i wrench on kids car. have done all 4 brakes in last 5 yrs. kid said front brakes were noisy. 06/01. 1 pad was worn thru to backing plate. messed up rotor. i decided to replace both rotors since cost was minimal. piston in caliper was stiff. decided to change caliper 1 week later. yesterday kid said rear brakes were noisy. rear discs. 1 pad was down to metal. replaced pads. rotor looks rough. other rotor is ok. need to get 1 new rotor. should i change both? pistons in calipers pushed in easy. feel smooth. caliper pins look fine.
Yes, It’s a good practice to do brakes in pairs.
also note that if you are so handy, you don’t have to replaced the scarred rotors. as long as you feel comfortable with it, it is another option for an old car to just replace the pads. obviously it is more stopping distance. you’d be surprised by the difference it doesn’t make, especially with rear rotors (of course the thickness needs to still be in spec)
I’d replace both rotors, you want matching braking between the wheels. Once one is rough, both need to be replaced.
Yes, It's a good practice to do brakes in pairs.
Can you even buy brake pads for one side?? If so I’ve NEVER seen it.
Actually you can on Amazon. I bought a set of EBC Red Stuff brake pads for my Mustang and they sold them indvidually.
Actually you can on Amazon. I bought a set of EBC Red Stuff brake pads for my Mustang and they sold them indvidually.
Never heard of that. Amazing what you learn every day.
I did pads only. Drove car, felt fine. Later that day I got under it to change o2 sensor. I lifted car and turned “bad” rotor wheel and it was hard to spin. Real hard. Rough rotor is really grabbing new pad material. Piston on caliper easily retracted. I think piston is fine, not having up. I think it’s rough rotor.
A ‘bad/rough’ rotor will act like a file on your new pads, wearing them out quickly.
If you change pads before they grind metal, leaving rotors as-is is probably no big deal. But n my case, it’s best to replace rotor.
I changed rotor.
One other thing to look at–the brake hoses. We learned the hard way w our 89 Plymouth Voyager. We had already replaced a proportioning valve and the master cylinder. I heard a scraping noise and thought it was just brake pads although we are generally proactive on maintenance and repairs. Took it to a brake place and they replaced nearly everything including the master cylinder. Then it leaked right away and the replacement leaked too. So they got a heavy duty one that held (5th one in a short period of time). The brakes never felt really good and the minivan had no power. We drove it little after we got another vehicle. Let it sit for a few years after I went out and found I had no brakes and fluid was leaked out of the master cylinder. Recently, we decided to get the brakes fixed, thinking maybe a wheel cylinder was leaking. Well, there was a scraping sound when the tow truck pulled it up. Turns out our rotors were all grooved and the calipers were frozen. The brake hoses were deteriorated inside so the brake fluid was held up within them. Had to replace them. Now that we have new brake hoses, we expect master cylinder and the new rotors to last. Brakes feel good now.