Choosing Brakes

[TheEdgeofSanity]

well, the new tires are mounted and balanced on the malibu and to my relief the noise I was hearing was the old tires and not a bad wheel bearing.

new issue is that the front brakes are squealing... what type of brake pad is best and why? any specific brands to look for or avoid?

also, how do you know when rotors need replacing? Mine aren't too warped (only slight vibration when braking very hard), but I know they are the originals on the car and the car has 64K miles on it.... would it be best to just put pads on and leave the rotors, have the rotors turned, or replace the rotors? is there any way I can definitively tell they need replacing?

thanks for the help!

[TdotAlero]

Check for any grooves on the rotors. It's usually recommended to change rotors at the same time as pads, and they are pretty cheap anyway.

[xXManwhoreXx]

for Brake pads use ebc, or hawk. I always use ceremic pads, but right now I have the oem shit due to being poor right now (and I still made it to ass *cough cough*). As long as the rotors are not warped, and the surface is not chewed up or has deep scratches you are fine. But drilled slotted rotors are cheap and they look good and work good

[a.graham52]

in my professional opinion you might as well slap on new pads and rotors. rotors arnt too expensive for these cars and since yours is already pulsating its only going to get worse. tolerances for lateral runout (rotor wobbling in and out) is a mere .0001" with the wheel installed and everything. the average GM has bout .002" of lateral runout spec.

granted lateral run out in not a safty aspect, but it will cause pulsation pretty quick. clean them hubs if you remove the rotors... if you reuse the rotors then clean the surface of the rotor where it contacts the hub. get all that rust out of there!

[sleepyalero]

i vote new rotors and pads as well.

[TheEdgeofSanity]

whats are the benefits of going with ceramic pads?

I'm gonna take a closer look at the rotors too when I pull it apart...I'll take them to my mechanic friend to get turned and see what his thoughts are on replacement... the guy is the most honest mechanic I've ever met.

now, the rears are drum brakes. there's still TONS of brake shoe left and the drums are in great shape too. should any maintenance be done on them even if they seem to be in good shape?

[a.graham52]

other then just checking to make sure you wheel cylinders arnt leaking your all set. if you pull the drums off thne you should add some lube between the shoes and the backing plates. pretty much all there is to it.. make sure all the springs are there and not rotten etc.

[TheEdgeofSanity]

well this is what I ended up doing.... wearever ceramic pads and had the rotors turned by my mechanic. so far, great, quiet braking. when I took the old pads off, one was literally disintegrating from old age.... the layers had separated of the pad, the wear indicator had rusted off, and the old clips were mangled.

in other words, good thing I did the brakes when I did!

[a.graham52]

sweet deal. clean the hubs and rotor surfaces like i mentioned?

[ronnysbray]

I just went to the powerstop cross drilled and slotted rotors and ceramic pads they work great. I ordered mine from amazon its the same kit they carry on summit they was like 150 but thats with 2 day shipping.

[TheEdgeofSanity]

Originally Posted by a.graham52

sweet deal. clean the hubs and rotor surfaces like i mentioned?

sure did! thanks for the tip! I hit both with a wire wheel on my drill!

[billytheman1188]

Originally Posted by TheEdgeofSanity

sure did! thanks for the tip! I hit both with a wire wheel on my drill!

Wire wheel?! Could have just used some brake cleaner

[a.graham52]

Originally Posted by billytheman1188

Wire wheel?! Could have just used some brake cleaner

brake clean will not remove rust

[billytheman1188]

Originally Posted by a.graham52

brake clean will not remove rust

Ahhh i thought he got new brakes and was cleaning them before he put them on I always clean the rotor with brake cleaner to get that grease or w/e it is off the surface. N/m!

[TheEdgeofSanity]

haha yeah I used brake cleaner on all the clips and mounting brackets... they all cleaned up pretty good. I am gonna clean up the rear drum components in the near future... the rear drums are in such good condition, I sometimes question if they are even working!