Okay, I did a quick search on this and didn't find what I'm looking for so...

I'm about to change my front brake pads. I got them in today but they did not come with the Anti-Squeal shims like they did when I ordered pads for my eclipse and for my girlfriends accord. Guess Toyota doesn't do that. So I went to my local dealer and they told me it was $45 for a set of Anti-squeal shims for my front brake pads. Is that right? Those thin pieces of metal really cost that much? I have the factory repair manuals and they say they should be replaced a long with the pads. . . Can anyone help me out ? Do I really need to go and order (they don't have any in stock) the front shims?

 

In short yea they cost 50 damn bucks. Do your old pads have the shims on them, if they do just reuse them. I had to buy shims b/c my used T100 didnt have any, just use some antisqueal spray or the provided goop they give you and all will be fine.

I am sure napa sells them though.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

So it's okay to reuse them? There are some on there now and I'm going to get some brake cleaner later and clean them up and see what they looks like.

 

ive re-used them many a time. i clean well before re-spraying w/ blue goo

 

My $35 performance friction Land Cruiser pads came with them.

 

Oh yes, make sure you clean them-you can use brake parts cleaner but paint thinner works just as well..

 

Thanks everyone, I just finished changing them. Used brake cleaner to clean off the shims and applied grease to the inner shim. Everything seems to be working fine.

Now one more question. My pedal goes down a lot further now before the brakes perform the same that they used to. Does that mean I need to bleed the lines or will it take a few miles before it goes back to normal? Or does it get firmer as the pads wear?

 

Wait, you didn't bleed the brakes? Yes, absolutely bleed them. If you use the pedal method, be sure to put a wood block under the brake pedal to keep from over-extending the MC piston.

 

Yes, bleed the brakes!

 

Hah, the factory repair manual doesn't tell you to bleed it afterwards, but I thought I heard/read you were supposed to before. I'll do that tomorrow morning then!

 

The proper order for bleeding the system is to start with the longest hydraulic line and work around the vehicle to the shortest line, and then do the LSPV last.

So in this case, the order is: driver's rear wheel, passenger rear wheel, passenger front, driver's front, LSPV.

Thats how I did mine a week ago and it works fine. More info: http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...leedingbrakes/

 

CJM
Thanks for the link to that write up. Very Helpful!

I will need to do this soon and this will get me through it.

 

No problem Eric, I scoured thenet for good info before I even did my pads about a week ago. To me I feel I have a spongy pedal, but I was driving for 3 months (SOOO busy) with a pull that I may have not even noticed it.

I used apower bleeder I got at sears for about 35 bucks. Not cheap but it has alot of other uses. A buddy, coffee can and clear tubing also works.

Oh and if you dont add fluid after each line you bleed you will wind up with the parking brake light coming on-your low on fluid. I also did the parking brake adjustment just incase after I did the whole thing as well.

 

Remember, the 4R's with ABS don't have LSPV's.

 

Why would you have to bleed the brakes if all you changed were front pads? You dont have to open any brake line anywhere.... Why would you need to bleed?

 

Well if your brakes were very low then the slack when you put on the new pads can cause air to get intot he system, but everytime you install new brakes oyu should bleed regardless as water canget into the system pretty easy.

Now I could be wrong, but a friend of mine and I did his subaru legacy some time back, his pads and rotors were shot and as a result when we put all new aprts on his pedal was to the floor as the brakes never adjusted proplerly when we installed all the new parts. Bleeding it cured the problem.

@Christian-Oh I know but some of the other vehicles do.

 

Technically you don't have to bleed them if you do the front pads only, but CJM has a good point about water in the system. Its a good idea to switch the fluid out every 3-5 years.

Griffeycom, you need to go easy on the brakes for the first 100 miles. Normal heat allows the glues in the pad to bond it correctly. If you do panic stops and overheat them, the glues in the pad will turn to gas and end up glazing the pad.

 

Interesting^

Tom that is a great car! I was apalled at how is was treated in Road House.

 

Is'nt the main thing to open the bleed nipple when you spread the caliper to make room for the new pads....so you don't force dirty fluid back up into the master cyl ?

 

The fluid in the system isnt dirty unless its never been flushed ever. I normally removed the master cylinder cap and siphon out a bit of fluid incase it overflows. But generally unless your pads are past the point of no return, using a c-clamp or channel locks to make room for your new pads is fine and wont cause any problems.

If this was the case and irty fluid could goback (its sealed so how could the fluid get dirty other than get water in it?) then the 100 or so brake jobs I have done in my life were all wrong.