Just noticed the car is starting to squeek. I guess it's time to replace these brake pads. I looked on the website for the auto parts joint down the street, and there's like a zillion different ones for the Sunfire.
Anywhere from $14.99 up to $60+. What should I get? Are the $20 semi-metallic ones alright?
grab which ever ones you want. when i had rims i use to use ceramic brake pads because they gave off less brake dust. others use green stuff for performance. if your just looking for regular pads then just get the 20 dollar duralast pads or something like that.
75% of the braking is done by your front brakes, so I wouldn't recommend just going with cheap pads. The cheap pads don't provide optimal braking, they tend to generate a lot of brake dust, and they just wear out very quickly. Get either OEM pads and rotors or go with more higher quality pads from Raybestos or Wagner. There are high performance pads as well if you wish. But again I say stay away from the cheap pads or unknown Asian brands, you're basically risking your safety.
high performance doesnt equal low brake dust. ceramic are for low dust. i personally had a problem with the store brand ceramics cracking, but i know im quite harsh on my brakes.
the cheapies are fine if your not worried about performance braking.
I'm not too hard on the brakes. Just drive it from home to work, and on the freeway from time to time.
Picked up a set of these.. I guess they should be alright for me.
Have you measured your rotor run-out?
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2002 Sunfire -->
- Ractive steering wheel
- ASA 17" EM9 + Nexen N5000 215/45/17 (steelies for winter)
- D-Spec Lowering kit @ 1.4" (issues currently
)
- Rockford P250.1 + MTX MZS1004 + Panasonic CQ-C8313U head unit
- Barely legal tint.
Raybestor Service grade pads do the job just fine if you need a proper stock replacement.
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
Raybestos*** ^
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
I would go along with raybestos or bendix there very good brands and if ur brakes have have never been replaced on the front I would recommend that the front rotors be checked for bad wear and minimum thickness to see if they can be machined by a shop or replave them to ensure the new pads have a clean smooth surface.If they are toast being beyond the above the shop will tell u and u would need new rotors depending upon that scenario.Hope this is useful and make sure u use fresh caliper grease on the pins and put brake quiet on the back side of the pads (front brakes only)the side that does not touch the rotors.U can buy this anywhere advance,napa,autozone. this helps on the noise with the caliper against the pad.
Rich Grayo Jr. wrote:if you do go with a lifetime warranty set of pads, realize the warranty is against defect, not wear.
Wrong- Ive been through about 10 sets of front brake pads for my cavaliers.. i owned 3.. and keep using the lifetime warranty when their done. If you take the used one to autozone or w/e they give you them for free on the spot.. if not you get your money back when you receive them
Ok, got the pads on with no trouble.
But...the guy who helped me out says I need to replace something else now.
When I'm sitting still and pump the brake, theres a slight squeak from the back. He tells me this is from shoes for the drums extending too far. Does that sound right? I know nothing about drum brakes. I did look up the price of replacement shoes and they are about $30.
ive never heard that. pull the drum off and look at the shoes. replace them if they need it, otherwise just adjust them
The shoes extend to meet the drum. How the hell can they extend past the drum? It's physically impossable.
A word of advice, dont listen to the part store employees. Most of them are dumber than a box of rocks.
Has any one ever had the problem of there brakes wearing down to all most nothing with in 6 months and thats not even being hard on the brakes? I just changed the brakes on a friends car back in july and they pads are all most down to nothing. She said they shes not hard on the brakes at all and she has had this problem for the last 2 years with brakes wearing down really quick. Could that be bad calipers like the piston not fully retracting and staying on the rotor and just wearing down the pads??
rotor machining isnt worth it on our cars... you can get rotors new for $20 each or our cars... machining rotors usually cost around the same...
as for getting pads because of wear, its simply because the employees dont know the policies. corporate policy for both autozone and advance is that pads are to be warrantied against defect only. seriously... if you wear out a set of $20 pads across 1-2 years even, you got your money's worth. dont rip off the companies.
JBO Stickers! Get yours today!
OnEBaDAzZz24 wrote:Has any one ever had the problem of there brakes wearing down to all most nothing with in 6 months and thats not even being hard on the brakes? I just changed the brakes on a friends car back in july and they pads are all most down to nothing. She said they shes not hard on the brakes at all and she has had this problem for the last 2 years with brakes wearing down really quick. Could that be bad calipers like the piston not fully retracting and staying on the rotor and just wearing down the pads??
chances are that she needs back brakes. if the back arent doing the job, the fronts have to compensate and wear out quicker
