1993 Q45 front brake change

[shagadellicmojo]

I'm changing my brakes on my car and the driver's side was easy enough but the passenger side has some sort of sensor or something attached to the brake pad that doesn't look like it has a screw or bolt or anything else to remove it.....can anyone out there help me? I don't want to break the little thingy off because i'm sure it has some use and function. Any help would be appreciated.

[maxnix]

Are you speaking of the pad wear sensor? Should be a like-part on your new OEM pads.
Modified by maxnix at 7:12 PM 9/8/2006

[shagadellicmojo]

I got some cheapy pads from NAPA and I it's not like a piece of metal hanging off the side of a pad as a wear indicator. The is actually a piece that has two electrical wires connected to it and is fastened through the lower center of the inner pad in the front (passenger side)....and guesses?
Modified by shagadellicmojo at 2:38 PM 9/7/2006

[Q45tech]

Cheapy pads from NAPA? You are glutton for punishment. But then they have different grades from total unsatisfactory to mildly unsatisfactory.

We do lots of replacements for cheapy pads from NaPA Azone, etc to correct the noise, moan and groan and rotor wear warp problems...................besure to refit oem shims.

[shagadellicmojo]

Well, I scraped the rusted edges to avoid some of the noises but I still have my original problem of finding out what that piece is...and how to remove it and re-install it to the new pad....any ideas? BTW, I don't know what a shim is, my first thought was a dance move ...HELP

[q45j30guy]

It is the pad wear indicator. If your cheapy pads did not come with a new one no problem. Just clip the wires on the old sensor, remove and replace the pads. Now you have the other end of the wear indicator wires just hanging around with no where to go. Use a couple of tie straps and secure it to the brake line coming into the caliper. Never again a problem. Just be sure to buy pads for a 2/94 or later Q next go round. Also remember that your car now has no way to tell you the front pads need replaced until you hear that ugly grinding sound indicating that the pads are worn to the rivots and destroying your rotors. No big deal really because most likely your rotors have been warpped for months and need replaced anyhow .

[shagadellicmojo]

That is what I needed to know....thank you q45j30guy! I plan on upgrading to new rotors and pads and even paining the clipers and middle of the rotor blue or black but I am just in saving mode right now and repainting my trim to a charcoal metallic color and this brake job caught me by suprise. It is only a temporary fix and in fact, I may just leave the old pads on the passenger side of the car (the one with the wear indicator). I already had to put a new battery and some new tires on the front and had some other expenses (wife's B-day included) hit the wallet pretty hard and I really need to concentrate on rear tires and an alignment from my local Nissan dealer which quoted me $70 for 4 wheel alignment. I use to work at that dealership so I hope they aren't jerking me around. I just wanted to let you people know that I am actually doing something with Q and not meaning to abuse it lol. And if anyone is wondering why I changed my pads to begin with, I heard a noise and the front pads had about 3/4 still left on them so since I was under there, I scraped the outside edges with a metal file to help efficiency of the front brakes until I upgrade. I will look into the rear pads more closely for trouble on the next day off. The rotors already had some rust on the edges and centers and with my intent to paint the new ones (near future), I could really care less if the old ones warp a little (they are not warped now) and would not let my problem get that bad...just in saving mode for a month but will update maybe with pictures one day when my Q nears some of the higher quality maintained Q's that I have seen on this groovy site. I have only had the car about 7 months and just got a better paying job so the good ol' Q is going to get some good treatment real soon

[maxnix]

you might be in for some really squirrely braking with different pad compounds on different sides.

Why we always recommend that propspective owners of G50 have a cash kitty of at least $3K -$6K beyond purchase price to correct deferred maintenance. Amount depends on the service history, upon which we also insist.