Sure!
You can try just replacing the pads.
But realize it will be nearly impossible to get the new brake pads bed properly into the used rotors. Which can result in brake noise and/or vibration.
Which would then mean you would have to replace both the brake pads AND rotors to eliminate either problem.
Tester
You use this vehicle for income and have passengers. Stop messing around and have a real brake service do this. If you crash because you made a mistake the lawsuit with keep you poor for the rest of your life.
Youâre showing one brake pad and one side of a rotor.
And you expect me to give you an answer?
Tester
well, I mainly only worried about that one because thatâs the one making noise. I will replace both front brakes if I do replace the front brake pads. I just wanna know if that one is low on Pads
Oh boy. I have replaced just pads but just a few more bolts to replace the rotors and it does vastly improve performance. Front wear about twice as fast as the rears so often just the fronts are done. The continuing questions though suggest maybe just have a shoo do it. Or at least read a repair manual or view a1auto.
The brake pads may wear unevenly. Since it looks like the friction material on the one pad is almost worn away, you should get the rotors and pads on both sides replaced. Always do the fronts together and the rears together. As @tester said, the pads wonât seat completely in the rotors, creating an unsafe condition.
alright so rotors and pads. do i need brake cleaner spray? i just buy two front rotors and pads? are rotors really that hard to pull out? what are some issues i would face? can i just use the emergency jack in my trunk to lift car enough to take wheels off?
If youâre asking these questions, it indicates you donât have the proper tools or equipment to perform a brake service.
You need to take it to a repair shop.
Tester
i will go buy trolley jack and two jack stands at harborfreight. why do you want to discourage me so badly? i am gonna test the car before i go out on the road for real you know? after i do everything im gonna drive around the block testing brakes and if it feels good im gonna go on freeway and get out and see how it feels? if the brakes dont work i will find out on my block soon enough and wont make it out to freeway. whats with all this discouragement? i bought ramps to do my oil change. i can buy the trolley jack and jack stands.
Before removing the brake rotors, the brake caliper brackets must be removed. These generally have large bolts with 17-, 18- or 19-mm heads and require a long handle ratchet, breaker bar or impact wrench to loosen.
New front brake rotors at Auto Zone are $84 each, Iâm not going to spend $168 to replace good brake rotors. While I always resurface brake rotors when replacing brake pads for a customer, the last time I replaced the front brake pads on my Dodge, I replaced the pads in my driveway and didnât touch the rotors.
I have seen many customers vehicles in which the owner had only performed a âpad slapâ with no safety issues however they sometimes complained about noise. Sometimes vehicle owners are faced with a decision, pay $600 for a brake job or tolerate the occasional noise.
in that case i go back to the same question i asked earlier. do these rotors need to be replaced or can i just do a pad slap and be done with it?
i just want functional brakes the noise if it isnt too abnormal or severe i will deal with it. im driving a low end car its a mazda3 it doesnt have to be and it never was perfect
Those rotors arenât perfectly flat but they might be acceptable. The thickness of the brake rotors should be measured, minimum thickness is 23 mm or 0.91".
Something abnormal: one picture shows a brake pad with 2 mm of friction material, the next picture is much thicker with 8 mm.
Inspect the rotors closely, is this a reflection or a crack in the rotor?
Yes. The rotors are shipped with a rust preventative coating that needs to be cleaned off.
We canât tell from photos. Run your finger nail over the rotor surfaces on both sides where the pads grip. Is it smooth? If not, you will have less braking efficiency until you wear grooves into the new rotors.
A couple things: The health and maybe the life of you and your passengers depends on the brakes. Having the work done by a professional mechanic will get the job done a lot faster than if you do it yourself. Less downtime means a higher income for you. I used to change my pads and rotors. Even after I got good at it I wasnât nearly as fast as a pro mechanic is. Find a shop with quick turnaround. Someone should be willing to get you in and out fast when you tell them you drive for a living.
The reason why is because you admittenly donât have the necessary tools, the experience or the experienced guidance to do a safe or proper job of it, increasing the probability of wasted time, money and damage to the vehicle, yourself and your passengers.
This is NOT discouragement but the advice from people who have done cumulative thousands of brake jobs and, whoâs only goal is to help you avoid the pitfalls.
Aside from the pad/rotor comments, on your nearly 15 year old car, has the brake fluid ever been changed?
No way I would use jacks and jack stands from Harbor freight.
Do NOT buy and install Wagner Thermo"Quiet" brake pads and rotors
Under no circumstances
You have received advice
If you neglect it and install them, donât come back complaining, if theyâre noisey
my girlfriends family trusted mechanic that her entire family uses for car repairs and had successfully fixed numerous car issues in the past of multiple vehicles has quoted $250 for just front brakes. considering it would have cost me $250 for buying pads and rotors for just front and not included jack and tools and all other required items i think this quote is an extreme bargain. i will just take it to a mechanic after all. it would have cost me $400-$500 initial investment to do just the front brakes myself.
Just canât stop myself today. Riding in my car, my grandkid said my left rear brake was noisy. Having diminished hearing, i took his word for it and went through the brakes on all four wheels. No problems found and the pads were only half worn. Besides one of the front rotors, everything was fine but I replaced everything anyway since I had bought all the parts. Probably just some vibration of the pad but you have to humor 8 year olds.
