* BIG Problem* Bought NEW toyota brakes that aren't working...What?

[mystickid]

I bought Brand NEW Toyota Brand™ Brake pads and had them installed on my 98' Camry by a mechanic that gave a good price.

Before I bought these New brakes, I had to press my old toyota worn out brakes 85% down to start braking. And now after the Brand NEW brakes installed, I STILL have to press my NEW brakes 85% down to start braking. There isn't any change except slightly better stoppping.

My brother bought new brakes from Autozone and had them Installed on his 97 Altima and as soon as you touch the brake pedal the car stops toa sudden halt. I can't understand why my NEW Toyota Brand brakes have to be pressed all the way down to start braking.
Do i need new rotors or do I have defective brake pads or....?
I thought my brakes would be very sensitive and brake tightly. can anyone give me some direction?

[LE05]

did you bleed your brakes? usually if you have to press your brake pedal that far its a sign that there is air in your lines. additionally, your brake lines may be wearing out... causing a bulge in the lines when braking, reducing pressure. Reduced pressure means you have to press the brake pedal more.

[Mike Gerber]

If this is a 4 cylinder car, you have rear drum brakes. The pedal height on a front disc rear drum setup is usually a function of the rear drum brake adjustment. The car has self adjusters, but from my experience, they really don't work all that well. If you have rear drum brakes, take the car to a tech and have him manually adjust the rear drums. I'm sure the tech who installed the front pads can do this for a minimum charge. I had to adjust the rear drums on my 98 myself around every 5,000 miles to keep maximum pedal height.

Also, give the new front pads a few hundred miles of light braking so they will seat properly. That may also improve braking performance.

Mike

[2wickedtoyz]

ok so you have a 98...
all wheel disc? or only fronts? where the rotors replaced or resurfaced? also i would suggest flushing your brake line to clean them out then ou willnotice a big difference.

[GrkBallaG]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

If this is a 4 cylinder car, you have rear drum brakes. The pedal height on a front disc rear drum setup is usually a function of the rear drum brake adjustment. The car has self adjusters, but from my experience, they really don't work all that well. If you have rear drum brakes, take the car to a tech and have him manually adjust the rear drums. I'm sure the tech who installed the front pads can do this for a minimum charge. I had to adjust the rear drums on my 98 myself around every 5,000 miles to keep maximum pedal height.

Also, give the new front pads a few hundred miles of light braking so they will seat properly. That may also improve braking performance.

Mike

You are correct sir, you beat me to it

WHich means he replaced the shoes and didnt even bother to adjust them, what a slacker!

[mystickid]

yeah, I watched the guy do it. He ONLy took off the old Brake pads and slapped the new ones on and said youre all set.

ya, my car is a 4 cylinder with front caliper brakes and rear drum brakes.

My rotors weren't replaced or resurfaced. I don't know if they need to be.

so I'm gonna go ack to the Mecahic, What EXACTLy should I say "..................."

[atobe]

say re-surface my rotors you lazy bum... and while you'r at it flush the brakes with some new fuilds... 2 bottles of dot 3/4 should do it

[mystickid]

I just went back to da guy, he said come back in 2 hrs. i think he wants to charge me for re-adjusting the brakes. Right when i mentioned my brakes need to pressed wayy down he quickly said that I need to re-adjust the rear drums. I think that he set me up to come back so he can make more $$$.


what's the average $$ cost to put new brake pads with a rear drum adjustment??

I was doing some research and discovered thatwhenever brake pads are replaced , the mechanic SHOULD do the adjustment. have I been babmboozled?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by mystickid

I just went back to da guy, he said come back in 2 hrs. i think he wants to charge me for re-adjusting the brakes. Right when i mentioned my brakes need to pressed wayy down he quickly said that I need to re-adjust the rear drums. I think that he set me up to come back so he can make more $$$.


what's the average $$ cost to put new brake pads with a rear drum adjustment??

I was doing some research and discovered thatwhenever brake pads are replaced , the mechanic SHOULD do the adjustment. have I been babmboozled?

The front brake pads that he replaced have nothing to do with the rear drum brakes, nor do the front disc brakes require any adjustment. If the tech felt you needed to turn (cut) the rotors or replace them, he probably would have mentioned it. That's how they generate business, by upselling. You stated in your original post you brought the new Toyota pads to him and asked him to install them. That's what he did. As I stated above in my first post, the rear drum brakes can have a lot to do with pedal height and probably need to be adjusted. You should just ask him to adjust the rear drum brakes and tell him about the low pedal. This should take him about 15 minutes, including removing and reinstalling the rear wheels. What a fair price is for this is up to him and you, but I can't imagine you being charged any more than a half hour labor. He may use a book to determine the proper amount to charge. Most repair shops will go with what "book rate" is and charge that, based on their hourly rate. If he gave you a good price on installing the front pads, he probably won't charge much to adjust the rear drums. Actually, he is adjusting the rear "shoes" inside the drums to be closer to the drum. That's why when you step on the brake pedal they will come in contact with the rear drum sooner, and therefore the pedal doesn't have to be pressed down as far. I hope this all makes sense.

