Public Service Announcement: Brake Pads

[cloaked_chaos]

Remember to always check your brake pads and rotors often.

I was driving in my '93 EB and started to hear a squealing noise, I made a mental note to check it the next day. I had to go out again that night and the squealing turned into a grinding noise. The next day (today) I pulled off the caliper and this is what I found:

 

[carlover]

Ouch, thats bad.

 

[Burns]

Thats Great. Not.

Yeah you got to keep a look on the breaks. They mess up easy when needing replaced.

 

[EMG7895]

Thats not too bad, I was braking on the piston one time, the pad wore so thin that it fell out and got stuck in the dust shield. There were grooves in the rotor almost into the cooling vanes.

 

[ActionJackson]

I have seen the pads grind through to the cooling vanes, I have also seen them ground so bad that the rotor potion itself had snaped free from the hub and just free floated. I have also seen the pistons push out of calipers, 16 years in the biz I have seen a lot of bad stuff and the funny thing is the morons that own the cars would keep driving it

 

[Pollarican]

Yea, those rotors could be a lot worse. On a full size E-250 van I did a brake overhaul on, my passenger side rotor was as thin as paper. I literally tapped it with a socket wrench and it cracked straight though.

 

[cloaked_chaos]

This thread isnt a contest on who has/had the worst rotors. This thread is a reminder to CHECK YOUR BRAKES FREQUENTLY!

 

[BP_93explorer]

One time, at band camp.....oh, you don't want stories

 

[mikeinri]

"This thread isnt a contest on who has/had the worst rotors."

Too bad, the stories were just starting to get fun!

I tend to hate squeaky brakes, so I overload them with the anti-squeak goop. Needless to say, when the brakes are gone, they're gone, because I don't get any warning until they're grinding.

It's not the end of the world IMO, because I never consider re-using the rotors anyway. When they do start grinding, I know I could keep running on them for a few months (the results of that aren't pretty), but by the time the grinding starts, the stopping efficiency is out the window and it gets too scary to not just do the brakes.

Moral of that story: don't overload on the goop if you plan to re-use the rotors, because you won't get any squeaky warnings that the pads are shot.

Mike

 

[EMG7895]

"This thread isnt a contest on who has/had the worst rotors."

Too bad, the stories were just starting to get fun!

I tend to hate squeaky brakes, so I overload them with the anti-squeak goop. Needless to say, when the brakes are gone, they're gone, because I don't get any warning until they're grinding.

It's not the end of the world IMO, because I never consider re-using the rotors anyway. When they do start grinding, I know I could keep running on them for a few months (the results of that aren't pretty), but by the time the grinding starts, the stopping efficiency is out the window and it gets too scary to not just do the brakes.

Moral of that story: don't overload on the goop if you plan to re-use the rotors, because you won't get any squeaky warnings that the pads are shot.

Mike

I also always the replace the rotors, I am used to owning cars where it is required to replace the rotors with the pads and they are much more expensive. On the explorer it just makes sense to do it, they are cheap and since they warp and go out of spec fairly easily why not.

 

[PTBishop]

let me tell you a story.

The 91 ford explorer calls for a semi-metallic pad. And one day when my worn caliper slides needed replaced. i was calling around, not finding them anywhere except napa. they had them 13 bucks per slide. now i asked for the price on semi metallic pads. the person says. $24. i said and i quote " thats cheap are you sure thats not a organic pad?" to which the parts person replies "no those are semi-metallic" so i agree to buy them....about 9 months later i notice a grinding out of no where...and i work in a shop and check my brakes every oil change. i pull my tire off to find the pads were crumbling and one had completely fallen apart....long story short...don't trust napa, they are over priced and there product sucks

 

[ActionJackson]

unfortunatly there are no wear sensors on explorer, or most ford brake pads, so you dont get any warning until it starts grinding. the best thing to do is keep checking them every xxxx miles. as far as brake pads go. I know bendix and raybestos still make semi metalic pads, there are also ceramic pads available. much better pad = longer life and better brake feel

 

[Mud Bug 94]

youve got another 10K miles on those pads......

 

[Tony H]

It's a no brainer to Write down the mileage when you do these normal maintenance things. Then you know when to really look.

If you wash your cars on the weekends, you can always eyeball the Pads. If you rotate your tires like you should, you can get a good look at the rear pad.