Quote:
Originally Posted by rino
OK, thanks for telling me... I did not know that until now. I thought they were really important things, actually I came to believe that they might be responsible for that noise I was experiencing, and the strange wear pattern in my brake pads. You see, I'm a starting DIYer, and nobody told me this before. How should I have known?
OK, I am with you all the way.
Let me explain: I noticed the same exact wear pattern on both RL and RR brake pads. For instance, I don't remember exactly off my mind now, but something like this: RR = inside one worn out prevalently on the lower side, external one worn out mostly on the upper side; RL = inside one worn out prevalently on the upper side, external one worn out mostly on the lower side. What can cause this? - I thought to myself - and it hit me that it could be rotors tilted somehow to one side... I didn't say it was so, but asked "could it be so?" I don't think the wheels wobbled driving down the road... The wear is uneven in the pads, and also the rear rotors' edges seem dangerously close to the frames in which they are set at both the upper and bottom areas. What do you make of this? What could be causing it on both rotors/calipers/pads, the same pattern on both sides of the vehicle... this is what I am trying to understand before going out and start buying stuff which might not be what I need to fix the problem at hand...
I am able to rotate the wheels (I tried only with tires installed) in both directions, and there is much more friction involved in the rear ones than the front wheels. The rear ones don't spin freely, but they rotate with not too much of an effort on my part. I did not check what happened to the opposite tire when rotating the one at my side (how could I, being by myself?) I tried only with the transmission in neutral. Yes, there is a metal-on-metal sound, on both sides but more on the right wheel, and I am trying to identify what that may be...
You see, you have expressed my thinking exactly... if it were calipers, how could two calipers start acting out at the same time... That wear pattern also on both sides, what does it tell us, fairly simply? Please advise what I need to troubleshoot at this point?
I mean, di I go ahead and change everything (rotors, calipers, pads)? Or start with the pads and see how that goes? How about that strange pad wear pattern?
Thank you so much,
Rino
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Back to original issue...serious noise and drag...able to limp home but must fix the problem before it's driven again.
From that description, the problem is not caused by sway bar link. It is not caused by uneven brake pad wear. It is not caused by worn rotors. I doubt your rotors are "tilted". It is not caused by old brake fluid.
Something mechanical changed and should be easily diagnosed. I still support my previous post that a nut from the sway bar link bushing fell inside the parking brake shoe area and is binding against the back of the rotor in that area.
Find the source of the noise and drag. Fix that. Once the caliper is removed from the backing plate (two bolts, I believe they're 18mm), the rotor should come off easily. If it doesn't want to come, a little PB Blaster or WD40 in the area around the center hub and a little persuasion with a rubber mallet should work. (Make sure your parking brake is released)
Then once the mechanical problem is fixed, take a look at the brakes to see if you want to address this, or reassemble as is. I recently helped a friend replace brakes on a BMW 5series, and the rotors he ordered online were incorrect. They fit on the hub, but once the caliper was bolted back on, they bound up. Upon careful inspection, the actual rotor surface was about .100" offset from the original unit. Had we continued with these rotors, they would've torqued the caliper, which would've worn the pads at an angle as you described. Not sure if this is your problem or not.
If it were my high-mileage, 20 something year old car, I would just replace the rotors, buy rebuilt calipers, and new pads. Shop around online and you can find good prices. If the total for this (I'm guessing around $300) is too steep at the moment, put it all back together the way it was, and drive it for a while until you're ready. Changing just pads, or just rotors, etc., will just frustrate you and cost you more when you have to replace them again shortly.
I'm 99% confident that the unusual wear on your pads has absolutely nothing to do with the catastrophic problem you experienced 1/2 mile from your house.