Pfyc Brake Pads Not Fitting

[green99gls]

I was trying to find out if anyone else has purchased the performance friction silent ceramic brake pads for the alero offered by PFYC and run into the same problem.

Problem:
The brake pads are the same fit as the originals and will go into the brake assembly, but when you try to reattach the caliper you find out a couple of notches on the back block the caliper from sliding all the way on. I called performance friction and they verified the part numbers i had matched their database for the alero so they are supposed to be the correct ones.

At the same time, they said because Performance Friction tries to make their pads as universal for as many sister cars as possible sometimes they do not fit stock. I was informed to take a grinding wheel or dremmel tool to the back of the pads and sand off the spots that are inhibiting the reassembly process.

I have never heard of the brake pads for your car not fitting and then being told you might have to modify the pad to make it fit properly.

My next problem is that I purchased these over 30 days ago so Im pretty sure PFYC will not RMA them for me. Dont know what to do currently.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys and girls

[Grouch]

I don't have the Silent version you have, but I do have the PF Carbon Metallic pads from PFYC. No fitament issues at all.

[Vtolds]

Are you sure you got the Caliper Piston pushed ALL the way back in?

[green99gls]

It has nothing to do with pushing the caliper piston all the way back in. The top part of the brake pad sticks up further than the pads im replacing and it does not fit proprly into the caliper. When the caliper is sliding over the whole assembly ( rotor and pads in place) it hits the part of the pad that is too long and does not allow the bolt holes to line up.

I will upload a picture in a sec after my batteries get done charging to show what I am talking about. I just wish I had taken a picure of the original pad next to the new pads before I put the old ones back on temporarily. You would see what I am talking about very easily with a side by side comparison.

[green99gls]

okay here is the pic. Where the red line goes across the tab is where the working pads currently still on the car end.

Imagine the pads in place on both sides of the rotor with the caliper off. When the caliper goes on it covers all of this up perfectly. Well with this part too long the caliper is hitting the tab and the caliper does not cover the entire brake pad properly. This in turn means that I cant bolt the caliper back on because the holes are not lining up.


And to answer your question vtolds, yes the piston is pushed all the way back in. We use the old brake pads and c clamps to push on the piston until it goes all the way back in.

Trust me I have changed many brakes and rotors so I am not a newbie to the process. For whatever reason the pads are machined wrong.

[Vtolds]

I guess you could cut the extra 4cm off, it could be a manufacturer defect. I Hope you also mean 4mm not cm becuase 4cm is a lot about 1 3/4 inches.

[green99gls]

sorry, yeah i meant mm.

Thats what they told me to do was grind. Why should I have to grind $90 worth of brake pads though when I paid for brake pads to fit my car. Thats what is upsetting about this whole ordeal.

[bigd6983]

i have those same pads and i didnt have a problem........somethings fishy lol....id say just grind it off, you really dont have a choice seeing as though they wont take them back cause its been so long......it wont hurt anything.......

[Oldsmopimp]

ya and u live in the US...why are u using the metric system??? lol.


Just tell PFYC your prollem. Their customer service is unbeatable, i know this from experiance. They will take care of you

[green99gls]

Spoke by email with one of the reps. I was told that if I hadnt attempted to install the brake pads then I could have returned them. At that point I called a friend that had a grinding wheel and we sanded off all the points that were inhibiting the install. The brake pads have been installed since and work pretty damn good but I am still upset that I spent close to 100 dollars and had to grind them to make them work.

I will have to see just how good these brakes are over a longer period of time to see if they are worthwhile.

**So far bigd6983 is the only one that has contacted me with the same brake pads and he had no problem. I dont know if the wrong pads were in the box (doubt because they were identical in design with the exception of the picture above) but I would definitely check your pads to make sure they are not like mine. Hate to see or hear that someone else has to go through the same problems I have over the past two days.**

Oldsmopimp: the only reason I refered to the gap in mm's (mistakenly said cm in the picture post) is because I used metric sockets to remove the lugs and the two bolts holding the caliper in place. Besides I thought people would understand perceptually what the length of 4 mm's looks like.



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Cut and pasting the email conversation with PFYC

chris anzalone wrote:


The performance friction silent ceramic brake pads that I purchsed do not fit the car propely. I called performance friction and they told me that because they try to make their pads as universal as possible they dont always fit stock. I was told that I would have to take a dremmel tool or grinding wheel to remove a few spots on the pad that block reassembling the caliper piston after replacing the pads. I now have pads that dont fit and I have no idea what to do?


From: "Jeff Hershberger - PFYC.com" <jeffh@pfyc.com>
Reply-To: info@pfyc.com
To: chris anzalone <x2c4me@hotmail.com>
CC: info@pfyc.com
Subject: Re: Performance Friction Silent Ceramics
Date: Fri, 27 May 2005 13:42:42 -0400

Hi Chris,

What was your order number? I cant seem to find any info based upon your email address and name in recent history.

Thanks,

Jeff Hershberger
PFYC - http://www.pfyc.com/

[ *** NOTE: Please include this message when replying *** ]


chris anzalone wrote:

Hey Jeff, I dont know if you remember me from yesterday . We had spoke about the rear cambers not fitting through the strut opening. I purchased the products (2 sets of cambers kits and front and rear brake pads) from you guys back in february. I have read your return policy and see that is well beyond the 30 days. I dont know what to do because of this. The pads are still brand new they just have a dab of brake lubricant on the backside that I can very easily clean off. Speaking with a few members of the alero website that I am part of, I was told that people that have bought the carbon metallic ones havent had a problem with them not fitting. I was possibly hoping to maybe just exchange the silent ones for the metallic ones if possible. With the price difference and the restocking fee, I figure it comes out to the same price roughly. If not I guess I have no choice but to try grinding the pads down so they fit properly.


On a side note, it turns out I wont have to worry about elongating the rear strut openings to fit the replacement cambers. When I had my car aligned today the backs were actually still fine.


Hi Chris,

The only problem is that once an item has been installed or an attempt has been made at installing them, our policy forbids a return. What exactly has to be done to the pads? We have sold tons of brakes and have not once heard of this issue. I am assuming you did order the correct pads for your car, but just how different are they?

Thanks,

Jeff Hershberger
PFYC - http://www.pfyc.com/

[ *** NOTE: Please include this message when replying *** ]
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