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caliper brakes question - floating pad

5K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Theman5 
#1 ·
Howdy - I'm hoping this is just a stupid question with a quick answer ... but I can't find the issue discussed anywhere.

I just replaced my rear pads and unstuck some caliper pins. When I re-installed everything, I was surprised to see that the floating pad just sits there - it's not connected in any way to the caliper. This means that it can rest lightly against the rotor all the time ... and indeed, it sounds like it is. It makes a gentle ceramic-on-metal hum when I drive.

Did I just do something wrong?
 
#2 ·
Were there shims on the back of the new pads?

Did you coat the backs of the pads with brake grease? Honda recommends Molykote.

Were the pads 'falling out loose' when you put them in place?

++++++++++

Disc brakes do not have any retracting mechanism. The above points are important.

if you can't get 'em like that, post back.
 
#3 ·
Not sure what you mean about shims on the backs of the pads. The piston-side pad had the three-pronged spring-retainer thing that inserts into the cup of the piston, and the opposite pad just has nothing.

I got top-of-the-line pads (well, CarQuest's top-of-the-line, at least), installed the shims (that form the running surface on the caliper bracket) and anti-vibration doohickey, used Permatex brake caliper grease on the wings of the pad that slide over the shims (and on the back of the pad). The pads were pretty snug in the shims when I bolted on the caliper - definitely not falling-out-loose. But able to swing a bit like a door, inside the shims.

My confusion is from the fact that the piston-side pad needs to be retained in the piston, which makes perfect sense - but the other pad isn't retained at all (i.e., in the two "fangs" of the caliper) so as to be pulled back when it's not braking against the rotor.

And of course, a lot of pistons don't have a recess, and consequently a lot of pads don't have those retaining prongs ... so in a lot of brakes, neither of the pads is actively drawn back from the rotor when not braking. ... or so I think. But I feel like I must be missing something obvious about how calipers and pads work.

Thanks for your help!
 
#4 ·
If your CarQuest pads didn't have the clip-on shims on the backs of the outer pads, you were probably expected to install the ones from the OLD pads onto the new ones.

You can see the shims, with and without 'claws', on this parts listing. (2002-2004 pads might be a different listing)


You still should apply Molycote/brake grease to the backside of each pad to reduce vibration. Also, file or sand any rust off the piston surface, and coat with brake grease.

Since you live in Canada, you would be wise to remove the stainless steel guides at the top & bottom of the pads (see 'em in the listing?), and coat the bottom of the SS guides to prevent 'rust blooms' and subsequent binding of the pads over time. 'Back in the day', Honda posted a TSB to dealers telling them to do this .
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the cold-weather tip. I'll definitely take them out and grease up those SS guides you're talking about.

My new pads definitely came with the shim that clamps around the back of the pad. But that shim itself doesn't grip the legs of the caliper at all, right? I.e., there's no positive engagement/interlock with the caliper legs. The way I installed it, when the brakes are not engaged, the pad is free to either rest with its braking face directly against the rotor, or with its rear face (the backing plate and the shim) directly against the caliper legs ... or to float around anywhere in the 1-2mm in-between. Is that correct? Is there something that retains the outer pad against the caliper legs which I forgot?

In this picture, the caliper legs would come down from the top on each side of the two U-shaped recesses in the shim, and reach to about halfway between the letters and the curved bottom of the pad ... pushing the pad from behind when the brakes are applied, but not actively retracting the pad off the rotor when the brakes are released.


139188
 
#6 ·
As I mentioned in my first reply, there is no retracting mechanism in disc brake systems...

Microscopic variances in brake disc runout are what prevents the pads from burning up in a few miles. 😁
 
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#12 ·
In all the Honda brakes I've worked on, I've noticed 2 holes on the outer edge of both pads. Came to find out that these holes are where a tiny spring fits. Each brake assembly has 2 springs, which look like a V with the ends bent 90 degrees. This spring fits both pads at each end across the disc rotor. They force the pads away from the rotor. The attached picture shows them in the lower corners.
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These springs and pads combination are quite the handful to install unless you know the secret which a gracious someone posted earlier in this forum.

The trick is to insert the new pads inside the holder, then attach the caliper with only one bolt. As an example, you loosely attach the top bolt first. Then you pivot the lower part of the caliper away from the pads until you can insert the spring into the lower 2 holes. Now loosely attach the lower bolt and remove the upper bolt. Pivot the upper part of the caliper away from the pads until you can insert the spring into the upper 2 holes. Now attach the upper bolt and tighten both bolts to specs.
 
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