Brake question

I have to replace my brake pads and have a few questions. I have searched for threads on brakes and have seen a wide variety of stuff, some helpful and some still leave me scratching my head. So here goes:

1) Do the rotors need to be turned/replaced if the pads are being replaced? I read where someone suggested sanding the rotors with sandpaper - is this necessary?

2) Is there an overall consensus on good/better/best for pad replacement? The responses on here have been all over the place - some say one brand is good (ex. the duralast ceramic) but others say they squeal like a branded ape. I use my truck as an everyday driver and not as a racecar.

3) Also, what is the consensus on brake fluid change? I know it isn't necessary to bleed the brakes after replacing the pads - I am thinking more along lines as completely changing the fluid. Is it necessary/recommended at certain intervals?

Thanks!

 

!. No, If you are on a budget. If you have no shutter when braking, you can get away with just a pad swap. Scuff the old ones up to brake any GLAZE that might be present, if the pads still squeel, then you need to buy new. New rotors are the right way to go for the money.
2. Ask the parts guy what is the right pad for your application. Tell him you are not wanting dusting to be an issue.
3. You do NOT have to flush the fluid unless you have contamination or ten years of use. Yes it is recommended but rarely needed to function properly. It won't hurt to power bleed and flush it out if you want to go there.

 

2nd Gen Brake Components 1st Gen Brake Components

 

#3 - A full flush is good every 1-2 years, even if the truck is being driven as a commuter vehicle and the brake hardware (well front brakes) are lasting longer than that period of time. If your taking your truck to the track, racers are going to tell you that the fluid needs flushed prior to (or immediately after) track day. Off roading is probably different...low speed articulation and constant reliance on the brakes, I would say once a year spring-time flush is acceptable...maybe twice a season if its something you do every weekend.

That said, I would change the front brakes first and get the pistons seated against the pads hard again, then follow the full flush procedure. If your doing it yourself, I'd recommend Motul RBF 600 since its highly resistant to boiling and will keep a firm pedal with moderate driving throughout the 1-2 year time. If you need to brake hard occassionally, your pedal will continue to stay firm.

My take on rotors...on a car they are usually thin. With the way I drive (moderately-aggressive, but reasonable if you can understand that) I normally can get 40k-50k out of the pads which is 3-4 years. On my old mazda6, I changed the complete brakes out twice (with rotora blank rotors and Hawk HPS pads) over the whole 130k miles I had it, and those brakes easily had another 30k left on them. The Tacoma rotors (and drums for that matter) are very beefy, and probably can last through another cycle of pads when it comes time, but I don't really know since I only have 10k miles. I do know that when I had the wheels removed for the painting of my calipers and drums last week, I could see that my pads/rotors are probably going to last a long time, and the shoes/drums are going to last a very very very long time as there was minimal wear.

 

This is true, but not so sure now with traction control as it uses the rear brakes a lot

 

If the rotors are not warped, atleast sand em down to deglaze them if ur on a budget.
As far as pads go, I always recommend oem so you wont have noise issues later. Im running hawk hps with brembo blanks on my truck right now tho.

 

I have owned and driven some cars for twenty years without ever flushing the brake fluid, never had issue's either. Propaganda to get more service work.

 

OEM is the way to go. After market pads will dust heavily. Most aftermarket pads that do not dust, also do not have very much bite.

OEM is perfectly adequate for a Tacoma. I have never felt I needed more stopping power. I myself am at almost 60k miles and Im still on OEM pads and rotors. No pulsation, no squeaking, pedal feels fine. As someone already said, you will not need to worry about your drums for a long time.

I don't like cutting/turning/resurfacing rotors. If i need pads I need rotors. Thats how I've always handled it. Removing more material from the rotor will only decrease your braking performance (compared to stock and new). If you want "Like new" braking performance you need new rotors and new pads. Most of the time pedal pulsation is a result of uneven pad deposits on the rotors. Usually more common in Automatic transmission equipped vehicles because after hard braking you must continue to hold the brake to keep the vehicle from moving forward. This continues to press a burning hot pad into a burning hot rotor and thus leaving excessive deposits.

Depending on how old your truck is, fluid may not be neccessary but, always helpful. If you have a buddy around to help it takes 10-15 min once you get familiar. Especially if you already have the wheels off. Brake fluid is cheap and theres no other parts needed (unless you snap a bleeder screw ).

