Rear brakes

Discussion of Infiniti's amazing (and underrated) sport-luxury crossovers, the EX35 and EX37. For 2014, the EX series will be renamed QX50, in line with Ininfiit's new naming conventions.
CDNicecube
Posts: 233
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:58 pm
Car: 2010 EX35 Journey+Tech+Navi
Location: Kanata Ontario

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Thank you, that link was very helpful. I can confirm that once the caliber and pads are off, the rear disks are loose and come off relatively easily. It turned out I did not need the rear disk as they are still fine.

Now 3 questions if I may. The OEM pads had two shims, an inner shim and an outer shim cover (ref. link above, page BR39, parts 3, 4 and 9. The Akebono Proact have only one shim that we can take off and smear anti-squeal grease in between it and the actual pad.

The OEM shim and cover do not fit well on the Akebono pads (the Akebono have a little metallic "bump" on their back plate and the EOM shims do not fit on the pads flat because of this). Am I ok with only using the (one) shim that came with the Akebono pads? Should I discartthe OEM shims?

Second question if I may: the top slider bolt has a rubber end cap (on the actual bolt). Not sure why but I can't reinsert the bolt when the rubber cap is on it (I clean them well and reapplied grease). The other side bolt went it easily even with its rubber end cap. So right now I have the driver side without the rubber cap. Is there a trick to reinsert the slider bolt with its rubber cap?

Third: the bolts themselves seem to have some usage marks. How often do you guys changes your slider bolts? Why?

Thanks and sorry to have hijacked this tread.


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NJGuy
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:05 am
Car: 2008 Infiniti EX35 Journey AWD

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AWGD8 wrote:I just had a front and rear brake pads replaced by my dealer.

Car is already 43.5k miles and this was the first time break job was done.

I went home and curiously decided to check those pads. The front pads are gray in color and much thicker than the rear pads. The rear pads has this bluish color in it and seems to be about 5-6mm thinner than the front pads.

Is it possible that the original front pads were just moved to the rear? And the front pads were replaced by a newer one? But I do not think the original front pads could survive that long (43.5K ) . So if they moved the front to rear, there is no way the rear pads still look like around 8-9mm thick. But I am a bit confused bec. The new front Pads are way thicker than the new Rear pads. About 6mm difference.

Any idea?
Front and rear pads on many cars are different in size so they cannot be swapped between the two axles. I've also found that at least on the Japanese cars, the front pads are usually beefier than the rears. What you saw here is typical.

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NJGuy
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:05 am
Car: 2008 Infiniti EX35 Journey AWD

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CDNicecube wrote:Sort to hijack this tread but will be changing my rear pads and rotors and have a question. Are their screws holding the rotors to the hub like in Hondas? If so, what is the trick to remove rusted ones?

Thank you

Ice
I know I'm late to respond, as it looks like you already got the rotors off. But for those who want to know, there shouldn't be any of those screws on the rotor that get it aligned to the hub like on the Hondas.

And on a side note, there are a few ways to get the rusted rotor screws off:
-Impact screwdriver (IMO the most simple and effective option)
-your choice of penetrating oil
-heat
-drill through the head

Also, I removed the screws one time during a tire rotation and smeared a bit of anti-seize on the threads to avoid the issue during future rotor replacements.

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NJGuy
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:05 am
Car: 2008 Infiniti EX35 Journey AWD

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CDNicecube wrote:Thank you, that link was very helpful. I can confirm that once the caliber and pads are off, the rear disks are loose and come off relatively easily. It turned out I did not need the rear disk as they are still fine.

Now 3 questions if I may. The OEM pads had two shims, an inner shim and an outer shim cover (ref. link above, page BR39, parts 3, 4 and 9. The Akebono Proact have only one shim that we can take off and smear anti-squeal grease in between it and the actual pad.

The OEM shim and cover do not fit well on the Akebono pads (the Akebono have a little metallic "bump" on their back plate and the EOM shims do not fit on the pads flat because of this). Am I ok with only using the (one) shim that came with the Akebono pads? Should I discartthe OEM shims?

Second question if I may: the top slider bolt has a rubber end cap (on the actual bolt). Not sure why but I can't reinsert the bolt when the rubber cap is on it (I clean them well and reapplied grease). The other side bolt went it easily even with its rubber end cap. So right now I have the driver side without the rubber cap. Is there a trick to reinsert the slider bolt with its rubber cap?

