I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
time replace the brake pads?

I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
replacement. Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
mentioned the rear brakes were sticking. Is there anything else I
should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
replaced? Or, if I do get the brake pads replaced, then how much
should it cost?

C Yohman <chance.yohman@gmail.com> wrote in news:3e0cf691-9108-4cbc-8b5b-
67ef68776b3e@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

> I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
> driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
> time replace the brake pads?
>
> I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
> replacement.


Only with aftermarket pads.


> Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
> mentioned the rear brakes were sticking.



This car has rear drum brakes, no? Sticking is typically a characteristic
of rear disc brakes.



> Is there anything else I
> should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
> replaced?


You pull the calipers off and look at the pads. With a really good light
you can just peek through the inspection hole in the caliper instead. No
other way to tell for sure. Plus you need to make sure the pins are sliding
freely.

If any part of any one pad is less than 1/8" thick, replace the axle set.



--
Tegger

I believe that involves removing the wheel. Does it?

On Dec 14, 6:57 pm, Tegger <teg...@tegger.c0m> wrote:
> C Yohman <chance.yoh...@gmail.com> wrote in news:3e0cf691-9108-4cbc-8b5b-
> 67ef68776...@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
>
> > I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
> > driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
> > time replace the brake pads?
>
> > I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
> > replacement.
>
> Only with aftermarket pads.
>
> > Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
> > mentioned the rear brakes were sticking.
>
> This car has rear drum brakes, no? Sticking is typically a characteristic
> of rear disc brakes.
>
> > Is there anything else I
> > should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
> > replaced?
>
> You pull the calipers off and look at the pads. With a really good light
> you can just peek through the inspection hole in the caliper instead. No
> other way to tell for sure. Plus you need to make sure the pins are sliding
> freely.
>
> If any part of any one pad is less than 1/8" thick, replace the axle set.
>
> --
> Tegger

You replace the pads when they wear down to near the minimum specified
thickness, which is 1mm for Toyotas, but for me 2-3mm is acceptable.
Unless they are wearing unevenly. Toyota calipers can use regular
cleaning and lubing to avoid sticking. But if they are sticking then
at least consider cleaning and lubing them.

You'll never know which batch of brake pads from the dealer you get,
from the cheapo NBK to the better Akebono (used on Lexus). I just buy
Akebono ProAct ceramic aftermarket. Quiet even without the stick-on
noise shims (later ones they stick'em on at the factory, so I use the
shims). Did I mention quiiieeeeet!

www.akebonobrakes.com



On Dec 14, 3:25 pm, C Yohman <chance.yoh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
> driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
> time replace the brake pads?
>
> I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
> replacement. Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
> mentioned the rear brakes were sticking. Is there anything else I
> should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
> replaced? Or, if I do get the brake pads replaced, then how much
> should it cost?

C Yohman wrote:
> I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
> driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
> time replace the brake pads?
>
> I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
> replacement. Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
> mentioned the rear brakes were sticking. Is there anything else I
> should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
> replaced? Or, if I do get the brake pads replaced, then how much
> should it cost?

Cost depends on where you live.
The brake pads probably (should have been) replaced at least once in
those first 65,000 miles. Find a good or reputable shop and ASK them to
check the brakes. Ask friends/neighbors for places.
BTW, its your life so, maybe you should do something soon.

Lou

I don't think my life is in danger, but I want to know if they should
be replaced. Is there anyway to check the brakes without taking the
wheels off? I have the repair manual for the Corolla and it seems the
only way is to take the wheels off. Thanks.

On Dec 15, 7:11 am, LouB <L...@invalid.com> wrote:
> C Yohman wrote:
> > I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
> > driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
> > time replace the brake pads?
>
> > I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
> > replacement. Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
> > mentioned the rear brakes were sticking. Is there anything else I
> > should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
> > replaced? Or, if I do get the brake pads replaced, then how much
> > should it cost?
>
> Cost depends on where you live.
> The brake pads probably (should have been) replaced at least once in
> those first 65,000 miles. Find a good or reputable shop and ASK them to
> check the brakes. Ask friends/neighbors for places.
> BTW, its your life so, maybe you should do something soon.
>
> Lou

