Uneven Brake Pad Wear? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

WhiteRabbit · 01-10-2006, 07:59 PM

After much arguing with my mechanic that my brake pads were squeaking and needed to be changed, he finally takes the caliper off and yes, the inner pad was worn down to like 0%!

When he changed the other side, the pads werent as worn as the driver's side and had maybe 40% left.

Is it normal for one side to wear that much faster than the other side? Thanks.

Gary_602Z · 01-10-2006, 08:04 PM

No they should wear at about the same rate. You may have a caliper hanging up or a piston that is sticking in the bore.

Gary

***Tercel GTS*** · 01-10-2006, 08:10 PM

^Agreed

WhiteRabbit · 01-10-2006, 08:25 PM

wouldnt that mean that one side was braking harder than the other so the car would pull to either side?

***cam2Xrunner*** · 01-10-2006, 08:31 PM

The inner pad will typically wear faster than the outside pad. But if the other calipers pads are close to halfway worn while the others is worn out completely, than most likely your caliper is seized up. You can rebuild the calipers or just replace them both. Loaded(comes with pads) calipers will usually cost 55-65 bucks per side.

Unloaded about 39 bucks a side. A shop will want to mark those parts up to about 99 bucks each or more.

solidg · 01-10-2006, 08:45 PM

This happened to me. My calipers where sticking on my front passenger side. When i braked my car would vibrate a little bit. I had my rotors turned and replaced both of my calipers. Put on new ceramic pads. This solved my problem.

2000 Toyota Camry LE V6 with 90k

Dave's · 01-10-2006, 10:32 PM

I'm not a Toyota brake expert but think they work the same as many others. If the pads are replaced without disassembling the two caliper halves then they eventually tend to stick and the piston only pushes the inner pad in. With the halves apart, clean the areas where they slide and perhaps lightly coat with a very small amount of grease.

WhiteRabbit · 01-10-2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solidg

This happened to me. My calipers where sticking on my front passenger side. When i braked my car would vibrate a little bit. I had my rotors turned and replaced both of my calipers. Put on new ceramic pads. This solved my problem.

2000 Toyota Camry LE V6 with 90k

i never experienced any vibrating

internetautomar · 01-11-2006, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave's

I'm not a Toyota brake expert but think they work the same as many others. If the pads are replaced without disassembling the two caliper halves then they eventually tend to stick and the piston only pushes the inner pad in. With the halves apart, clean the areas where they slide and perhaps lightly coat with a very small amount of grease.

if someone is splitting your calipers in half they need to be shot.
if you are referring to taking the caliper out of the bracket and lubing the slides that's another story

without knowing the year and modelI can't common on the caliper pricing vs just replacing the slides (pins)

Cyorke · 01-11-2006, 11:19 AM

First you should try lubing the slide pins. when you remove the caliper from the mounting braket there are pins that can be lubed. Also inside the rubber boots ont eh caliper there are sleeves that can be removed and lubed also. That is the most common problem when you ahve brake pads that are wearing unevenly. If that does not fix the problem then you will most likey ahve to either rebuild or replace the caliper because the piston or the piston bore has been damaged somehow.

the sleeves are pretty easy to lube. Once you remove the bolts that hold the caliper to the mounting bracket you will see rubber boots on either side of the caliper mounting points. Push the sleeves out and make sure they are not dmaged. If they are thn you may need to jsut go ahead and replace the calipers because it is gonna be hard to repair them. If they are not dmaged use some kind of high temp grease and lube them up relaly good and see what happens. If they are hard to pull out inthe first place then it is a pretty good sign the grease that was inthere is either gone or is not working the way it was intenede to because it has broken down over time.

This is something that should be done every thime you ahve the brakes replaced.

Dave's · 01-11-2006, 02:04 PM

I haven't had problems on my Camrys. That's why I didn't know specifically how they worked. Some calipers on other cars were easy to separate. But it did get him the advice on lubing the slides I think he needed. Thanks guys.

WhiteRabbit · 01-11-2006, 03:55 PM

thanks guys

OMNI · 01-11-2006, 06:58 PM

vibration when braking is most likely rotor runout, there was no need to change the calipers in this case. for original poster, try lubing as described. if that doesn't work, a rebuild is pretty easy if you have a air compressor and some caliper seals.

Donald · 01-11-2006, 08:05 PM

A frequent oversite is the dust boot around the piston. If that cracks and lets dirt and or water reach the side of the piston, the grime will become lodged between the piston and the bore when the piston is pused back into the bore to install new pads, causing drag. It doesn't take much.

When installing new pads it might be a good idea to check the dust boot for cracks. If it is cracked, pump the piston out a bit, (not all the way) pull the boot from the caliper, and check around the outer surface of the piston for grime.

If there is grime there wipe it off with a rag soaked with brake fluid before pushing the piston back into the bore. If the piston is pitted then replace the caliper.

Another good practice is to flush your brake and clutch fluid every 2 years. DOT 3 absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and becomes like a jelly eventually. The moisture usually works its way down to the lowest parts of the system (the calipers and slave cylinders) and starts jelling there first. That can also slow the piston release causing pad drag.