# Brake pads



## Patman (May 7, 2011)

when seems a good time to replace. I am not one to wait until I hear the grinding but I have replaced @ 30000 mi on other cars. Pads were much cheaper. Now it looks like a good set or Ceramic pads are 60 - 100 clams. I noticed my pedal is down a little and don't know if adding brake fluid will help.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Patman said:


> when seems a good time to replace. I am not one to wait until I hear the grinding but I have replaced @ 30000 mi on other cars. Pads were much cheaper. Now it looks like a good set or Ceramic pads are 60 - 100 clams. I noticed my pedal is down a little and don't know if adding brake fluid will help.


How well are your rear drums adjusted?


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> How well are your rear drums adjusted?


Did it once. Maybe need to do again. Only takes a few min to do.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Patman said:


> Did it once. Maybe need to do again. Only takes a few min to do.


I'd check that first. Also shouldn't be too difficult to check how much pad life is left on the front just by looking at the pad thickness.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

Patman said:


> I noticed my pedal is down a little and don't know if adding brake fluid will help.


Never EVER add brake fluid unless there's a confirmed leak! When you replace your worn pads and/or shoes the piston(s) in the calipers and wheel cylinders get pushed back in and displace the fluid back up into the master cylinder. If you top-up your brake fluid while your pads and shoes are worn the master cylinder can overflow when you have new pads/shoes installed. Brake fluid is nasty stuff... it eats paint and corrodes things, the last thing you need leaking under the hood.

The only time I've ever added fluid to any of my cars is after replacing parts and having the system open, or after bleeding. If bleeding I always make sure to only fill the master cylinder to the level it was at when starting, no more.

On my car the e-brake handle was touching the armrest (armrest forward, handle up) until I adjusted the drums. That will be what I keep an eye on to tell me when they need re-adjusting.


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