"C Yohman" <chance.yohman@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:84c5796d-7e00-42b9-8d9d-188812ebba26@x69g2000hsx.googlegroups.com...
>I don't think my life is in danger, but I want to know if they should
> be replaced. Is there anyway to check the brakes without taking the
> wheels off? I have the repair manual for the Corolla and it seems the
> only way is to take the wheels off. Thanks.
>
>
The best way to check brake pad wear is to remove the wheels. If you have
alloy wheels with large openings, you may be able to use a mirror to see the
pads.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:32:25 -0800 (PST), C Yohman
<chance.yohman@gmail.com> wrote:

>I don't think my life is in danger, but I want to know if they should
>be replaced. Is there anyway to check the brakes without taking the
>wheels off? I have the repair manual for the Corolla and it seems the
>only way is to take the wheels off. Thanks.

It's a hell of a lot easier to take the front wheels off the car and
take a good look - an inspection can be done tires-on with a small
inspection mirror on an extension handle and a flashlight, but that
also means turning the front wheels full lock and then sticking your
head into the fender well and bending into several positions God never
intended your spine to go... >_<

The rear wheels you almost have to take the wheels and the drums off
to check for wear - some cars have a little "window" to see the shoes,
but that shows only one spot and they don't always wear evenly.

If you don't live in snow country, there aren't big wear ridges on
the drums, and you remove the little retainer clips on the studs,
remove the tire and the drum will practically slide right off. If
there are bad wear ridges you might have to get out a brake adjusting
spoon and back off the star-wheel self-adjuster to retract the rear
shoes first. Have a can of spray Brake Cleaner handy so you can flush
out the gack and see what you are doing.

And if you are in snow country and haven't touched them recently,
the drums most likely have rust holding them to the axle shaft. They
will come off, but... Good luck. ;-)

(Jack bolts in the 6MM drum holes, a SMALL squirt of penetrant
between drum and hub so it doesn't get on the shoes and contaminate
the lining, and a lot of tapping the backside of the drum with a soft
face dead-blow mallet and working it back and forth by hand.)

Or pay your mechanic for a half-hour to hour of his time, and he can
run it up on the lift and check the front and rear brakes, and a few
dozen other things that need occasional attention.

--<< Bruce >>--

On 2007-12-14 16:25:07 -0700, C Yohman <chance.yohman@gmail.com> said:

> I bough a 1998 Toyota Corolla in July 2005. At the time, it had been
> driven 65,000 miles. Now, it has been driven 100,000+ miles. Is it
> time replace the brake pads?
>
> I have heard occasional squeaking associated with brake pad
> replacement. Also, VIP, when I brought the car in for a oil change,
> mentioned the rear brakes were sticking. Is there anything else I
> should observe to decide on whether or not the brakes need to be
> replaced? Or, if I do get the brake pads replaced, then how much
> should it cost?

If you're not mechanically inclined and don't want to remove the
wheels, just assume, at 100K miles, that you need new brakes. I'd take
it to a reputable brake place or the dealer and make sure they use
Toyota pads. Around here (Tucson, Arizona) a complete brake job will
run between 3 and 4 hundred. I bought new pads for my Avalon a couple
of months ago at the dealer. They ran $102 for both front and back.

If you do take it to someone to have it done, they may tell you that
you need to replace one or more rotors because they cannot "turn" them
which is a process in which material is removed from the rotor to
restore it to a flat surface. Anyhow, in my experience, they are right.
It's better to install new rotors rather than turn the old ones. I
tried it once on another Avalon and in a few miles, I had the old
pulsating pedal back. New rotors, no pulsation. Good luck and post what
you end up doing.
jor

C Yohman <chance.yohman@gmail.com> wrote in
news:93e937f3-67c5-403d-8d84-52c50b3e876b@a35g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

> I believe that involves removing the wheel. Does it?



Without a shadow of a doubt, yes.

It also involves knowing what you're doing. You need to do some substantial
reading-up on auto mechanics before you tear into what is an essential
safety system on your car.

If you're this new to brake work, I would advise not touching them at all
yourself until you've done considerable study of the subject. There is DIY
info available on the Internet, for a start.



--
Tegger