Brakes and rotors.

[Dozyproductions]

Lets get this clear one more time. I have no really mechanical experience or know how so my questions might sound really dumb to some.

Well, i just got my front wheels aligned and asked them about my squeaking front breaks. He said that its not that the break has too much wear or anything but its just the wrong friction surface and i pretty much will not get rid of this unless i get the proper breaks. When i bought my car months ago, i was told i got new brakes.

I was also told that since my brake light went on that i probably need new rotors and brakes in the back (where they checked) explaining that these certain brakes can't be machined much. I guess im clueless about this because i don't know if my rear rotors where already machined.

My question is this guy telling me things that are pretty close to the truth or is he selling me his products? THe thing is that the brake light goes on only when i have the key turned for the ignition and just after i start the car. It goes away after a couple of seconds. If this has been dealt with before im sorry i didn't search.


BTW: this was at 'the tire shop' in san luis obispo and they seem to be very honest guys. Thanks for the input :)

[abepark]

how can you spell brake two different ways? it is correct that certain metallic pads will squeak more then other less metallic pads. Also sometimes when P.O change brakes they only change the pads and not the rotors which will also give you a squeak cause the rotors are grooved to the previous pads, and the new pads need to wear into the old rotors.

[Dozyproductions]

I dumped all my correct spelling into my finals today :( Thanks for the input though.

[Dozyproductions]

Well whats happening with the squeak is that whenever i wash my car, the squeak goes away for about 2 days. If thats just all of a sudden the pad becoming squeakier and nothing i can do then hmph! So what about the brake light going on momentarily?

BTW: How much are brake pads costing you guys btw? He was saying along the line of 80 bucks.

[whiltebeitel]

Don't worry about the sqeaking or the light, those are semi-normal things. can you take some pictures of your rotors and pads on the car? a shot over the top of the caliper with good light should be enough to see how thick the pads are.


Normal non-metallic pads don't really squeak that much. Try to find a desolate road and get the car up to about 50-60 and get on the brake hard, all the way to a halt, and do this a few times. The pads might not have been bedded in properly, or they may hve glazed over slightly from lots of light braking. give this a try and see if it still squeaks.

[Dozyproductions]

Thank you for that. Well, I've already checked the pad thickness and it seemed to be good at around 80%. I might try that driving thing because there is never a short supply of long and desolate roads up here.

If the tough braking doesn't work i wouldn't mind buying some akebono's just for my fronts though because im tired of all the brake dust!

[makaio]

You can get a new set of pads and rotors from Turner for about $200. But if you have plenty of pad and rotor life left in the brakes you can try the anti-squeal backing paste. I buy the stuff made by CRC, it comes in a brite orange color. Works good, and no annoying qsueal. You just have to remove the wheels and calipers, then pop the pads, apply and let the paste dry, then re-assemble.