Would No Shims Cause A Pop/clunk/tink In The Brakes?

[ED.]

Since yesterday (did brakes on Sat) I've noticed some weird clinking/popping noises up front. Most noticeable when you first hit them after it's sat awhile. It will kinda 'tink' pass side then 'tink' drivers side as I am going to stop. Then again randomly at some low speed stops.

Could this be my lack of shims? The akebonos I put on had a shim glued on them so I figured no need and left the older ones off. I did notice however, that the ake's I took off had a shim with a lock on it (pic tomorrow) that either came with them or were on the pads way long ago before the first set of ake's.

Should I of put that shim on? Will putting it on eliminate the noise? I have to bleed them this weekend anyway so I will be right there. Only takes about 15 mins to get them off.

I wasn't sure when I was doing it on Sat and didn't want to mess anything up but putting them on. Looks like I may of done the opposite!

[nc211]

Absolutely, and almost guaranteed to happen. I went through this myself as well with a set of Napa's, then Car Quests, then Walkers, then finally fixed it with oem and shim kits. What's happening is that without the shims, the fitment kits can't get a snug enough hold on the pads, which will allow a very tiny amount of movement of the pads against the caliper seats. To really convince yourself, put the car in reverse, go a few feet then hit the brakes...hear the clank? Then go a few more feet and hit the brakes..don't hear the clank? That's because the pads shifted against the bottom side of the caliper seat with the 1st stop. Now, go forward a few feet and hit the brakes...hear the clank? go a few more feet and hit the brakes again..don't hear the clank? That's becuase the pads shifted to the upper part of the caliper seat on the 1st brake, causing the clank.

[ED.]

Oh jeez. Yeah I can see what you're saying. I parallel park at home and can hear a lot of activity when I get home at night. I'm playing it off like 'oh it's the steering.' D'oh!

Here are some pics of what I took off. I swear with these my foot went to the floor and they made a lot of clicking noises. When I got them off, I w couldn't believe there was that much pad left and that they looked so dirty. Hopefully bleeding the system will eliminate a lot of the squishy brakes.

Sorry if those seem blurry. My camera hates my hardwood floors.

Should I remove the shim from that last pic and put it on the new pads or go ahead and just buy new shims?

Thanks for the help!

[nc211]

I would just reuse them and save yourself the $100 bucks, as dealerships seem to know that the kits are vital to quiet operation and therefore charge almost as much for them as they do for the pads. Just clean them up, use a little brake grease on the inner piece "the black piece with is the anti-squeel piece" and go from there. Also, see the clips on the tips of the pads? Those are your fitment kits, and you want those. Those are what keep the pads from banging in the caliper seats. Slide those off, clean them up, put a little grease on the outter edges and reuse them. You might have to rebend the upper part to give it it's cushion back, no biggie. Once you take it off and look at them, you'll see what I'm talking about.

I had to take a doubletake at your hands. I was about to suggest getting some sun on those pale things! Until I realized you were wearing gloves! hahahaa...

[ED.]

haha. I thought the same thing. I was like 'I hope they know those are gloves. I swear I'm not pale!' That's funny.

Yeah silly me. I should of put those on when I was there! Oh well. It doesn't take too long to get everything off and since I was just there it shouldn't be too bad and I'll need the wheels off to bleed the system anyway.

Thanks again for the help!

[McSwine]

My 2000 LS was making a "creaking" noise when the brakes got hot. I replaced the pads with some ATE's I got from Tirerack and the brake hardware (shim) kit I got from Sewell Lexus...noise fixed. Be sure some Brake Quiet or equivalent when reassembling.

[ED.]

What kind of quiet did you use? I have this stuff you spray on the back of the pads and was having a terrible time with it when I went to put the pads back on. It got all over my gloves and more than half of it came off. It said ok to put on car when tacky but maybe I should of let it dry?

[nc211]

You shouldn't really need any spray if you're dealing with oem parts, especially rotors. Part of that shim kit is the antisqueal pad (the black piece sandwhiched between the silver shim and pad itself). Some people when putting on new pads will scuff them up a little bit on the concrete to accelerate them setting thier own grove pattern in the rotor. But, if you're still getting squeals, a very light turning of the rotor should do the trick, which erases the last pad's grove pattern.

[McSwine]

What kind of quiet did you use? I have this stuff you spray on the back of the pads and was having a terrible time with it when I went to put the pads back on. It got all over my gloves and more than half of it came off. It said ok to put on car when tacky but maybe I should of let it dry?

A little tube of stuff came with either the pads or hardware kit one, I can't remember. You can also find it at any parts store.

[ED.]

Thanks for the help, guys. I can't wait to get those old shims on the new pads. I would like to get the rotors turned since they are in great shape still. Maybe our one family guy can do them next time it's in. Which I hope is not for awhile!

[TexasLexus94]

I just changed the rotors and pads on my 94LS, pulled into the casino, and upon parking, I had a cloud of smoke coming from the brakes. So I raced to my Indie mechanic, petrified. He laughed, and said that it was no problem. Wow. I didn't realize that the pads and rotors need to be broken in like this. I told my wife about this breaking in thing-she was not amused....

[McSwine]

Thanks for the help, guys. I can't wait to get those old shims on the new pads. I would like to get the rotors turned since they are in great shape still. Maybe our one family guy can do them next time it's in. Which I hope is not for awhile!

If you're not sure how old your shims are, you might want to get the kit and replace them. As I mentioned before, my brakes were noisy, but I can't honestly say whether it was the pads or the hardware making the noise.

[ED.]

You think the dealer would be arm and leg if I went to them? I called today and they would not go down on $10 for those wee bulbs that light up the heated seat and TRAC button(s).

I may take the console out tomorow for the hell of it. See what they look like. Doubt I will be able to find them anywhere else besides the dealer. Cringe....

[eatingupblacktop]

You think the dealer would be arm and leg if I went to them? I called today and they would not go down on $10 for those wee bulbs that light up the heated seat and TRAC button(s).

I may take the console out tomorow for the hell of it. See what they look like. Doubt I will be able to find them anywhere else besides the dealer. Cringe....

Try an electronics parts supply shop. They usually have thousands of generic misc parts.

[ED.]

Try an electronics parts supply shop. They usually have thousands of generic misc parts.

Anyone specific? I've went by Radio Shack about six times in the past 8 months and almost everytime it's been no dice on what I was looking for! I liked their old store better. New ones are mainly places to buy phone plans and batteries.

I will take those bulbs out and snap some pics. See what we can find!

[eatingupblacktop]

Radio Shack is a commercial retailer. I'm thinking more of an industrial supplier.

Here's some links and you can google many more I'm sure:

http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=0

http://www.e-sonic.com/acc/home.aspx

http://cmpmedia.globalspec.com/SpecSearch/...&frmqry=led

[ED.]

Coolness. Thank you for the links!