Write-Up: OEM Front Brakes Pad & Rotor Maintenance

I just installed the same kit as Josh.

Whoever installed the previous pads put the squealer pads on the wrong side. My pads were worn the F out but the woulda started grinding before they gave me any warning.

I am happy with the results but I was hoping for less pedal push and more responsive braking. the pedal still feels a bit squishy.

Would ss brakelines firm up the pedal or Fbods or what?

My brake fluid is black too..... guess I should bleed and fill it

Quote :

Whoever installed the previous pads put the squealer pads on the wrong side. My pads were worn the F out but the woulda started grinding before they gave me any warning.

There's no real absolute "right" side for squeal tabs. Properly functioning calipers wear the pads evenly inside and outside. So it shouldn't matter what side the tab is on. Some pads don't even come with the tabs.

I guess the "safer" option is to mount the squeal tabs inside (piston side). That way, if the slide pins seize up, the inner pad wears faster and the tab squeals to alert you. But for this to actually happen, you've got much bigger problems than tab orientation or pad wear to worry about. If the caliper slide pins seize then the brakes won't stop effectively, the car may pull to one side, the brakes can drag, rotors can heat up and warp.

You can kinda tell how your pads are wearing by how the system feels, and you can visually inspect the pads while installed to see how even they are. To get the most life out of pads, I like to rotate the fronts and rears about twice per year, or whenever I have the wheels off. In the process, the squeal tabs will move from the inside to the outside of the rotor, then back again or vice versa.

charlie i bled all mine after i was done. my pad is stiff as can be! try that and yeah its metric. just so happened the standards fit and thats what i used. if anyone knows the metric sizes ill change it

joshuadalegrimes wrote:

charlie i bled all mine after i was done. my pad is stiff as can be! try that and yeah its metric. just so happened the standards fit and thats what i used. if anyone knows the metric sizes ill change it

standard works if ya got the sizes.Less chance of rounding off if ya use metric tho.jus sayin

AA wrote:

Quote :

Whoever installed the previous pads put the squealer pads on the wrong side. My pads were worn the F out but the woulda started grinding before they gave me any warning.

There's no real absolute "right" side for squeal tabs. Properly functioning calipers wear the pads evenly inside and outside. So it shouldn't matter what side the tab is on. Some pads don't even come with the tabs.

No way. It for sure makes a difference. My previous pads were far from being evenly worn out.

joshuadalegrimes wrote:

charlie i bled all mine after i was done. my pad is stiff as can be! try that and yeah its metric. just so happened the standards fit and thats what i used. if anyone knows the metric sizes ill change it

I need to do this just out of respect for my ride. My fluid is black and needs to be changed anyways.

mine where horrible. rotors where beyond shot with new pads on them that where wore on one side, down the bottom, and in 2 areas umong other screwy things. i did the bed in proccess last night and she will stop on a dime now love it

As soon as I installed mine yesterday, I immediately did 50-60mph stops down to 15-20mph.ish.

Then I read this is wrong way to do bed the brakes... ooops.

One way to know the level of your pads - watch your brake fluid level in the reservoir! If you have a 'full' reservoir with new pads, when the reservoir gets low your pads have worn (or else you have a fluid leak somewhere!). Simple as that! The pistons home is further extended keeping a little more fluid in the caliper that used to be in the reservoir!

So if you ever have to add fluid, you either have a leak, or you should see how much pad you have left. (pro-tip - you should never have to top off your brake fluid, or else either you have a leak or somebody made a mistake somewhere).

If you have your brake fluid flushed at some point then this may not apply, because they likely topped off the reservoir. Watch out next time you change pads - when you compress the caliper piston the reservoir may overflow. Also if you have replaced your calipers with something else (dual piston/f-body etc) this may not apply - those pistons may draw more fluid than the reservoir can give when the pads get low.

Yeah, I was spillin yesterday when I compressed the pistons. I think there was too much fluid in there to begin with...

But then I think, the pedal should be firmer and maybe I need to top it off with fluid that I lost installing the new pads?

I don't know. I just want to flush it and get new fluid in there for peace of mind.

my nephew is ase cert in brakes (just got them) and we started at the rear pass side and i pumped and pumped till tight then he cracked the bleeder took about 6 times before nothin but fluid, then drivers rear, pass front, driver front in that order. had a lot of toppin off ( i let the brakes drain out while i was painting the front calipers) but now i can tap the brake and we almost got thru winsheild lol. drain from the front charlie then bleed in that order and hopefully youll have a stiff ass pedal