Decided to be adventurous and try to replace my front pads myself today. I'm not very mechanically inclined, but am trying to become so.

Took me forever, but finally got everything back together. Went for a test drive. Heard the dreaded rubbing, not really bad but definitely noticeable. Came home, realized that I had forgotten to put the little spring clips back in. Took wheels and calipers back off, replaced clips, and the pads are still rubbing even when I turn the hub by hand. I removed the caliper pins again and wiped off some grease. That didn't help either.

Trying to be a do-it-yourselfer like y'all, but getting discouraged. I'd appreciate advice on where to turn next.

 

what kinda pads did u use? I replaced my OEM ones with Bendix (bad bad idea), and ever since then they squeak pretty badly, even when I'm not using the brakes, but just backing out slowly or something. Oh well, I'm just gonna wait till they wear down and then get me some real OEM nissan pads.

 

Where was the grease? Did you get any on the rotor or pad at all. That surface should be totally clean. If you did get grease there you will need a clean rag and some brake parts cleaner to remove it.

As for the rubbing, do you mean they drag a little bit on the rotor? Is it even all the way around or just in spots?

 

While we are on the topic - do you put anti squel goop under or above the retainer clips you put on the pads?

 

I put the grease only on the caliper pin. I was careful to not get anything on the rotor itself. I did get a little of the blue goo on there, but it came right off. That wouldn't cause this problem though, would it?

It's difficult to tell where they are dragging. Looking through the inspection window in the caliper, the pads appear to be resting on the rotor. Like I said, I'm new at this, so that could be normal. I did not use factory pads. I used non-metallic ones from NAPA.

The noise is difficult to describe, but it is clear to me that the pads on both sides are remaining in contact with the rotor. I get the noise both when driving and rotating the wheels by hand when the car is jacked. After a short drive, the rotors were very hot, and I know they can turn red hot if I would get on the freeway.

Thanks for the reply -- any ideas?

 

By retainer clips I assume you mean shims. I originally used the factory shims. When the rubbing started, I replaced one of them with the ones that came in the box, which was basically a piece of metal with adhesive on it. It didn't help. I put the goop on the inside pad. I'm not getting any squeaking.

 

The pads should look like they're "resting" on the rotor.

Just curious, did you use a c-clamp to push in the caliper piston? If so, did the piston slide easily or ??? Since you greased the caliper pins it sounds like the piston itself may be binding.

 

It is normal for pads... especially new ones... to drag a little, but just a little. As the wheel rotates the caliper should retract and relieve that. Did you put on new rotors or have your rotors resurfaced? That can make a rubbing noise as the pads and rotors are bedded.

To "test" your calipers... you could try removing the pads and putting the caliper back in place and bolt it in. The caliper should slide back and forth on the pins with no binding. If it does bind... find the bent or damaged pin. Did you reverse the pins when reassembling? Just a thought... dunno if that could cause the problem. If it doesn't bind the problem is elsewhere.

Did you put a tiny amount of grease where the metal plate of the pad slides on the locating springs in the bracket? How hard was it to rotate the caliper back down over the new pads? If it was very hard (and the piston was bottomed) it is possible the pads are too thick and the caliper cannot retract enough. In which case, sand off some of the pad material using medium to coarse sand paper on a flat surface.

With COLD brakes bring the car up to about 10 MPH, put it in neutral and let it coast to a stop. Does it do so very slowly? Or kind of quickly?

If kind of quickly, and you have tried all suggestions, then you are probably better off taking it in to a professional.

BuddyWh

 

Oh, and one more thing... did you remove the top of the master cylinder and remove excess brake fluid as you pushed the pistons back into the calipers? Don't know... but it's JUST POSSIBLE... if you left the cap on, then the master cylinder reservoir could have a little pressure on it pushing the pistons back out, not letting the caliper stay retracted.

That's just a guess...

BuddyWh

 

Great reply, thx for the suggestions.

Reassembly was confusing, but I think everything got back together fine. The caliper went back on easily. The confusing part was the orientation of the brackets (stamped T facing up, I think) and the pins (brass one with black rbis up, again, I think). I couldn't find good documentation on that. The caliper was not difficult to put on. I didn't have a large enough C clamp to push the piston back in, so I used a quick-clamp (you know, the hand-operated woodworking ones), with an old brake pad on top of the piston to distribute the force. It went back in without trouble, and yes, I had unscrewed the resevoir cap.

After reading your first paragraph, I'm thinking I might just be paranoid. I did have the rotors turned. I thought the noise was possibly normal, but I'd never heard anyone mention it before. It's not loud, and it does not change the stopping characteristics of the vehcile, i.e. it doesn't stop more quickly than normal. I wouldn't really be able to hear the noise unless I was listening for it. It's one of those you hear when the windows are down and you're driving by a curb or building that will reflect the noise. I haven't driven far enough for it to stop if it is normal.

Maybe I'll just leave them alone and see how it goes. I guess I do have an e-brake.

 

In the future... you might find this an excellent idea: put the front on jack stands, both sides, and remove both front wheels... but disassemble only one side at a time. Use the other side as a guide to make sure you get it back together right.

I did the same once... but with rear drum brakes on an old Civic... I thought I'd NEVER get those brakes back together right! So many springs and clips... does this one go on top? no... take it back apart... ok how about this one?? ARRGH The diagrams from the Motor's manual I got at the library was WORTHLESS! And I had done drum brakes before!

Properly bedding new pads/rotors can make a major difference too: Bring the car up to 50-60 MPH and brake to a stop with moderate pressure, then drive 5 min's to cool the brakes. Repeat three times. Then do the stop twice in succession before driving around, repeat three times again. If you want, do it three times in succession before driving around (you might experience fade now if these are street pads). There are many bedding processes, this is the one I use.

After this, you will probably find the noise is gone... and initial braking should be far more secure feeling if these are street pads.

BuddyWh

 

bendix is nissans oem part....same exact thing

 

I agree with the others that there should be light contact between the pads and rotors, you will also feel a slight drag when you rotate them. This is normal. The extra sound you are hearing is probably just the different brake pad compound then was on there before. If the piston for the caliper retracted easily, there shouldn't be a problem there. Brakes will get very hot quickly, especially on something like a Maxima that isn't exactly blessed with a lot of swept area on the rotor. As long as they feel fine and don't fade after a short distance, the amount of contact you seem to be describing sounds normal.