brake pads correct positioning?

[aquariustiger]

I had my 91 240sx checked by a mechanic and found brake pad & rotor issues.
He said that on each rear caliper;on each set of pads;only one pad was worn and the other was not.
So I'm planning on handling this my self to save some dough.
I remember replacing my rear pads a pretty while back.
I'm thinking I might of done something incorrectly for the pads to wear out like that.
See I have been reading some brake pad replacing posts and they always say to remove the brake cable out of the rear calipers before replacing the pads.
I do not recall ever doing that.
So my question is , could that of cause the pads to wear out like that? I know it could also just be the calipers themselves,but both at the same time

Another question is pretty dumb I guess but I need to know.
When replacing the rear pads, one pad has a metal bracket coming out of it and the other does not.
Were do each one go?...picture time!!!

IS THIS THE CORRECT WAY?


OR IS THIS THE CORRECT WAY?


Also how do you brake in the rotors,any special grease or something?

[S13_RB25]

I haven't changed the brake pads on a 240 yet, but i did on my sisters altima, and i just looked pads before taking the old ones off and put the new ones in just like them! So when you go to change the pads you''ll get your answer on how to position your pads and about the braking in the rotors im not help lol!

[aquariustiger]

Yeah I thought of that but, remember that I replaced pads before ...maybe I installed them incorrectly!
I have the book but none of the pictures shows that metal bracket on the one pad.Maybe is not a big deal or maybe it is????

[moso]

the actual pads are identical, just make sure the tab dosent rub anything. the tab is there to give a squeal noise when the pad is low. one pad wearing before the other is a sign of bad, stuck, or un-greased caliper sliders.

[idreamofs13's]

I break in my brakes by driving own the road and slowing down from 40 or 50 mph to a stop with steady and firm brake pressure. I do a few runs of that and it seems to soften up the new pads and rotors. Seems to work fine in all the honda's I've owned which are similarly front biased, and so I assume it should work in a s13.

[aquariustiger]

the actual pads are identical, just make sure the tab dosent rub anything. the tab is there to give a squeal noise when the pad is low. one pad wearing before the other is a sign of bad, stuck, or un-greased caliper sliders.

I find it kind of strange that both rear calipers are having this situation at the same time;It could happen;but perhaps there could be a mistake during my pads replacement that I could of resulted in this. I don't know, perhaps bolts were switched around or not all the way in...something of that nature.I really thought not disconnecting the brake cable from the caliper would be it.Anyways what should I do if it stuck or need grease?Is it hard and what are the tools that I need.I'll look for some threads around here but it will take some time to find just the right one.
Another thing I have some new FRONT rotors from a previews time, could they be used for the replacements of the REAR rotors???

[moso]

no, fronts and rears are quite different. not disconnecting the brake cable (e-break cable??) would have no effect on how the pads wear. the reason that the pads wear on one side lies in the slid pins. the brake caliper rides in and out on these pins balancing the pressure between both sides. when they get stuck the caliper can only apply pressure to one side, usually the piston side. sometimes it has the opposite effect and wont allow the pad to disengage and that will cause excessive wear on the non-piston side. either way it is definitely a sign of bad caliper slide pins. the change should be easy and require no specialty tools (aside from the piston key for turning in the piston. a.k.a. needle nose pliers) you will want to grease the pins when you replace them as well as adding it to the list of things you do when you change break pads. if they are stuck you can clean them and the holes they go in with brake parts cleaner and a brush, then grease them. axle grease will work fine. im a little drunk right now, sorry if this doesnt make complete sense.

[aquariustiger]

no, fronts and rears are quite different. not disconnecting the brake cable (e-break cable??) would have no effect on how the pads wear. the reason that the pads wear on one side lies in the slid pins. the brake caliper rides in and out on these pins balancing the pressure between both sides. when they get stuck the caliper can only apply pressure to one side, usually the piston side. sometimes it has the opposite effect and wont allow the pad to disengage and that will cause excessive wear on the non-piston side. either way it is definitely a sign of bad caliper slide pins. the change should be easy and require no specialty tools (aside from the piston key for turning in the piston. a.k.a. needle nose pliers) you will want to grease the pins when you replace them as well as adding it to the list of things you do when you change break pads. if they are stuck you can clean them and the holes they go in with brake parts cleaner and a brush, then grease them. axle grease will work fine. im a little drunk right now, sorry if this doesnt make complete sense.

I'm thinking the sliding pins could be the reason! I'll definitely start with that first.I'll post some pics if this was the simple issue.It will definitely save a lot money and time
if this could be a first step to diagnose regarding pads wearing on one side, before replacing a brake caliper.

On another note, is there like a simpler way to completely replace all the brake fluid on the system.
I was thinking some thing like hanging a gallon of brake fluid from the opened hood with a hose straight to the full reservoir, making sure it didn't leak or had air of course.
Then connecting a small hose to each bleeder and the end of the hose to a mid size container containing some brake fluid to keep air seeping in.
Then just opening a bleeder and pumping the brakes until clean fluid came out and repeating the same to the rest of them.

[aquariustiger]

Hey I did finally found out for sure what direction that pad went, the official Nissan manual had the diagram and here it is...

[aquariustiger]

Well my final update!

I was finally able to replace all the four brake rotters including brake pads of course.
After close inspection, brake calipers were fine for there age.
The sliding pins were definitely the culprits in this occasion.

This diagnosis is a good way to save some bucks if your brake pads are wearing out uneven.
Well I was able to find cheap brake rotters for around $12 bucks and the bushings for the sliding pins for $4 bucks(4pc in a box) at rockauto.com.
I tell you the bushings were really overpriced all around.I would find them by themselves over $14 bucks for one set of just two or a brake kit with parts you didn't really need for over $25 bucks.That website pretty much sells everything you need..piece by piece.
Anyway after removing the whole brake caliper assembly I used brake cleaner to remove all the old grease specially the sticky gum like film at the button of each hole.

After that I worked on the sliding pins.The rear which were giving me more issues I totally replaced with new ones from autozone for around $8 bucks a kit.
The front I reused because they weren't that bad.Cleaned them good and removed any rust with a dremel I had and finished them up with some steel wool until smooth.
I applied synthetic brake caliper grease to all pins and holes. Installed boots to pins, making sure boot was in the correct position and over the bumps on the caliper.
Pictures:



Well everything was going according to plan when the unexpected occurred!
BROKEN WHEEL BOLT!

After some research to fix this I did the following:
I bought these things
a open wheel nut ,around five large washers and some lube...all from autozone

To more easily insert the new bolt I followed this trick I saw on the web.
You first before anything; placed the new bolt in the freezer;the cold will contract the steel just a tad.
To remove the broken bolt you just have to carefully bang it out with a hammer..bang,bang,bang,bang, and its out.
Then after your ready for the installation add some lube to the area were the vertical teeth are(not on the thread) on the cold bolt and some to the hole of the wheel hub as well.
Slide the the bolt in the wheel hub and then slide a few washers over the exposing bolt(I used five).
Add the open wheel nut and slowly screw the nut in until the back of the bolt is completely through and flush against the wheel hub.
You're done!


That's all folks and many thanks to everyone's advice...until the next one!