Changed my own brake pads for the first time and the noise is gone

My car had a bad grinding sound for about two weeks before I finally looked. The old pads were worn down to almost nothing, with the metal backing showing. I watched a video, bought a $40 pad set and a C-clamp, and did the swap last Saturday. Now it's quiet and stops smooth. Is it better to always replace the rotors too, or is just doing pads okay for a basic fix?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_nathan10d ago

Yeah rose_shah75 is totally right. I did just pads once and the new ones wore out super fast because the old rotors were all grooved. Ended up doing the whole job again a few months later.

rose_shah7510d ago

Honestly, you should have replaced the rotors too when the pads were that far gone. Grinding down to the metal usually scores the rotor surface pretty bad. Just doing pads is a cheap fix now, but it might not last.