Iam planning to do a front brake replacement job for my 95 Escort. It has a front disk and rear drum brakes. I will not touch the rear drum brakes. I hear very small squeling sound when stoping from the front. I got a set of brake pads from AZ. Do I need new brake shims, M and W Springs or will be ok to use the old ones. I haven't done this before. This is my first break job. I have 102K miles and like to get all the parts before I start the work. Also I have a Brake Lube, which I think applied on the backside of the brake pads (hardest side).
go back to auto zone and return the pads before you use them.. then go to pep boys and buy some Raybestoes Brake Pads(much better and cost more, but then you get what you pay for).. i put some on the 93 taurus and they been there for about 6 yrs now and no problems with them.... if you need new rotors you can get some pretty good ones from auto zone for about $25 to $35 each, Auto zone does not turn rotors anymore.. probably because most rotors are too thin to turn anyway...... if you dont need the new rotors take some med grade sandpaper(the wet sand kind ) and go all around the rotor scratching it in a circle about 2 to 3 inches all around the surface both front and back of the rotor.. then get some High temp. brake grease for the caliper pins so you can regrease them after you clean the brake parts off with some brake cleaner(spray cans, get two cans, one for each wheel), put bucket under the wheel and let the crap just fall into the bucket.. use a scrub brush on it also to get the hard stuff to move off.... and buy a can of STOP SQUEEl to spray on the back of the Disc( the part that does NOT touch the rotor... this will absorbe alot of the vibration of the brake pads that cause the squeeling that we hear from brakes................. and when you finished dont go hard on the brakes for a while until the settle in and start to wear..(its called breaking them in).... the calipers have to shoved back in when you remove the disc... i use a
6 inch C -clamp and i use a plastic turkey baster(looks like a large eye dropper) from Walgreens, cost about $2.00,, used to remove most of the brake fluid out of the master cyl. as the fluid will rise when you start to push the caliper piston back in with the C- clamp.... hope this helps... on, dont reuse the old fluid you took out, just throw it away....
Here is an article you might be interested in taking a look at since this is your first time. Nothing earth shattering in there, but it might help to build your confidence level a little to read through it.
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If you click on "select another article" you will find some more brake articles that might be of interest to you. One talks about the calipers, one talks about a brake system flush.
I did my Nissan brakes recently and found that there's no substitute for a factory or Mitchell manual because Haynes has washed-out photos instead of clearly drawn diagrams, and both Haynes and Chilton's give confusing instructions (easy to apply the wrong torque).
I bought my pads from AutoZone and got Albany brand (their others are Bendix), but I passed when the parts counter guy tried to hustle a couple of tiny packets of brake grease for $0.99 apiece and claimed that it didn't attact dust the way regular grease did
Are Raybestos really that much better? The Aug. 1999 Consumer Reports said that all the pads they had tested performed the same -- original equipment, NAPA (United), Pep Boys, AutoZone (Albany or Performance Friction), and Car Quest (unknown). AZ charged me $25 for lifetimes, while Pep Boys and Checker (probably also Raybestos) wanted $30.
Would you know why some car makers recommend that substance while others, like Nissan, tell us to instead smear high-temperature grease on both sides of each shim? I never used grease before, but so far, so good with it.
i would put grease on the back of any shims.. i would use the anti squeel stuff on it.. i would only put grease on the pins that you hold the caliper on with... that allows the caliper to float from side ot side and you dont get too much pressure on only one side of the rotor(thus both pads are doing the work of stopping the car)....
I've got a 1997 truck (pre-Frontier), and these AutoZone/Albany pads are working OK, but it's only been a few hundred miles. What kind of problems did you have with non-factory pads? I plan to do the rear drums soon.
Drums I wouldn't worry. The pads drove me crazy (short trip). They would work for awhile then start to rattle. Eventually the whole front would shake when you hit the brakes. This included turning the rotors before installing. Something about the compatibility of the rotor material and the pads.
A friend of mine owned a brake repair shop and would go ballistic at the mention of this problem. Maybe the problems have been addressed (my Nissan was an 89) or don't apply to the truck. At least if you start having a problem you know what to do. Don't wait for the rotors to get damaged.
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