[Guest]

In the past two weeks I have been having a big front brake dust problem, and have not had this problem before now. I just put new bendix pads on(10K miles ago), and had the rotors turned. Why would this show up now, and is there a problem I should address. There are new rotors are in my very near future.

Thank you,
Maverick

 

[Guest]

Check your calipers, and make sure they are still "floating" properly (i.e. not sticking).

A caliper that is "sticking" can "stick" with extra contact on the rotor. This will lead to LOTS of brake dust, and obviously is something you wanna fix ASAP!

Ed

 

[Guest]

I will check that. What should the spacing be during normal driving? Anything else to look for.

 

[Guest]

If there's space, there's no problem. Jack up the wheel you wish to check, and spin it it should spin pretty freely, and you should hear no rubbing. Another thing to check is pad wear. If one pad looks thinner than the other, (inside vs outside) then there's your problem. I'm guessing there's nothing wrong with them, you just need to clean your car once in a while, and don't forget the wheels!

Lance

 

[Guest]

I am constantly cleaning this bad boy, the wheels now more than ever.
Thanks,
Mav

 

[Guest]

Mad Mav--

First, you had the rotors turned and put on new pads, but did you put a non-directional finish on the surfaces when reinstalling them, and clean the surfaces well with brake cleaner or soap & water before putting the new pads on.

After that, did you follow any instructions about proper bedding of the pads & rotors?

Finally, when the new pads were installed, were the caliper bushings and slide pins serviced? This involves cleaning or replacing the bushings, lubricating them with a high temp silicone grease, and inspecting the pins to make sure they are not worn, especially at the outer (small) end.

From your description, the problems could be a combination of all of the above, but I would guess your calipers are at least sticking--with the result that one pad stays in more than "normal" contact and this causes dusting. You need to get GM kit, P/N 18005606, which is to remedy this problem with new bushing (8) and new sleeves (4) and lubricant. If new slide pins are needed you will have to get those separately.

I will tell you that the inner and outer pads are NOT the same thickness when new, so looking at the pads to see if one is "worn" more than the other will not really tell you there is a problem. I'd go by the condition of the rotor surface, looking for glazing, hot (blue) spots, grooving, and other "abnormal" surface conditions.

 

[Guest]

I guess I need to explain this in a different way. EXAMPLE:If the outer pad on say the right side is thicker than the outer pad on the left, than it would indicate a caliper hanging up. The outer pads on the left are the same as the ones on the right when new. the same goes for the inner ones. Trust me, regardless of thickness when new, you will be able to see the unusual wear.

Lance

 

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Navy Lifer:
... I will tell you that the inner and outer pads are NOT the same thickness when new, so looking at the pads to see if one is "worn" more than the other will not really tell you there is a problem. ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Comment: the reason for the above is that the pad pushed by the caliper piston is in direct action from the piston. The OTHER pad, on the other side of the rotor only begins to work AFTER the friction is overcome on the slide pins. Even if the slide pins are greased, and are not gummed up with brake dust, there will still be a difference in the forces for the inner and outer pads to work.

Said differently, the inner pads always wear more readily than the outer pads. Over the long haul, you may also notice that each rotor also wears in a similar fashion: thinner on the inside, thicker on the outside.

Dual or quad (opposed) piston calipers won't wear in the above manner; they wear evenly.
- Ken

 

[Guest]

I had just bought the car in November of last year and did not have the time or place to change the pads myself. So I took it to MIDAS, they did all the work and I think they did a good job. They did tell me that my rotors would not be able to be turned again. (To thin I guess) I will take a look at them tomorrow and see what I can see.

Thank you,
Mav

 

[Guest]

Midas......I'd be willing to bet a case of Colorado's finest (beer) that they did NOT service the bushings/sliders etc. And that you now have a hung caliper (or two, or more).

Honestly, letting "low buck" places like that work on my cars scares the heck out of me. Calling them "incompetent" would often be putting it mildly

Well, looks like you're about to find out reason #165 on why it's best to work on it yourself

Ed

 

[Guest]

Hmmm... the front caliper bushings are supposed to us silicon grease to lube, but like Bill is saying the rear pins don't say anything. So is something like lithium grease suitable ? I put a thin coat of 'white grease' on my rear pins when I replaced the pads. Took a LOT of heat to get one of the old pins out, so I wasn't about to put it back together dry. I'm not sure how much of that is left in there, like Charlie says it'll get washed out pretty quick I'm sure.

I just replaced my fluid last night thinking something was up. Its been about 8k miles since I did the brakes and the pedal just doesn't feel the same as it did right after the install.

