Brake Pad Problems Any Help Appreciated

[rickztahone]

so i purchased some ceramic posi-quiet brake pads for my front and rears. i purchased them from two seperate vendors. today i took it to my mechanic so he can install them and came across a problem. the pads were too thick. he said that the calipers would not expand enough to let them in. i'm wondering if this has happened to anyone. please help. i don't want to send these back to 2 different vendors and spend on shipping.

 

[Quik LS]

are you sure he just didn't know how to retract the rear pistons?

 

[rickztahone]

i know he knows how to install them just because he was the one that originally installed my d/s rotors plus the brake pads. i just think they sent me the wrong ones but what are the chances of 2 seperate vendors sending me wrong pads? my mechanic said he can sand them down, is this an option?

 

[NickT88LSC]

What brand pads are they??? Look up the part numbers on line and see if they match what was sent to you??

 

[GrayGhost1]

Sounds like to me that the caliper piston is not compressed all the way when he was trying to install the pads.

 

[whosmikebyrd]

I have those exact pads and they work fine and no noise. my mechanic slipped them im in less than 10 mins about a week ago. i watched him personally so he dindt do anything to the pads.

 

[Jim Henderson]

i know he knows how to install them just because he was the one that originally installed my d/s rotors plus the brake pads. i just think they sent me the wrong ones but what are the chances of 2 seperate vendors sending me wrong pads? my mechanic said he can sand them down, is this an option?

You said he installed your rotors. I assume they are non stock rotors. AZre they stock thickness rotors? If they are thicker than stock, then stock thickness pads may be tough to fit.

Depedning on how much has to be sanded you might be able to sand them down a bit but a couple caveats... too much sanding unless you use a machine can lead to uneven thickness which can lead to problems with the pads. Also if he uses certain types of sand paper, I think anything BUT Garnet, you may be casuing problems with deposits on the rotors. I recall reading about this on an article posted on our website a few months ago. Never knew that most sand paper will cause problems with high perfromance braking. Garnet sand paper is what was recommended.

And he did know to screw the rear calipers back to "compress" the pads right? Not the usual "Squeeze them with a C clamp" technique. Nothing to be ashamed of, I have been doing my own brakes for over 30 years and never saw screw in rear calipers until I got the LS.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

[Quik LS]

I think your hearing us all say the same thing - ...

ask him where the pads didn't fit - if he says the front were tight but the rears were the issue - then he just didn't know how to retract the rear pistons....

 

[rickztahone]

i appreciate the advice guys and i'm going to take it to another mechanic and see if they can fit them in there. i'm tired of the squeaking from the semi-metallic that came with the drilled slotted rotors. i hope these don't squeak at all. they are the ceramic posi-quiet pads NickT88LSC btw. how much am i looking at here? the other mechanic was charging me 60 bucks. what's a reasonable price so this other mechanic doesn't rip me off like he has in the past.

 

[97stscaddy]

You'd be better off to have the rotors turned than to sand the pads down. It costs a little more, but its more accurate, and guarantees even wear on the pads AND rotors.