Ok... So I Lost a Front brake pad?? WTF???

Nope, but I have heard of glued pads comming loose under heavy use.

LOL!

Yup, I now have 6 pads just for that reason, one glued one on the other side separated a while ago and I have the 3 left over riveted pads in the garage.

Woah.... Hmmm The ones on the drivers side are, well one still is a glued pad.

The one that fell apart or disappeared on the passenger side is a riveted pad.

The shop that safety certed it did a brake pad and one new rotor job on the passenger side for the rotor. Sounds like he only did half a job or used left over parts....

Oh well, no real big deal, he was inexpensive and the pad were new and have even side to side wear.

Mike

You misunderstand!

The whole freaking pad was gone, metal backing part, except for an inch and a half at one end, too!

My caliper piston was pushing on the rotor directly....

Mike

No no no guys....

The metal backing plate was gone too!!!!!

The caliper piston was pushing directly on the rotor!

Here is a photo that anyone can view, I flipped the broken pad to show the liner piece still on one rivet.

No clips on mine, the caliper holds the pads in place on all of them. Those clips are just for ease of installation or anti-squeal clips.

The pad shattered.

Here is a link to a photo that anyone can view or check on alt.binaries.pictures.autos.4x4

Or anyone can view this:

Seen this happen before(worked in a brake shop), rotor was turned below min specs., and the pads were worn, this allows the pad to slip past the bracket and fall out.

Gordon

This is just amazing. In your place I would replace the caliper and the rotor. I might even replace the knuckle. You don't want this happening again. It could be a fluke defective pad, but who wants to take a chance on that? Unless you can figure out positively why it happened, it would be best to be conservative and replace a bunch of parts in that area.

Driving without brakes isn't much fun, is it?

Earle

min specs., and the pads were worn, this allows the pad to

I showed up for a rotation in my 94 XJ once and the mechanic came into the waiting area and asked me if I "knew I was missing a brake pad". Right passenger was completely missing. Just bolts and rotor.

Jim Kelly

OK OK I gotta chime in. My brakes had a vibration shim platebehind the pad. It worked its way loose and landed against part of the rotor where it cut a perfect slot all the way around the rotor hub part where the wheel lug studs go through. It almost chopped the disk off! I really should have taken a picture. KH

Depending on the type of hose you have....doesnt stainless = vice grips (in an emergency only).