Tried to save $80 doing my own brake pads last weekend

Picked up a set of cheap pads from AutoZone because the name brand ones were almost double. Got everything buttoned up and now the car pulls hard right every time I hit the brakes. Is there a secret to breaking these things in or did I just waste an afternoon?

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.diana8h agoMost Upvoted

Those cheap pads might not be helping. I had a similar issue on my old Civic and it turned out one of my caliper bolts wasn't torqued down evenly. Worth checking before you assume it's the pads.

nora_park725h ago

Man those AutoZone cheap pads are mostly rebranded garbage from the same factory anyway. Bet you got the ones with the metal shims that rattle like a tin can. Did you actually clean the rotors with brake cleaner before slapping them on? Because theres a coating on those cheap pads that needs to burn off before they grab right. Go drive down an empty road at 40 mph and stomp the brakes 10 times hard but not locking them up. If its still pulling right after that its not the pads its probably a stuck caliper slide pin from when you manhandled the bracket back on. Just saying dont waste another $80 on name brands yet.