Good luck.

Mike

[mystickid]

thanx for the advice mike.

I paid him $30 for the rear drum adjustment. He adjusted the rear shoes in the drums to make it contact sooner like you said. he sat in iut and said its working perfectly. Unfortunately after the job, as I was driving home and the there is abit of iprovement but not great. Intead of pressing the pedal 85% down to start braking i have to press it about 35% down to start braking.

As I was driving i quickly called him back and said hey, you know , I am still having to depress the brake pedal about 4 inches down before it satrts braking and my car is halting o a stop at about 60% down. He was like don't worry its working perfectly. come back summer time and i'll check up on it.

I don't know what the heck is wrong man. i asked him do i need new rear drums, he said no it'll go a year more. he just brushed me off and siad there working perectly.

don't know what to do...

[Mike Gerber]

I would drive another Camry of the same year if possible. If not, and if you know of somebody who has one from your generation, you could try to drive that car and see how the brakes on that car feel. It should also be a 4 cylinder car of that generation (generation 4 - 1997-2001), so it also will be a front disc rear drum setup. Do you know of anybody who owns one? I drove my father-in-laws 2001 a bit this morning and the brakes on that car go down much further than on my 94 and my 07. Both my 94 and my 07 have 4 wheel disc brakes. Your brother's 97 Altima may also have 4 wheel disc brakes. If so, the pedal will seem more firm. You can not compare one manufacturer's vehicles to another. They are all set up a bit different.

Oh topic, what part of Chicago are you located in and which shop did the work for you? His prices sound very reasonable.

Mike

[marc780]

I had to press my old toyota worn out brakes 85% down to start braking. And now after the Brand NEW brakes installed, I STILL have to press my NEW brakes 85% down to start braking. There isn't any change except slightly better stoppping.

i had this exact problem on another kind of car at work once (Ford escort). I bled the brakes several times, adjusted the rear drums, tried everything. And what ultimately fixed the problem was new rotors. I guess cars designed to have a normally soft pedal (like camrys) may be sensitive to rotor finish? But all i know is new rotors are what fixed the low pedal issue.

[buddyatnj]

Mike,
I have a problem with corrola 2001. When i try to stop at red light from speed of 40 mph, couple of times it dragged forward for a foot or so.Is it problem with brakes or tyres or something else. I do not have ABS,
Another thing I've noticed is that occassionaly I can feel buring smell (very bad liek buring of some oil). This smell disappers in a minurte or so. Engine temperature remains normal . What could be problem ?
I have 48000 miles . I purchased it when already 42000 miles were put on .
any advice will be greatly appreciated for any smart Driver like Mike.
thanks
buddyatnj

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by buddyatnj

Mike,
I have a problem with corrola 2001. When i try to stop at red light from speed of 40 mph, couple of times it dragged forward for a foot or so.Is it problem with brakes or tyres or something else. I do not have ABS,
Another thing I've noticed is that occassionaly I can feel buring smell (very bad liek buring of some oil). This smell disappers in a minurte or so. Engine temperature remains normal . What could be problem ?
I have 48000 miles . I purchased it when already 42000 miles were put on .
any advice will be greatly appreciated for any smart Driver like Mike.
thanks
buddyatnj

I don't understand what you mean by "couple of times it dragged forward for a foot or so." You need to be more specific in your description of what is happening. Are you talking about the car skidding? If so, is this when you first begin to brake or just before the car comes to a complete stop? Also, has any brake work ever been done on this car?

For your smell, you are probably right. You have an oil leak somewhere that is probably leaking on to the hot exhaust system somewhere and burning off. My best guess would be you have a leaky cam cover gasket (formerly referred to as the valve cover gasket), but that's just a guess. No one can really tell without at least looking at the car. You will need to look yourself or take the car to a professional to have him locate the source of the leak. If the leak isn't obvious, they may have to inject a special dye in to the oil and then look for the leak with an ultravoilet light. One thing you should do in the mean time yourself is check the oil level. Since you know it is leaking, you don't want to let the oil level get low. Run the engine out of oil and these problems will seem trivial to the cost of a new engine.

Mike

[BritishBodger]

Calm down. Chances are your brakes are still bedding in.

http://www.nipponautoparts.com/Brakebed.htm