brake pads

[clazzza commy]

hey guys,never realy had anything much 2 do with my breaks.i had a search around the forums but couldnt find a straight answer,but how can u tell when your brake pads and rotors need replacing?
any help would be awsome thanx

[hako]

Pads need to be inspected visually as do the discs - remove a front wheel and eyeball the pad and the disc. Same for the back.
If you've never played with brakes before I'd advise you to do some background work on what to look for (which your post is about!!!...I know). Either buy a Gregorys manual or Google for "disc brake pads" - this will give you the background.
The way I do it is to check that there is at least a match-head of pad material left on the pad and that there are no deep grooves in the disc - this is judgemental - I'd look for no grooves deeper than 2mm.
I've tried cheap pads and found they give lots of dust etc - now use Bendix which are only double the price of the cheapest.
My big brother told me 50 years ago that brakes are your last resort so make sure they are 100%.
Good Luck.

[tt460]

as Hako said its more of a visual thing but some pads do start making noises when low to let you know that they need replacing.

I have always got the rotors machined when replacing pads they will machine any grooves out of them if they are to thin to machine they will tell you that you need new ones. And replaced the wheel bearing at the same time. For you wheel bearing buy them from a bearing supplier shop i had a mazda 929 that i required wheel bearings on went around the local spare parts stores prices varied from $40 a side up to $80 a side with a wait whilst they ordered them in, the last place told me to try the bearing shop up the road, Asked the guy there he said they had them and they were dear, asked him how much he said $30 i side ill take them for both sides, he told me that the price is for both sides. Doubt you will save that much but worth the phone call if you have a local bearing supply shop.

[rocco555]

if discs are warped, you'll experience uneven feedback and the car will "jerk" back and forward when you apply the brake

[greenacc]

i would say the minimum pad thickness is 3 mm. I personally replace them a little earlier than that because they are cheap and a decent set last a few years, and i like the feel of new pads..
Discs need replacing when they are below min thickness, but i dont believe they need machining with every pad change unless you feel something really bad going on with your brakes, or if they are badly scored.

[rocco555]

....... And replaced the wheel bearing at the same time. For you wheel bearing buy them from a bearing supplier shop i had a mazda 929 that i required wheel bearings on went around the local spare parts stores prices varied from $40 a side up to $80 a side with a wait whilst they ordered them in, the last place told me to try the bearing shop up the road, Asked the guy there he said they had them and they were dear, asked him how much he said $30 i side ill take them for both sides, he told me that the price is for both sides. Doubt you will save that much but worth the phone call if you have a local bearing supply shop.

vr-vs have a sealed hub... you can't replace the bearings

[tt460]

vr-vs have a sealed hub... you can't replace the bearings

didnt know that, the getting machined part is still valid.

[clazzza commy]

i went and bought a gregorys 2day and it says that u gotta throw away the old bolts and get new ones as they have a special compound on the thread,and u need 2 glue the pads in with dunlop s-758.can u get all these from supercheap or would u have 2 go 2 holden parts?

[greenacc]

Holden will sell the bolts. you can use a variety of things on the back of the pads, supercheap sell little packs of prematex brake grease to use on your slode pins, and works great on the back of the pads too.

[clazzza commy]

can u just clean up the old caliper bolts and chuck some locktite on em??

[greenacc]

you can , replacing them is basically a safety measure recommended by holden.... cos you don't know how many times those bolts have been tightened up , or overtightened .... and one day when you jump on the brakes real hard it could be the time the bolt breaks and your brakes fail etc...
Personally, i have reused the bolts a few times and never had a problem, but you never know.