Brake Pad Questions

[qprint]

Just replaced the rotors and pads on the fronts and now I hear scaping noise without applying the brakes.
I got ceramic pads
I looked at the brake components and found the pad support plate was not seated correctly. I bent it back to its shape and placed it back.
I dont think any grease is to go on this plate for the pads to slide on them, correct me if Im wrong.
Cylinder Slider Pin requires Lithium soap base glycol grease. What is this and where can I get it, or what is similar to this ?

Is the pad wear indicators supposed to face each other on each wheel ? [facing the rotor]

[qprint]

Now, I'm noticing that the front rims are getting hot after driving. Could this be the brakes dragging? Seized caliper? When i changed the pads 2 weeks ago, I pushed caliper piston in to fit the new pads. Should I bleed the caliper or the master cylinder ?

[toyomoho]

Rotate each tire by hand and feel how much the brakes are dragging. The pads never fully retract, as such there will always be some drag but the tire should turn freely. With the tire off have someone push the brake pedal while you watch to see if the pads and pistons move, if frozen there will be no movement.

There normally is one wear indicator per set of pads. The spring portion of the indicator faces away from the rotor, the loose end faces toward the rotor. When the pad wears, this end will ride on the rotor and make a squealing noise.

Normally when the pads are changed, the caliper is removed. This leaves the torque plate still attached to the knuckle. The pads can then be changed out. Check the slider pins to see if they move freely, the caliper bolts to these pins and thus can move side to side freely.

Any auto parts store should have high temperature brake grease, tell the sales clerk what you are doing and they can find it.

Air in the brake system should not cause a dragging brake.

Download the information from the link below. It is for an older Camry but will give you an idea of how the brake system works and how the pads should be installed. The AutoZone website may also have information available.

http://www.**********s.com/camry/br.pdf

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by qprint

Now, I'm noticing that the front rims are getting hot after driving. Could this be the brakes dragging? Seized caliper? When i changed the pads 2 weeks ago, I pushed caliper piston in to fit the new pads. Should I bleed the caliper or the master cylinder ?

This all sounds normal. The brakes work by changing motion in to heat caused by the friction of the pads against the rotor. If both sides are equally warm to the touch, there is probably nothing wrong. When you took the old pads off were they equally worn? The pad on the piston side of the caliper can be worn slightly more than the pad on the other side of the same caliper; this is normal for a single piston caliper.

As far as bleeding the brakes, it is not necessary when simply doing a brake job, but it is a good idea to bleed the entire brake hydraulic system every few years to get the old brake fluid out and fresh brake fluid in the system. Brake fluid is hydroscopic; meaning it picks up mositure over time. It's this moisture that can destroy hydraulic components over time, hench the need to completely bleed the system every few years.

As far as lubricating the caliper slide pins, I like to use high temperature synthetic disc brake grease. It's available at just about any auto parts store.

Mike

[qprint]

Ive read that using the C Clamp to push the piston back into the caliper to allow clearance for new pads could affect the ABS system malfunctioning.
I cleaned caliper slide pins [ I had white lithium grease] and applied High Temp Antisieze grease: gray color ]. I removed the fluid in the reservoir using a baster and then put in fresh Dot3 fluid. Then I bled both front calipers using the vacuum method. Car runs better but I dont know if the problem will re occur after a few miles.

[marc780]

On most Camrys there is a stamped sheet metal splashs plate behind the brakes to keep the water off it. Maybe you bent this plate a little bit when you did the brakes and now its touching something when the wheels are on, that doesnt show when you are looking for it since you have taken the wheels off to inspect it -

qprint if a caliper drags, i'd rebuild or replace the calipers - although you may find it hard to find a rebuild kit anymore (even though the kit is nothing more than a few seals!).
I have had calipers seize up once or twice, often there is a pull and almost always the sticky caliper is much hotter than the other three, as you say. Also a good sign of a sticky caliper is that its lining is way more worn than the one on the other side.

I

dont think any grease is to go on this plate for the pads to slide on them, correct me if Im wrong.

Many mechanics do put high temp brake grease on the stamped steel pad mounting plates. High temp anti sieze is also fine.
But in actual practice it doesnt matter all that much whether you lube this area or not. Because any lubricant is quickly dirtied by brake pad dust anyway, thus negating some of the benefits of the lube.

Cylinder Slider Pin requires Lithium soap base glycol grease. What is this and where can I get it, or what is similar to this ?

You can find small packets of high temp-brake grease at the auto parts counter. Or better yet buy a tube of it, because there are dozens of uses for this grease. As before, high-temp anti sieze is also a good substitute as it clings tenaciously to the parts like nobody's business and takes a long time to wash or wear away.

Is the pad wear indicators supposed to face each other on each wheel ? [facing the rotor]

Yes, because here is how they work: The wear indicators are nothing more than a tab stamped onto the metal. When the pads wear too low, these tabs can then touch the rotor, and so they will make an annoying and obvious scraping sound whenever you apply the brakes. To let you know that the pads need changing now and maybe saving you a rotor or two.

[marc780]

Buy some jack stands and lift her up. Turn the wheels and listen. It's metal to metal somewhere and you have to find out where. Sounds to me that you have done the right stuff so far, but this is what i would do now.