Just don't do what a lot of inexperienced drivers do and install slotted and/or drilled rotors. Especially on a 4500 lb truck that relies heavily on those front rotors. Youre just asking for trouble. They WILL decrease braking performance significantly and, a drilled rotor can crack very easily.

AFTERMARKET DRILLED AND SLOTTED ROTORS ARE FOR APPEARANCE ONLY. THEY WILL DECREASE BRAKING PERFORMANCE.

 

As a former dealership tech, I would never replace brake pads without resurfacing/replacing rotors at the same time. Your asking for poor braking, brake squealing, and poor brake wear by just slapping a set of pads on and doing nothing else. I found replacing is better than resurfacing - cut rotors tend to warp much faster because they are thinner.

I would recommend replacing with OEM pads and rotors. If you go aftermarket, dont buy cheap stuff as you will more than likely have squeal and pulsation problems. If you were happy with the brakes before, I would just stick with OEM and you shouldn't have any problems.

As far as the fluid changes go, I never really recommended brake fluid flushes to customers unless the fluid looked just horrible (black). If you are in constant stop and go traffic and you get your brakes super hot all the time you may want to do it but for most people its probably not necessary. I have never done a brake flush to any of my personal vehicles if that tells you anything.

 

Uhh.......????


We sell a lot of Cross-Drilled Rotors to customers driving Ford F250s and 350s. The stock rotors have a common issue of warping due to excessive heat. The Cross-Drilled Rotors dissipate heat much more efficiently, preventing the warped rotor issue.

 

You should definitely flush brake fluids at least by 50k miles. Brake fluid attracts water which in turn corrodes inner brake components. After a while you will start to notice a dark build up in the bottom of the brake reservoir. This is dirt and rust accumulation. You want to flush before this happens. The main culprit to frozen calipers is dirty brake fluid.

 

this

 

Your blanket statement about aftermarket pads couldn't be further from the truth. It might be true for SOME crappy aftermarket pads but certainly isn't true for all.

Also, I agree with MJP regarding your drilled/slotted rotors comment. For a daily driver, they won't be put to good enough use to justify the costs in my opinion but they certainly have their uses and can greatly INCREASE braking performance.

This. For the very small cost of some brake fluid, it's worth flushing the fluid. Brake fluid doesn't cycle, which means the fluid next to and in the calipers are constantly going through hot/cold cycles and never gets changed out or cycled through. It is a good idea to flush or at least bleed out some of the old fluid every few years.

 

I never said all.

You are absolutely wrong. But this is a debate on every vehicle forum and it never ends. I will not comment further

 

Actually, you threw a stab at all aftermarket pads... You said they dust heavily and some have a crappy bite. Scroll up, I quoted it for you

Drilled and slotted rotors have their uses. You claim I'm absolutely wrong yet you offer no credible evidence to support your claim... Leads me to think I'm probably not wrong to begin with.

 

If your rotors are in spec and. It warped... Deglaze and re-use.

I'm a fan of Hawk LTS pads, much better stopping power than stock, just as quiet, and not too bad on dust.

Bleed your brakes when you change your pads. Brake fluid doesn't circulate, so the cooked fluid at the caliper stays there. Bleeding at least gets fresher fluid to the caliper.

While a lot of people don't do full fluid flushes, I really do recommend it ( as does every owners manual I've ever seen). Brake fluid is hrlydroscopic and absorbs moisture over time. As it gets wet, it becomes more compressible and it's boiling point lowers. Meaning? Decreased braking power over time.

You can bet my bikes get their brake fluid changed pretty often!

 

i plan on getting brembo blank rotors, hawk HPS pads. from reviews i read, the dust is either the same or less than oem. dont know where people get the more dust idea, just dont but the shitty 20 dollar pads, you get what you pay for.

 

Yep you are not very good mechanic.
There is so much dirt and water in brake fluid after 5 years that I see no way to keep that fluid. Every car I had gets fluid replaced 5 years or 50K and after the replacement response from brakes is much better. Not to mention old fluid stays in my garage for few months before hazmat collection in town and I can always see how much water and dirt was in lines.
Water in brake line is killer. It will rust lines, it will turn to steam when you trying to brake hard. It will destroy seals. Dirt damages seals and pistons.