Brake pads surprise

I replaced my pads yesterday and I noticed these metal liners inside every single caliper piston. Pads that were on the truck were aftermarket ones. I have been replacing pads for 25 years and never saw anything like it. Is that something that came with the old after market pads? I took them off along with shims that they used as I replaced the pads with Toyota OEM pads. I used CRC disc brake quiet like I always do on the back of the pads. The Toyota ones did not come with shims. Should I get some shims? Never had noise issues using the CRC stuff.

 

You don't need shims, and it will make the pedal feel more firm. But they will likely squeak more. They probably distribute the force better, so I'd personally get shims and install them on a later day.

Those aren't part of any toyota set, so just toss the circle shim.

 

Interesting never seen that circle shim either

 

I've never had a squeaking issue since I started using CRC Disc Brake Quiet paste on the backs of all pads some 25 years ago. It does its job even after it gets roasted and toasted from the heat coming off the rotors. At that point the "paste" looks like hell but it still keeps the pads from vibrating/squeaking.

 

Same here. Never used shims unless they come with the pads and CRC product has been solid for all the break jobs I’ve done in 25 years

 

Its a pad shim made my Nucap.

https://nucap.com/nulok-piston-cushion/

 

Thanks for posting that link. After looking at the three videos on that website, I would be more convinced that this was a superior "solution" to the Noise, Vibration, and Harshness that it claims to solve if they did a head to head comparison with a product like the CRC Disc Brake Quiet. They only compare their "piston cushion" with an installation of shims only and thus can claim that their product reduces squealing by "over 90%". It looks like an ingenious product but maybe an unnecessary one that might cause a complication.

 

In many cases, it's a solution looking for a problem. I've been in the brake industry for over 20 years and I can't recall a single noise issue on a Toyota 4 piston caliper brake system. It's kinda like all those little packets of goo hanging by the register at autozone that they try to sell you for a couple bucks when you buy anything else...pointless but sounds like a good idea at the time.

Pads all come with shims these days, except some of the OE stuff where you're expected to transfer the shims over the new pads. Those are plenty.

Shims in use today are a rubber coated steel, so using more is needed to address noise issues will result in a squishier pedal, since we're adding rubber (however thin) between the pistons and the pad.