Bought my 93 Taurus (3.0L) during my sophomore yr in college, 80K on it then. Now I am in grad school, I've stacked another 80K on...Good car, trouble free most of the time.
I was driving on the highway and noticed a loud screeching noise (also the brake pedal sank to the floor lost 60% braking power). It was the inner rear brake pad (disc brake) I just replaced 1 month ago grinded bare to the metal, the outer pad is fine (looked unused, brake pad on the other rear wheel looked fine as well). The caliper dust boot is broken but can be retracted. So I replaced worn pad.
Q1, why was the new brake pad grinded bare? What could have caused it?
Q2, do I need to get a new caliper set? Can the broken dust boot be repaired?
Q3, if the old caliper needs to go, what kind caliper set should I get? Loaded or unloaded.