Ok i know i have to change my brakes cause they are starting to squeal. So here are my questions. Oh and i have never done brakes before so all info you have would be awesome.

1) Do i need to change both rotors and brake pads or can i just do the pads?

2)i am replacing my original brakes so what are the best brake pads/rotor(if needed) would you recommend?


I tried looking through the forum so a walk through but it was really hard to find something. So thanks in advance for all the help!

 

http://forums.themustangsource.com/s...d.php?t=453294



Taco Bill is the man.




how do you drive?

street only

some street + racing

mostly racing



if only street...or light racing, I personally would just replace the pads and scuff up the rotors.

if you see a decent bit of racing...then replace those rotors as well.





also depends if the rotors are in decent shape. might want to get them turned a little bit. a light bit of resurfacing won't hurt

 

I only street drive. What do you mean by "scuff up the rotors?"
Thanks for the link too!

 

if your rotors are in good shape, take some sandpaper and brake cleaner


use the sandpaper to scuff up the surface. basically does the same thing as resurfacing the rotors...just not as effective. this will help in the process to seat the new pads



make sure to clean the rotors and brake pads extremely well. your fingers can leave oil on there that will cause a degrade in the brakes performance. so use all the brake cleaner you think you'll need...and then a little bit more just in case

 

If you step on the pedal and it feels smooth (no vibration) then odds are that you only need new pads.

If you step on the pedal and feel a pulsing vibration thru the pedal then its one of three things:
1) you have uneven deposits of pad material on the rotor. This can usually be cleared up with a few very hard, high speed, ABS inducing brakes.
2) you have developed hot spots on the rotors - an area where the metal hardness has changed. This can be due to overusage. You can see them, will appear as "blued" metal in circular shapes here and there on the surface. No cure, throw them away.
3) you have warped your rotors. Very uncommon - usually its 1 or 2 above and people just assume they have warped a rotors. Might be able to save them by turning on a lathe but the take off rotors are so cheap...why bother.

The brand of pad you choose is really up to you and what you find most important: low dust and low noise - go with stock pads or a ceramic type pad. medium dust and some noise, but better stopping power - go with a agressive street pad like Hawk HPS. All out stopping power with lots of dust and lots of noise - go with a track oriented pad (that is still streetable) like Hawk HT-10 or Carbotech XP8.

Replacing pads is a very easy DIY, at least on the front (assuming you have jack, stands, metric tools and torque wrench). The rears require a special tool (which you can "rent" from Autozone and such) to screw the rear piston in. Here is a picture of it:


The

 

Also if you have a shop vac use the upholestry brush and suck up any brake dust. It is not asbestos but it is still not good to breathe in. I don't know what type of driver you are but some people have worse build ups than others.

 

THANKS YALL