I let my pads wear down to the holder, so I had to change them tonight. First problem was I did not have an extension cord to reach the street, so I used my Niterider for light. But with help from the web, I was able to put in the new pads in an hour.
Put in new car brake pads (in the dark!)
- Thread starter sanjuro
- Start date
sanjuro said:
My car needs new pads pretty soon, too - haven't changed 'em in this car yet, hopefully it's not too bad.
Did you bleed or add to your brake fluid or did you just drop the new pads in?
Bleed? Is that why I have drive up the embankment to stop now? I thought it was a break in period.binary visions said:
I was lucky and didn't have to bleed. One time the family car's caliper fell apart 200 miles from home, and my father and I drove up the next day to fix it. We replaced the old caliper and bled it in the dark as well.
Cool, just curious. Seems like the general population is split on the issue, some people insist it's important, some people say it's unnecessary.sanjuro said:
We'll see what I have time for
I think it is a pretty obvious situation. If the brake pedal went right to the floor, I would have bled. If my inital brake tests failed, I would have bled.binary visions said:Cool, just curious. Seems like the general population is split on the issue, some people insist it's important, some people say it's unnecessary.
We'll see what I have time for
Well, the suggestion of bleeding when you change pads isn't to keep your brakes working, it's to get rid of the gunk in the fluid (usually rust) that can damage your brake lines in the long term. I just haven't been able to determine how much of that is anal compulsive mechanics keeping their cars perfect, and how much of it is a genuine concern for your brake system.sanjuro said:
I was on the phone with a buddy who is a full-time mechanic who just passed his certification for brakes. He never mentioned bleeding out the system to remove gunk.
I would imagine if you have gunk in your lines, you got a real problem with an enclosed system.
I would imagine if you have gunk in your lines, you got a real problem with an enclosed system.
Good to know, thanks.sanjuro said:
That'd be my guess, too, but I'm no certainly no expert.
The idea behind replacing the fluid and bleeding the brakes is the fluid is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture over time. Get moisture in the fluid and it reduces the boiling temp, which can mean really crappy braking under harsh conditions like descending a mountain.