I'm bringing my car in next week to have a compression test, fix a bad rattle from the heat shield in the back of the exhaust, and to get the AT fluid changed. The brakes squeak bad when heated up. I hate it. What is a good set of pads for the stock rotors? Nothing expensive and it doesn't have to be high performance. Just something with minimal dust and that will last a little while and WON'T SQUEAK! Preferrably something I can order online... TIA

 

Nissan pads & a hardware kit. That should stop all your squealing.
If you want performance pads I think Axes Metal Masters are highly recomended by others here.

 

stick with OEM......they are purdy good

 

I go thru my front pads in about 6 months, is this normal?
Not much racing or high speed driving, rear pads hardly worn.
thanx.

 

If you do a lot of stop and go driving, then it should be normal.

 

Depends on the mileage you cover in that 6 mos. & what percentage of that is stop-n-go city driving. . .

 

if you do 60,000 miles a year... and 30,000 every 6 months... even 25.000... that is pretty fast though

 

I do about 2500 mi per month, 50/50 city/hwy.
i still think they wear out too fast, I cook 'em once week on the average. moderate fade and nasty smell. May be rear brakes not upto specs?

 

Raybestos QuietStop pads are by far the best I have ever used! Good stopping power, no noise and very little dust on rotors. They cost me $54.00/set (front). Highly recommend them.

 

I had these for about 3 months. Then my front suspension started making weird noises. I took it to the dealer and they said the pads were the cause of it. Please do yourself a favor and go w/ OEM pads/hardware kit. It will save you the headache you'll be having later w/ the Raybestos pads.

 

What kind of weird noises? I have had them for 3 months as well and so far so good.

 

I have no idea what pads are on there now so I'm going to go ahead with the OEM kit. I got these numbers on the FAQ:

Front OEM Nissan: 41060-40U92 $57 - $65.99
Rear OEM Nissan: 44060-7E690 $43 - $49.99
Front Brake Hardware Kit: 41080-40U25 (1996 to 1999): $19 - $22
Rear Brake Hardware Kit: 44080-54C29 (1995 to 07/98): $19 - $22

The first price is off the FAQ, the second price is what I got quoted at my local Nissan dealership. The only problem is they don't have either of the hardware kits. Is there a place I can order all the parts online?

 

It's hard to describe the sound. But everytime I would come to a stop, the front suspension sounded like something was breaking apart. I was told that it was coming from the ceramic compound that the Raybestos are made from was too hard for the OE rotors and the fact that it doesn't come w/ a hardware kit. It might have also been relevant to my driving conditions. My daily commute is 92 miles a day in Bay Area (SF) traffic, so that might have also caused the irregular wear and tear on the brakes.

 

FYI:

"Nissan Technical Service Bulletin:

Brake Pad - Key Value Service Information
Classification:
BR99-001A

Reference:
NTB99-005A

Date:
June 17, 1999

Subject:
KEY VALUE BRAKE PAD SERVICE INFORMATION

APPLIED VEHICLE(S):
1993-97 Altima (U13U)
1998 Altima (L30)
1989-94 Maxima (J30)
1995-98 Maxima (A32B)
1993-98 Quest (V40)

This amended version of NTB99-005 adds a CAUTION and a NOTE to the Service Procedure. Please discard all paper copies of NTB99-005.

SERVICE INFORMATION

When replacing brake pads on customer vehicles it is important to select the type of pad that best meets customer preference. Nissan now offers two different types of replacement pads, Nissan Original Equipment and Nissan Key Value. This bulletin describes the characteristics of the two pads and provides service information to help ensure the satisfaction of your service customers.

All current Nissan vehicles are equipped at the factory with Nissan Original Equipment (OE) brake pads. The OE pads use a non-asbestos organic (NAO) compound. The NAO material provides state of the art resistance to squeal noise. These pads continue to be available as service parts and must be used if replacing brake pads under the terms of the Nissan new car warranty. These pads should be recommended to customers that prefer new car brake noise performance over price.

Key Value brake pads are also available as a high quality service replacement part at a very attractive price. These pads use a semi-metallic compound similar to the material used in Nissan OE pads prior to the introduction of NAO compound pads; and, therefore, the braking performance of these pads is excellent. However, to permit Nissan to offer these replacement pads at such an attractive price for your price sensitive customers, these pads are manufactured without NAO compound, and some customers may experience brake squeal as a normal characteristic of these pads.

NOTE: Customers have varying sensitivity to brake noise, and the individual customer must decide which product best suits his or her requirements as to balancing price and noise. Therefore, you should ensure that the Service Advisor adequately explains the differences between Key Value brake pads and Nissan OE brake pads to ensure that the customer makes an informed decision. This will enhance customer satisfaction and minimize potential customer unhappiness with a product that does not meet that particular customer's expectations."

 

Get in touch w/ Courtesy Nissan in TX: http://www.courtesyparts.com/

Tell them you're a member of maxima.org - they'll give you 25% off their already reasonable prices. Service is great, staff is friendly & responsive - I just placed an order w/ them.

 

Courtesy Nissan doesn't give a special discount for Maxima.org. They give 25% off list to everyone.

 

Ok. I didn't know that, but hey, I'll take 25% off for whatever reason. It's all good.

(Thought that was in fact the deal, b/c other members had mentioned it and the Courtesy invoice refers to the discount being because of association w/ the .org)

It doesn't change the fact that they undercut my local dealer by close to 35% on the parts I ordered & gave great service. . .

 

Just bought OEM pads for about $36 with tax. I'm putting them in tomorrow. Wish me luck, it's my first brake job. Yup, got the Haynes manual and also some directions off the net. Looks simple enough and the price is right. While I'm at it got a new oil pressure switch to replace the leaky one. Did I mention that I'm changing the oil (Mobil 1 5-30) and a PUREONE filter. Lastly, rotate the tires. Sounds fun!

Cheers

 

Make sure you use the blue brake-goo on the backs of the pads in between the pads and the caliper piston (anti-squeal properties)

Best of luck!

 

if you can do the brakes yourself and deal with the possible little brake noise just go to autozome or advance auto or whatever you got and pay 25 bucks for lifetimers and change em whenever ya get around to it. its the cheapest option if your broke like a lot of us

 

Just an update......Did all the maintenance today: oil/filter (PUREONE and Mobil 1 SYN 5-30), changed out that drippy oil pressure switch, rotated the tires and also put on new front pads. Everything went pretty well. Took me about three hours to do but I'm kind of slow. Oil and filter no problem but wanted to take my time with the oil pressure switch and also the pad change. Just a note on the oil pressure switch change out. No problem. Bought a Borg Warner replacement at Pep Boys for $7. Another note: a 1" 1 1/16th socket fits the bill. Easy, peasy.
The brake pads....just followed the instructions in the Haynes manual. Pretty easy. After taking out my old pads I think I still had a lot of life in them but I bought the car used a couple of years ago with 49K and now it's got 82K so I wanted to make sure. I replaced them with Nissan OEMs. No problems there. So far everything is great.

All of the above is easy if you take your time and have the proper tools. I have my own torque wrench which is one of those things that you don't use all the time but when you need it, you need it. My recommendation....buy one. I got mine from Harbor freight for $25. Well spent. I'm a bit lucky that I can use a lift at the Craft Center of the neares military installation. Kind of nice to be x-military

Too bad DBM isn't still contributing. I know he'd be smiling.

Cheers