago, so the pads are in great shape except they are "glazed" from the gease.

How bad of a problem is this? Do I really need to change my front brakes and rotors after it was all done a few months ago? The rotors where machined then, so I can't imagine that they would be that bad already. But I don't know what grease on pads and "glazing" will do.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[BigDave]

My fron left bearing failed on my '94 at about 65000 miles (i don't remember exactly) but it was when I was on a long drive and didn't stop for a while. When I did the wheel seized and would not turn. I broke it fre by rocking the vehicle (I thought maybe the brakes had iced up). When I started to drive again I also had the loud whine/grinding moise. When they replaced the assembly (the whole left front spindle assembly had to be replaced) the replaced both front rotors. I would recommend replacing the pads and rotor on the side with the failed bearing and the bearings, rotor and pads on the other side to be safe and keep things even.

I don't know how much the rotors for a 96 cost, but that should be the bulk of your expense. You can go to the local autozone (thats where I get my pads because I won't use anything beside the carbon metallic from Performance Friction) for the pads.

The grease will soak into the pad and make it not stop like it is supposed to putting extra stress on the other side. Also, because the fronts do 70% or more of the braking it will cause them to wear faster anyhow.

To make a long story short, I would take the mechanics suggestion. Just make sure to repack your front bearings with grease everytime you do the front brakes and after deep water crossings. Good Luck.

Dave