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Here's a way to possibly save yourself some time during your next auto brake pad replacement......
Recently, when replacing the rear brake pads on my girlfriend's car, I removed the front pads with out a hitch. But the rear rotors wouldn't budge. It took forever to get the rotors off the wheel. For HOURS I was banging on both rear wheel drums with a rubber mallet before finally managing to pull them off. Inside the drums I see a couple of drum-type pads (this is a disc-brake system) that were pushing on the inside of the rotors from inside the drum -- this was the cuplrit, but I'd never changed pads on such a system. I assumed this was some sort of belt-and-suspenders approach to the braking system.. At long last I get the pads off, take them to O'Reilly and ask for the replacements. The clerk gives me the brake pads, but no interior drum-looking pads. I asked where were the other pads. He said, "Oh, you're thinking of the parking brake, those pads don't usually get changed."
DOH!
I went home, released the parking brake, and the "drum" shoes instantly relaxed, allowing me to slip the rotors back on with no problem. If I had released the parking brake in the first place, the job would have taken fraction of the time it actually took me......
I felt pretty dumb, but I'm no pro, just a DIY'er trying to save some cash and destined to learn all lessons the hard way.
Recently, when replacing the rear brake pads on my girlfriend's car, I removed the front pads with out a hitch. But the rear rotors wouldn't budge. It took forever to get the rotors off the wheel. For HOURS I was banging on both rear wheel drums with a rubber mallet before finally managing to pull them off. Inside the drums I see a couple of drum-type pads (this is a disc-brake system) that were pushing on the inside of the rotors from inside the drum -- this was the cuplrit, but I'd never changed pads on such a system. I assumed this was some sort of belt-and-suspenders approach to the braking system.. At long last I get the pads off, take them to O'Reilly and ask for the replacements. The clerk gives me the brake pads, but no interior drum-looking pads. I asked where were the other pads. He said, "Oh, you're thinking of the parking brake, those pads don't usually get changed."
DOH!
I went home, released the parking brake, and the "drum" shoes instantly relaxed, allowing me to slip the rotors back on with no problem. If I had released the parking brake in the first place, the job would have taken fraction of the time it actually took me......
I felt pretty dumb, but I'm no pro, just a DIY'er trying to save some cash and destined to learn all lessons the hard way.
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