OT-car brake help needed

 The Subaru braking seems weak. I couldn't find time to work on it so
sent it to the mechanic, who did nothing other than inspect the pads
and shoes (disc front, drum rear) and tell me the rotors are glazed,
pads and drums have 50% life, nothing to worry about, not worth
de-glazing the rotors they'll just glaze again, thanks for the
business see ya later.

Clearly, glazed rotors aren't going to provide ideal stopping power.
Is it worth hitting them with some 120 grit? get a brake disc hone?
have them re-surfaced?

I think I may as well replace the pads while I'm working on the
rotors. Any recommendations on pads? Just go OEM?

I did pull the cap off the master cylinder, fluid looks OK, but I
noticed the rubber cap that seals the lid (diaphragm?) has a nice even
10mm long slit in the center. Is this the way the part should be? My
YZ brake diaphragms are one piece, no slits. Doesn't seem right to me,
but the slit looks to even and clean to be a wear failure.

thanks...

--
Charles
'99 YZ250

 
I don't know anything about the Suburu, so take my advice with a grain
of salt. Rotors for most American cars are cheap, maybe $30 each for
new ones. You can have them turned at most brake repair shops or
machine shops for under $15. Pads are cheap too for american cars.

As far as the gasket/boot/diaphram is concerned: I have always been
under the impression that it should NOT have a slit in it. The slit
may cause moisture to enter your system or even leak out. The diaphram
is suppose to expand as your brakes wear, therefore not allowing air
space for moisture to build up in. Just my opinion, I could be wrong
on all this. :-)

Hank <~~~never gets a brake......oops, I mean break

 wrote:



    Personally, I've never considered working on my own rotors simply
because, as Hank points out, you can get them resurfaced
professionally for about 15 bucks at many local parts stores or
machine shops. O'Reillys did my last pair.

   It's been my experience that I need the rotors resurfaced with
every other pad change, unless I let the pads wear too much and the
rivets start gouging the rotors... in that case the rotors *always*
need resurface or replacement.

   I don't recall *ever* having takin' a vehicle to the shops for
brakes, so I have a bit of experience in this sort of maintenance.


   OEM pads are really better than the Autozone $14.99 pads with
lifetime warranty. So if you go to an Autozone type store, look for
the higher priced options. I'm told that Axxis Ultimates are about the
same price as OEM and are very, very good pads (a lot of the "tuner"
guys use them for their regular street cars and daily driving).

   I bought some ceramic pads once and didn't like them at all, but
maybe that's just me. They squealed a lot and seemed to cause more
rotor glazing. Semi-metallic is what I use. You get a bit more brake
dust with semi-metallic (vs ceramic), but they work great, are
affordable, and don't eat the rotors too bad.


   I'm guessing no, but I honestly couldn't say. It'd be nice if you
could find a new one for comparison. I just know that none of my MC
diaphragms have had such a slit. Good luck, Charles.


Fred Bradford - CrashTestDummy
fjbradfordREMOVE@tx.rr.com

 On Fri, 09 May 2008 06:10:26 -0500, CrashTestDummy


I had lifetime warranty pads from AutoZone on my F-150.  They
needed replaced about every 12,000 miles or so.  Yes, they were
"free", but still took the time to pull the pads, drive to AZ, get
the new ones, drive home, install, etc.

I've got about 120,000 on my Silverado's original pads and they're
still about half there.  I don't care what they cost, I'll be
buying OEM from now on.  If I can get to a half million miles on
one brake job, I'll be reasonably pleased.


----
Team NCS Off Road
----

 HardWorkingDog asks:


While I don't know what is wrong with your brakes, you should
know that Subaru (and my mechanic buddy that isn't a Sub dealer)
both insist that Sub discs should only be resurfaced ON the car.
I never figured out why but it supposedly has something to do
with the way they mount.  Buy new or have somebody with
some expensive machine to do it on the car do it if you believe
this.



That doesn't sound right.  It needs to be leak free to work right I
think.  Maybe you need a new one and a fluid change.  Does the lack
of brakes get worse when brakes are hot - indicating water in the
fluid is boiling?


Go fast. Take chances.
Mike S.