How many shims on front brakes?

[CHUEY]

94 camry 4 cylinder, bought used, no ABS
Front brake pad replacement
Haynes and FSM itemize 2 shims per brake pad. ( an inner and an outter on each pad)
Others itemize 1 shim per brake pad.
My Camry has
Driver's side front-.one shim per brake pad.
Passengers side front has no shims at all.
All anti squeal clips were present.
Passenger pads have alot more meat on them. Could this be because no shims on pasenger side??
No adverse effects while driving.
Should I look for shims for passenger side????
Or just continue with what i have?

[71Corolla]

If the pads were designed to use shims, then they should be there. The best thing for you to do at this point is to just replace both front pads, unless you can find replacement shims. I personally think shims are a waste of time (they sometimes fail) and don't bother with them. They are used to reduce or eliminate vibration and noise, but a good set of pads properly installed won't have that problem in the first place.

[sarsman45]

Unless you have problems, run it until you need new pads. Then you can decide if you want shims on the pass. side or not. Most cars have them, not everyone remembers to put them back on, and I have never had people tell me that missing shims have messed their braking abilities.

When stuff happens and you feel crazy pulsations when braking, you need to resurface the rotors or get new ones.

[CHUEY]

I bought a set of Duralast Cmax Gold Pads from AutoZone
These are suppose to be top of the line ceramic pads
These pads, I quote- Utilize an innovative multy-shim design to eleminate brake noise and vibration.
A hardware kit is included with these pads, it consist of anti rattle clips and caliper and
torque plate bolts., it looks like you don't use the external shims shims with these pads.

[sarsman45]

Originally Posted by CHUEY

I bought a set of Duralast Cmax Gold Pads from AutoZone
These are suppose to be top of the line ceramic pads
These pads, I quote- Utilize an innovative multy-shim design to eleminate brake noise and vibration.
A hardware kit is included with these pads, it consist of anti rattle clips and caliper and
torque plate bolts., it looks like you don't use the external shims shims with these pads.

Just remember, the pads only work as well as your rotors. Even if your pads can take the heat, the rotors (stock) probably will glaze before you know, causing brake fade.

[JohnGD]

The OEM shim design has 2 pieces for each pad. Many aftermarket only uses one on each pad. Some even rivet them to the pads.

Both sides of the axle should wear evenly. So if the driver side wears a lot more then check your brake system. However, it may be possible the previous owner replaced the passenger side with a loaded rebuilt caliper (rebuilt with new pads).

Otherwise I'd use Akebono ProAct ceramic pads over Autozone. These can last 60-90K miles. If you need new rotors Centric C-tek should do. When you get new pads/rotors, flush the brake system too with new brake fluid like Castrol GT LMA or Valvoline Synthetic (both are low moisture activity fluids).

Originally Posted by CHUEY

94 camry 4 cylinder, bought used, no ABS
Front brake pad replacement
Haynes and FSM itemize 2 shims per brake pad. ( an inner and an outter on each pad)
Others itemize 1 shim per brake pad.

Passenger pads have alot more meat on them. Could this be because no shims on pasenger side??

[CHUEY]

There are small scratches on the rotors, I am going to have them resurfaced.
I am going to flush brake system.
Duralast ceramic pads have a shim rivited or glued to them.
I can't wait for the passenger side to wear down, because the drivers side
is almost down to the limit.
Caliper appears to be OEM, My uncle is the previouse owner of the vehicle and only recalls a
brake pad/shoe change.
I am going to go with only the Duralast pads.
thks for the input!

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by CHUEY

There are small scratches on the rotors, I am going to have them resurfaced.
I am going to flush brake system.
Duralast ceramic pads have a shim rivited or glued to them.
I can't wait for the passenger side to wear down, because the drivers side
is almost down to the limit.
Caliper appears to be OEM, My uncle is the previouse owner of the vehicle and only recalls a
brake pad/shoe change.
I am going to go with only the Duralast pads.
thks for the input!

you should replace them per axle at same time!
if one side is worn down to limits and the other is half way then something is wrong there. the braking force on axle should be evenly distributed. most likely the corner with already worn out pads has a problem with sticking caliper (piston doesn't retract fully) or frozen slide pins causing a drag on rotor.
if there is no problem with slide pins or piston retraction, then just replace both sides now at same time and bleed/flush the system. check the wear visually after a few months to see if they wear down evenly.

[eevee11]

It is a used car, probably at some point someone replaced the pads only on the passenger side. People do all kinds of stupid things for who knows what reason ...

You've got new pads, just put them on both sides and see how it goes. Pay attention to braking, if the calipers heat up, if the pads wear evenly. There is a good chance there is no real problem. This is assuming the disks are in decet shape. If they aren't resurface or replace them.

[mazdaverx7]

as stated above, two shims were installed from the factory per pad. both were steel, however one was "vented" and was polished and the other is a solid black. they often rust away and the pad shims on my 92 SE have more or less rotted away and are worse for the wear. i do plan on getting new shims as they help with brake squeal considerably.