I was just trying to swap pads on my wife's car last Saturday and that lower caliper pin would NOT budge no matter how much PB Blaster I used. Ended up having to torch it with a propane torch and beat it out with a hammer and punch, which took forever. Has anyone else dealt with a pin that just refuses to come out, or am I the only one cursed with rusty Honda parts?
I put a set of Akebono ceramics on my '14 F-150 last spring and they've been nothing but squeaky ever since. The stopping power is fine but every time I roll up to a stop sign in downtown Spokane, people turn their heads like I'm dragging a cat under the truck. I'm going back to semi-metallics next time, they stop better when wet and don't make me look like a clown. Anyone else ditch ceramics for old school pads?
I was driving home from a client session near Portland when my front brakes started screaming like a banshee around exit 12. It was that high pitched metal on metal noise that makes everyone stare at your car. I pulled into a rest stop and popped the hood, but it was obviously the pads themselves. Turns out I let them go too long and wore through the wear indicator down to the backing plate. Had to call a buddy to tow me to his garage, and he showed me the pad was down to literally nothing left. Cost me $180 for new pads and rotors plus his time because I waited too long. Anyone else ever had a brake noise that got way too loud way too fast?
I keep seeing guys online slathering copper anti seize between the pad and caliper piston. That stuff liquefies when it gets hot and can contaminate the friction material. I learned this the hard way about 8 years ago in my garage in Phoenix after my brand new pads started squealing like crazy. If you want to stop noise, use a proper brake quiet compound or just clean the slide pins. Has anyone else had anti seize cause more problems than it solved?
I noticed at the last track day a bunch of guys were just doing a few hard stops and calling it done with their new pads. But that leaves uneven transfer layers and you get pulsing after just a few sessions. Anyone else old school and still do the 30-30-30 method from a roll?
Switched from semi-metallic to ceramics on my Civic last month after years of thinking they were overpriced hype. The brake dust difference is insane, my front wheels used to be black after 3 days. Anyone else refuse to try something for ages then get proven wrong?
I was standing in the auto parts store trying to decide between the $35 semi-metallic pads and the $58 ceramics. I went with ceramics because I got tired of that morning brake squeal when I pull out of my driveway at 6 AM. Installed them in about 90 minutes in my garage with just a jack and a C-clamp. So far they stop smooth and quiet, but I'm curious if they'll wear out faster than the old ones. Anyone else switch and notice a big difference in dust on your wheels?
I was driving home to Austin after visiting my folks in Dallas when I hit a hard stop for construction and my whole front end started shaking like crazy. Pulled over to find my pads had basically delaminated, leaving these chunks of friction material all over my rotors. Anyone else had a set of pads just fall apart on the highway like that?
I swapped from semi-metallic to ceramic pads on my F-150 last month and now I swear the first stop in wet weather feels like I'm riding on ice, but my buddy says ceramics bite harder once they warm up so who's actually right here?
My rear pads were dragging after 20k miles, so instead of throwing new calipers at it I pulled the pins and packed them with synthetic grease. No more grinding sound and the pads look even after 3 months. Anyone else had luck just maintaining the hardware instead of swapping everything?
I couldn't believe it when I checked my odometer at the gas station. 100,347 miles and I'm still on factory pads. No joke, never changed em. My mechanic buddy kept telling me I was gonna kill myself but they still stop fine. He finally put a gauge on em last month and they're still at 4mm. I drive mostly highway in Phoenix so I guess that's why. Anyone else get weirdly high mileage out of their pads?
This afternoon I did the same job on my new car in my own driveway in just 45 minutes, no cussing this time. Anyone else feel like every brake job gets easier the more you mess something up first?
After 15 years of religiously torquing every wheel I touched, I had a seizure last spring that left my right hand shaky and unreliable with precision tools. Now I do it by feel with a cross pattern and a breaker bar, and I actually haven't had any issues in 8 months of daily driving. Has anyone else switched methods due to injury or just gotten lazy about it?
I was doing a routine brake job on my F-150 in my driveway last Saturday. Pulled the passenger side rotor off and found a big chunk of rusted metal lodged between the backing plate and the caliper bracket. No idea how it got there, must have been from a pothole or something I drove over. The inner pad was worn down to like 2mm while the outer pad still had plenty of life left. That metal piece was basically acting like a spacer and pushing the caliper unevenly. Took me an extra hour to clean everything up and make sure the new pads seated right. Has anyone else found random junk trapped in their brake hardware like that?
Was doing a full pad and rotor swap on my '05 Civic last Saturday. Got everything apart fine but couldn't for the life of me get the caliper piston to compress. Tried the C-clamp method, even rented the tool from AutoZone. Then my neighbor walks over, hands me a scrap 2x4 block and says "wedge this between the old pad and the piston, then use your regular clamp." Worked like magic in 2 minutes. Guess I was overcomplicating it. Anyone else got a weird trick that saved a brake job?
I figured I'd save $40 on my 2012 F-150 and grabbed a set of generic ceramics for $25 back in February. By week three they were squealing like a stuck pig and I couldn't get any bite until the pedal was halfway to the floor. Anyone else had cheap pads just fail on them this fast?
I used to swear by semi-metallic pads because I thought ceramics were too soft and didn't bite hard enough. Took my 2014 F-150 out to the mountains near Asheville last October and the semi-metallics started fading bad after 3 hard stops. Swapped to a set of ceramics at 60k miles and the difference in dust alone is crazy. No more orange wheels after a week of driving. Has anyone else here made the switch and felt like they were wrong about something for too long?
Was at Advance Auto Parts in Houston last Tuesday grabbing pads for my F-150. Old guy in line behind me saw what I was buying and just goes "you're gonna warp your rotors with those cheap ceramics." I'd been running those same type pads for like 5 years with no issues. He spent 10 minutes explaining how the heat transfer works different on heavy trucks. Never had anyone call me out like that in a parts store before. Anyone else ever get random advice from a stranger that actually made you rethink your setup?
Last week I was swapping pads on my F-150 in the driveway and remembered how my old man used to rough up new pads with sandpaper before installing them. Did that to a set of cheap ceramics and they've been dead quiet for three days now compared to the last set I just slapped on. Anyone else still do old school stuff like that or am I just being stubborn?
Pulled into my driveway in Phoenix last Saturday after hearing this awful high pitched squeal every time I stopped at a red light. Turned out I had put the shims on wrong during my last pad swap at 45,000 miles. After taking it all apart and greasing the contact points with that CRC brake grease, it's finally silent. Anyone else had the shims flip around on them like that?
I put $80 ceramic pads on my 2013 Civic last March because the auto parts guy swore they'd last 60k miles without noise. By August at 10k miles they started squealing like a pig every morning. Pulled them off and found uneven wear and glazing on the inner pad. Has anyone else had those premium pads fail way earlier than promised?
For about two years I just tightened my brake caliper brackets by feel and thought they were fine. Last week my front passenger side started a low growl on right turns and I found two bolts backed out about a half turn. Anyone else learn the hard way that hand tight isn't enough for caliper hardware?
Last week was wild. Tuesday started with my neighbor's minivan, front pads were down to the metal. Then my brother showed up with his truck, rear caliper was seized. By the time I finished his job, my coworker called in a panic about her sedan making that grinding sound. Three different vehicles, all with different brake designs, and I somehow got them all done before dark. My back still hurts three days later. Has anyone else had a day where every brake job you touched turned into a fight with rusted bolts and stuck rotors?