Third: the bolts themselves seem to have some usage marks. How often do you guys changes your slider bolts? Why?

Thanks and sorry to have hijacked this tread.
1. I bet you're already done with the brake job, but if the Akebonos came with only one shim, I would think it's fine. I wouldn't try to force on any of the extra OEM shim pieces if they don't fit. On some aftermarket brake pads the shims are not removable, but are 'permanently' attached to the pad's metal backing. So each company that makes brake pads does things their own way.

2. I'm not sure why you can't get the top slider bolt in, as it should go in rather easily. There is a purpose for the end cap on the slider bolt, but I forgot what it's intended for.

3. I haven't changed out slider bolts before. I think if the inner and outer pads show a significant difference in wear, or if you caliper starts to drag, then those would probably be good reasons to replace the bolts.
But if your slider pins are showing signs of wear and you're also having the issue with re-inserting the top one with the cap, I don't think it would hurt to install a new set. They shouldn't really cost all that much.

These are just my opinions and I'm speaking from my own experience. Maybe you can get one of the techs here on Nicoclub to give you a more definitive response.

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NJGuy
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:05 am
Car: 2008 Infiniti EX35 Journey AWD

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By the way, does anyone have any advice, tricks, or suggested tools for removing the caliper mounting bolts (17mm I believe)?

Mine were super tight, and I don't have any air impact wrenches to free them. I also found that there isn't much clearance between the bolt heads and the suspension links, which further complicates their removal. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Audimontreal
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:10 pm
Car: 2008 EX 35 AWD Moonlight White
Location: Montreal, Canada

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Hawks are very highly rated...I have personally tried on my other car and rave about Akebono Euro Ceramic pads which eliminated brake dust, great bite, no squeaks great feel and durability!

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EXceptional
Posts: 1385
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:54 pm
Car: 2008 Aspen Pearl EX35 Freakin Loaded!

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NJGuy wrote:By the way, does anyone have any advice, tricks, or suggested tools for removing the caliper mounting bolts (17mm I believe)?

Mine were super tight, and I don't have any air impact wrenches to free them. I also found that there isn't much clearance between the bolt heads and the suspension links, which further complicates their removal. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Lots of penetrating fluid, spray the bolts. Cover the pads and rotors before spraying.

buddyle
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:13 pm
Car: blue red

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NJ_EX35 wrote:The brakes are making a squeaking noise under very light braking. When I put my foot down it goes away, I assume this is normal, but how long should I wait before I give the dealer a call to complain? Please advise.

Just replace your brake pads with premium quality super quite brake pads. I learned the hard way to go with the mid quality. It was annoying me for a month before i decided to replaced myself and fixed the squeaking noise.

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XIS
Posts: 865
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:00 am
Car: 08 EX35 RWD
17 QX30 Sport
Location: The Desert

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Mine had been making a horrible noise the last several months. I thought my pads were bad but they easily had at least 1/2 life remaining... but I could not take it any longer.... Replaced front and back yesterday morning. Took a cpl hrs, but could have been less if those little clips on the front were easier to get inside the hooks in the pad!
FYI
Bought my EX with 30k miles. Now has 60k...so pads had an absolute minimum of 30k on them already and were almost new looking. They were Nissan pads.
I bought Akebono Proact Ceramic. They are so quiet! They bite just as well or better than stock. Exactly what I wanted. Plus a front and rear brake job for $120.00. Niiice!

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XIS
Posts: 865
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:00 am
Car: 08 EX35 RWD
17 QX30 Sport
Location: The Desert

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Sometimes it is fun or at least interesting to search your old posts to see when you might have accomplished something.
I just changed my rear pads due to wear. Looks like they lasted about 40K miles (she has 101K on her now). The front pads looked like they had about 1/2 life remaining.
I always thought it was interesting that MFGs put the smaller brake pads/calipers on the rear and that they also rarely lasted as long as the front. Both should be the same size (you know, like a Ferrari 488!)

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NJGuy
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:05 am
Car: 2008 Infiniti EX35 Journey AWD

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XIS wrote:
Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:20 am
I always thought it was interesting that MFGs put the smaller brake pads/calipers on the rear and that they also rarely lasted as long as the front. Both should be the same size (you know, like a Ferrari 488!)
Well, you might have to keep in mind that there area few tiny differences between an EX and a 488. Some of them are:
-Clientele / target consumers
-Pricing
-Performance

Again, they're not too far off from one another in these aspects, but there still is a difference :) .


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