GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I searched, couldn't really find anything about this. Lots of brake info, not so much on calipers themselves.So I went to Goodyear this morning to get my free tire rotation. Waiting around, drinking coffee, and the tech comes out with that "we need to talk" look on his face. I follow him out and he's got the GT up on the rack with all four tires off. He shows me the brake & caliper set-up on one side, points out the pads themselves and tells me that's normal wear.Then, we go to the front drivers side and he shows me where one pad is significantly more worn than the other. He says that it may be that the caliper is or was seized up at some point and wasn't fully letting go (decompressing?). Anyway, it's worn down my pad. He says "I'm surprised you haven't noticed any shimmies or anything like that". Nope, I haven't. No squealing brakes either, so the pad's not toooo low yet. No weird braking issues at all, really. I ask him, if the pad was low enough to be a problem wouldn't it hit the indicator bar and make a godawful noise? He says "not necessarily". So I ask him for a quote.They want $350 to replace the front brake pads and one caliper. a rebuilt caliper at that. Seems really steep to me. So a few questions for the gurus here:- anyone ever had this problem? Could it be a bad caliper or is it not uncommon to have one pad more worn than another?- is $350 ridiculous or...? - I'd like to DIY if it does need to be swapped, how hard a job is it? I came across Sublimewind's great brake tutorial, but its missing a pic, hope its not something crucial - am i okay to wait until my brakes start giving me the squeak? and thus, I have exposed my ignorance of brake systems. Any advice would be great, thanks in advance.

the front brakes are really easy to do. the hardest part will be getting the rotor off to be resurfaced/replaced.Most likely though your slide pins/guide pins are rusted and not alowing for the calliper to float.

It most likely does not need replacing. If you clean up the sliders nicely and lubricate them properly the calipers will last quite a while longer. Do them all while your at it and change the front pads or even all four corners.Calipers will last indefinately if the sliders are kept clean and greased every couple of years.

thanks guys..anyone have a link to a good DIY for caliper maintenance? i've got 65k on this beast, so i'm sure the pads could stand a refresher, but i really don't want to buy a new caliper if i don't have to.

If the caliper was bad and stuck both sides would be worn prematurely. I agree it is probably the pins. You can replace the pads yourself for about 40 bucks, and lubricate the pins. I just went through this with a minivan. Dealer said the pads had 5%. Wanted 280 for pads and rotor shave. Bought new pads for 40 bucks and replaced them in an hour. The dealer was bsing us, the pads had at least 5-10K left. Disk brakes are a gold mine for auto mechanics. If I did it in an hour, the dealer could do it in 20 minutes.

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »thanks guys..anyone have a link to a good DIY for caliper maintenance? i've got 65k on this beast, so i'm sure the pads could stand a refresher, but i really don't want to buy a new caliper if i don't have to. I have a full front brake tutorial in the DIY section stickies..

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »I have a full front brake tutorial in the DIY section stickies.. and an awesome tutorial it is. I will use it for sure. One picture is missing or the link is broken, though. What's in that photo? It's maybe the 6th one down.

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »and an awesome tutorial it is. I will use it for sure. One picture is missing or the link is broken, though. What's in that photo? It's maybe the 6th one down. That was a pic that happened to have my sweaty man chest in the background, and they pulled it from my PB as well... rotten B-tards...