denis
13th October 2012, 20:04
I've recently changed the brake pads on the wifes RAV4. Now read on as I'm using the RAV as an example as it's the most recent of our cars to get this job done on it.
What I have found with new pads, and I favour Mintex cos they are hard and do a good job of cleaning up the disc faces, is that sometimes they are too tight a fit in the pad carrier bracket despite being the correctly selected pads.
I believe this problem may stem from the fact that the pad manufacturer knows the width of the gap in the pad mounting bracket but doesn't necessarily take account of any guide clips that the car manufacturer then fits. If the pads are not free to move towards and away from the disc they will become wedged and may not relax back from the disc when you take your foot off the brake, particularly after a time when road dirt has had time to build up. Two of the pads on my wifes RAV were wearing unevenly and not parallel to their backplates due to this problem.
Bottom line is if, when you fit new pads, if they appear tight in the pad bracket holder (including any guide clips etc) don't be afraid to shave a mil or so off the shoulders on the pad backplate. You don't want them sloppy in the bracket but on the other hand they don't want to be wedged in either. I've done this to the wifes RAV on the new pads and they are perfect with even wear/clean across the disc swept face. :smilie_re::}:}
What I have found with new pads, and I favour Mintex cos they are hard and do a good job of cleaning up the disc faces, is that sometimes they are too tight a fit in the pad carrier bracket despite being the correctly selected pads.
I believe this problem may stem from the fact that the pad manufacturer knows the width of the gap in the pad mounting bracket but doesn't necessarily take account of any guide clips that the car manufacturer then fits. If the pads are not free to move towards and away from the disc they will become wedged and may not relax back from the disc when you take your foot off the brake, particularly after a time when road dirt has had time to build up. Two of the pads on my wifes RAV were wearing unevenly and not parallel to their backplates due to this problem.
Bottom line is if, when you fit new pads, if they appear tight in the pad bracket holder (including any guide clips etc) don't be afraid to shave a mil or so off the shoulders on the pad backplate. You don't want them sloppy in the bracket but on the other hand they don't want to be wedged in either. I've done this to the wifes RAV on the new pads and they are perfect with even wear/clean across the disc swept face. :smilie_re::}:}