Any more info you can share with us Bill ?

-gerry

 

[Guest]

Unfortunatly Ed, I still live in the low buck world. Maybe someday life will though something better my way. I am now in the mode of working on the car at every chance I get. There hasn't been a weekend lately that I havn't done something to the Imp. If I get the kit that Navy Lifer suggests, do I still need to get the lube,(what kind), or does the kit come with it? How much is the cost?

Thanks for all the help,
Mav

 

[Guest]

MadMav: That front caliper service kit (2 calipers)is $18.94 Canadian up here, so it is probably ~ $8.00 U.S.
Actually if your Midas shop let's you into the service bay (like Speedy up here), then it is easy to ensure a good job.
Also helps to bring coffee & doughnuts
Hey, work's for me !
good Luck,
Jim...

 

[Guest]

Hey, I understand the "low buck" approach. I drove a Ford Tempo (and a pretty crappy one at that) thru college......talk about a great way to learn how to work on cars . Bulletproof motor and tranny, just everything bolted to those two pieces was crap

.

At any rate, as Jim said the kit is about $10 or so (maybe cheaper?). It contains the bushings for the front calipers. It may also include the slide lube (not sure?). It does NOT include extra slide pins, so I'd go ahead and get 4 new ones of those as well (shouldn't be more than a couple bucks each).

On the rear, get new slide pins, new bolts (come with loctite already applied) and slide pin lube (same stuff as the front should work fine).

All told, you'll be out about $25 or so in parts. If even ONE of those rear calipers siezes up, it's basically a minimum of about $100 to fix it. Sometimes, it's cheaper to spend a little now rather than more later on

. Not to mention, your brakes will be better maintained than the vast majority of vehicles out there!

Ed

 

[Guest]

Well me and HuSSker found out that both of the front rotors are warped and were rubbing every now and then, and can't be turned any more. I am in stalling new rotors, and 9C1 dust shields manana...

Thanks for all of your help,
MadMav

 

[Guest]

I redid my front brakes 2 months ago. I was getting all parts together so I could start and finishe the job without having to go to a parts store. I got the bushing/lube kit and inquired about the slide pins. They were $24 each and I would need 4 of them. That would have been over $100 just for pins. I told the guy that if one was really bad, I would replace it. I ended up just cleaning them up and they worked great. I called another dealership and they quoted me the same price for the pins too.

TOM B
96DGGM

 

[Guest]

SSWEET--and others interested:

Here's the lowdown on the front caliper slide pins:

Impala SS, front brake RPO JB9 uses P/N 18022601, list price $20.04, cost $9.87.

9C1 and some HD rear drum systems, with front brake RPO JA9 uses P/N 18020239, list price $21.56, cost $10.62. I don't know what is different about this part, but the JA9 caliper is a little wider, so it may be that 18022601 is slightly longer.

Also listed are 2 additional numbers from the ACDelco DuraStop (from Raybestos/BPI):
18034582 list $12.20, cost $6.01
18034593 list $11.06, cost $5.45

I don't know what is different about the 2 DuraStop numbers.

You need to find a better source than someone who wants $24 each for these parts, if you need any replacements.

If you want to verify this info, go to www.gmpartsdirect.com and plug in the P/N's. The price listed on this site is "cost". The shipping portion of any purchase (in most cases they add 18%) results in actual cost about the same as +10% pricing and what you might pay for tax if bought locally. I just use the site for checking valid part and pricing info, but you should go to Dal at Vandevere to get good parts pricing (800 362-9494). I actually get to talk to a straight-shooter, not the guy at the local dealership who is not able or willing to offer you any break.

The parts probably cost alot less at NAPA or any other reputable parts house.

 

[Guest]

I should follow my own advice!

The cost prices on GM Parts Direct match the numbers I posted, but the dealer source I got my information from is using a different LIST price formula, so the LIST prices (not what you should pay) on the website are actually lower.

18020239 (JA9) $17.70 (9C1, HD wagon)
18022601 (JB9) $19.74 (Impala SS)

DuraStop
18034582 $10.02
18034593 $ 9.08

 

[Guest]

Hey MadMav,

Been offline for a bit, - Your original post spurred quite a flurry of great responses from the aces. I've cutted and pasteded the whole thing into a word file for future ref.

These guys helped me with a combination swap and upgrade to the brakes on my B & D cars a while back, and they both work "as smooth as buttah."

If you ain't popped for new rotors yet, check out the GTRotors dimpled cuties I got.
http://www.gtrotors.com/products.html