Changed pads today at 45k miles. After seven years they were VERY hard to get out of their mountings. I had to hit with a chisel, each side took like 15 minutes just to free the pads, then getting new in was not much better.

I was so beat up and behind schedule I didn’t grease the slide pins like I planned, only one that felt a little rough. SO sore now from getting up and down so much (I’m over 35 now so not quite as bulletproof as I used to be ... you’ll get there one day too don’t worry).

Also, guess who didn’t get the pad V-pins installed from the factory. And this is from a Japanese factory!!!

 

When you replaced the pads, did you replace the metal shims that sit between the pads and the bracket? I don't mean the back of the pads, but the ones on each end that should be greased to allow the pads to slide.

Did you also use some sort of wire brush to clean off the bracket around that same area?

If you answered NO to either/both of the above, combined with not greasing the slide pins will make the next brake change an even worse nightmare... in fact, it'll also make the wear & tear bad.

I know this, because I also didn't do some of the above (including the pins) and eventually, the pads just ended up wearing excessively on the outside compared to the inside pads, and even then, the pad itself was very uneven.

As for getting to 35... that was about 100k miles ago. Incidentally, that was probably about when I did the first brake change on my Fit. Interesting.

 

There's usually a ton of rust between the end shims and the bracket

 

Good to know about the end brackets. I did not clean them besides brushing off debris. I did grease the ends of the pads where they fit in, but I suspect not enough to make them easy to change next time. I greased one slide pin that seemed not as smooth, although it still had copious grease remaining.

I think my lesson is - at least in the northeast - even in the pads have life, change them at 30k purely to make life easier! And for the next change, rotors included, pay someone else ...

 

Laughed at your 35+ comments as I’m 44 and installed a rear antiroll bar today. Quick and easy job but my neck was killing me the entire time! And, thanks, now I’m dreading the brake work planned for my 30 year old Alfa Romeo this winter!

 

Yeah anti roll bar is easy but needs some minor contortions. I do not envy you on the Alfa but perhaps you have a garage where you can stop when you like for a break?

Not in a hurry to add a garage as I like my cute little cape as is. But I can’t deny. It makes cars last longer and it’s a lot easier to work on them!

Is it a gtv with inboard brakes ...

 

It’s an 88 Milano and although it’s got inboard rear brakes, it’s the much more forgiving front brakes that need attention.

Fortunately, I do have a garage to work in. I cycle a lot during the warmer and lighter months and try to save the projects for winter. Starting to make that seasonal transition now ...

 

You children. I am 77. My brake job was done at my local Dodge dealer whom I trust. They used Honda parts. I did not feel too bad after standing watching them do it.

End of this month the big job for me. Loading and unloading winter wheels and tires to take to Dodge dealer again. The Fit ones are not too bad but those big suckers on my Caravan are heavy. I had rolled them out a month ago and gave them a coat of paint.


Fortunately I am done with mods that require crawling under the dash. I just drive the Fit now.

 

Welllll bad news here, driver side rotor is up to 30f hotter than passenger, even after short drives. Looks like as soon as I can get a minute and a jack I will be seeing if I need to push that piston just a tiny bit more in (hypothesis: failed to do so completely).

Side bonus at least I can grease all the slide pins while I have the hardware off.

 

It’s more likely the pads are sticking in the bracket.

 

Goobers-
ugh
thanks tho

 

Well, since you’re gonna go back in anyway, might as well go buy the “hardware” kit and grab a wire brush.

edit: an autozone example... https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-.../86819_0_29432

or if you want to do the boot too... https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-.../86792_0_12314

 

Thanks goobers. This has been a learning experience for me for sure. You would think I’ve never worked on a car before but the real problem is with one car and not much driving I don’t do these tasks often enough to remember... if I think back it’s probably been a decade since I’ve changed brakes. This car alone is seven years old and this is how long it took for pads to wear.

 

I marched over to autozone and ordered the clips. Thanks goobers. Cheap too. Not sure if they will arrive before or after I get a chance to work on this.

Good news is - this isn’t a horrible problem atm - I drove 50 miles highway and there is no pulling to side or brake smell. Rotor 190f one side, 130f other, so it’s not going to catch on fire. However car feels slow and mpg now only 30 (highway!!). Hard to tease out if directly related to drag or the new tank of non premium gas I recently put in (though shell). I counted out a 40-60 run — 10 seconds. Ayup. How can a car with 43k miles and no codes thrown feel so broken???

 

If you're anywhere from 35-40 and in good health....you can still be pretty "bullet proof".
Once you get to my age?
You start to worry about being "moth proof".

 

So with our east coast storm petering out, I pulled the caliper and pads again.

Driver piston got pushed fully back into caliper this time. I think that’s what I did wrong before, or rather, what I did not do completely. Also fully breaded slide pins with silicone grease after cleaning. 3 pads slid out and in easy for pematex on the ends; one still really hard to get in. I suspect that might be the cause of some trouble, but I did NOT yet replace the clips (even though I have them) because I wanted to see the difference first.

Result: car feels slightly better, and now my rotors run the same temperature 🤒

 

I don't know much, but my uncle owns his own shop, and we changed the brakes on my moms 2013 Ram. (25 and still road trip with my mom's business sometimes heh) The one thing I remember was he said when the caliper is off, manually push in the pistons to see how well they move, make sure they aren't seizing. If they are, he said, just buy new calipers not worth the trouble

 

Thanks. They were hard to push in. Need to use a c clamp. But that is normal. Not sure how I would tell if they were even more seized. But at 45k miles I wouldn’t expect that and they seemed generally in good condition. Piston boots were solid. Only tiny bit of rust on end of piston.