which brake pads to buy

----- Original Message ----- From: Newsgroups: alt.autos.toyota Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 1:41 PM Subject: which brake pads to buy

Why not buy OE from Toyota? They designed the car. They did extensive testing on the brakes. You would think they made the best compromise. I've enver understood the facinastion with buy brake pads from non-OE sources. Do you really think the aftermarket parts on the shelf at the local discount parts store area as good as Toyota OE? In some cases they may be, but I think it is a crap shoot. Some advertising copy that implies brand X pads are really good doesn't make it true.

I always get OE pads from the dealerships parts department. For US brands, you cannot even trust "Motorcraft" or "ACDelco" aftermarket pads to be the same as the OE pads. I know the pads from the dealership parts departement cost more, but I believe in most cases they are worth it.

Ed

Ed White's advice is right on the mark.

I need rear brake shoes for my 2000 Sienna. The cheap ones at Advance Auto cost $16. That's right, SIXTEEN DOLLARS! Is there any reason to not get them since the rear brakes don't get that much action? The van has 130K miles on it but I bought it with 78K miles so I'm guessing the current ones are original.

The cheap ones might be fine, or they might have poor performance, short life, cause more drum wear, make noise, or may be difficult to install. If you're willing to risk one or more of the above, then aftermarket cheap stuff may be the way to go.

OEM shoes probably lasted around 130K miles, so you know how long they'll last and how they will perform. In other words, you know what you're getting.

Even though the front brakes do most of the work, the rear brakes are there for a reason.

If the OEM pads cost twice as much, that comes to way less than $1 per thousand miles.

The dealer who did my state inspection passed the vehicle but gave suggestions for things to be fixed. The rear brakes were quoted at $246 -- shoes and resurface of drums.

If the drums are not scored, I'd just scuff the inside with a Scotch Brite pad, wash it down with brake cleaner, and give the opening for the hub a thin coating of Anti-Seize where the drum contacts the hub. Use the brake cleaner to wash out the rest of the braking mechanism, replace the shoes with OEM, and be on your way.