So my front right brake started making a noise a few weeks back... sounded like a piece of metal was rubbing at a certain point only in reverse. Then when I started braking. And then even when I was hitting the gas.

Diagnosis: Brakes froze? They said water may have gotten into the brake lines and caused the brakes to freeze at a certain point and wear the pads down to the metal thus doing a number on the rotors.

Cliffs in Bold, yo.

SO, I'm in the market to buy 2 Front Brake Calipers, 2 Front Brake Discs, and a Brake Pad set. I was wondering if my techy Z bros could give me some direction on what to buy as I am clueless and will be getting a friend to help me put them on myself.

Much thanks to the Z bros 'n hoes!

- Heather "Mircle Whip" Miracle

 

Calipers: be sure to get 06+ calipers only as the 03-05's are different (unless you have Brembos)
Good time to upgrade to Stoptech stage 2 kit - comes with 4 rotors, pads, lines, and fluid.
If you're looking to keep it on the cheaper side, OEM rotors and OEM pads will do just fine. The "low-dust" variants tend to not brake as well in wet weather conditions, so I wouldn't recommend them.

While you're at it, be sure to pickup fresh caliper bolts and some anti-seize.

BTW... how does water get into the brake lines? Did they mean air "bubbles" in your lines because that makes much more sense. You can hydro-lock a motor by sucking water through the intake tube, but I've never heard of water getting sucked into the brake lines.

You might only just need new pads from the sound of it.

 

Damn dude! I think the 350Z owners manual just got a little jealous at your response! You're genius!

First, I'm trying to keep it cheap. I don't do much with the car anymore other than getting from point A to point B, so if you're saying the OEM works, that works! Appreciate the upgrade references tho... in time, this will happen. Is the best place to pick these up from the Nissan site?

Anti-seize. This sounds like something I wish I had had. Thanks!

Also, what you're saying about the bubbles sounds familiar? I have no idea. I think they dumbed down the response to me cuz I was a chick in heels. I hate to point fingers, but my g-pa changes out the fluids in the car whenever he feels like it and I have no idea what he does (background: he thought my clutch was the brake as the car sailed down the long drive in the street hood open and erry'thang).

 

Anh, would you also recommend upgrading to steel brake lines too? I replaced all my OEM stuff with Stop-TECH a while ago and haven't had any issues with them at all.

 

I do not think the brakes froze. I think they were just down to the metal when you decided to take a look at them.

When a brake caliper freezes, only one caliper gets the pads down to the metal while the others still work fine. Was this your case?
(This has happened to my subaru twice on the rear brakes).

If not, I would just replace brakes and rotors and take a look at them again in a week.

 

Oh, and only get new rotors if the current ones are really f.ucked up. Otherwise I think you can lathe them. But I am not sure about this. It depends on the type of rotors you have.

 

Clay, I would recommend stainless steel braided lines except not for what she's trying to accomplish. If she's just driving from A to B, (and from the sound of it) the only thing that needs replacing are the pads... probably no more than $100. You can purchase them from the dealership or even Autozone.

Like Kat_Ayanami said, when you replace the pads it's always recommended to resurface the rotors (so it'll be perfectly flat/smooth for optimal pad/rotor contact.) Any ole' gas station can perform this service for you. Takes about 5 mins per rotor and is fairly cheap.

 

The answer to the question of how water gets into the fluid.....brake fluid is glycol based and will immediately start absorbing small amounts of moisture through small pores in lines and fittings and through general exposure to air.

The rule of thumb is that the avg vehicle will will gain 2% water over 12 months in the brake fluid.

A 2% increase in water in the fluid can actually drop the boiling point of the fluid 100+ degree F causing vapor pockets which are compressible and displaces the fluid.

 

Calipers: I recommend re-manufactured calipers. It's the cheapest but also decent quality since they start with an old OEM part.

Pads: get OEM equivalent pads. For you, I also recommend semi-metallic, not ceramic pads.

Rotors: I don't really have any good recommendations on rotors. Maybe someone else can help here?


FYI that metal scraping sound is exactly what you think it is. There is a little piece of metal that is designed to scrape the rotor when your pads are very low. A stuck caliper will cause the scraping even when you aren't braking, which sounds like what happened to you.

FYI 2, next time you hear that noise, don't wait so long to get new brakes. Usually the noise gives you enough time to get things fixed before you damage your rotors.

Good luck!

 

I do not think the metal sound he was hearing was the metal clip that tells you when the pad is almost done.

When you hear metal to metal even when accelerating, it is usually when there is NO more pad left and you are braking with the metalic piece that is the back of the brake pad.

Since there is no more pad, the metal plate just moves around when the piston wants to return, making it scrape on the rotor.

 

I had a froze caliper before and because the pad did not return after breaking, the metal scraping sound was constant.

I think it's a she lol First because she signed her name Heather and second because all these were used in one post:

 

I doubt both sides 'froze'... u sure you really need BOTH calipers? Who told you all of this? Get it towed somewhere like Elite Importz or Hills Garage where you'll get taken care of without any unnecessary parts or labor.

 

A tow from Fairfax to Columbia is going to be expensive.

Bilbo Automotive is closer and they also know how to work on 350z.

 

Hey gents! Followup / Update on my brakes situation - Cliffs are in bold.

So I had taken my car to Curry's Automotive in Falls Church, Virginia and their synopsis definitely raised some red flags. According to them, both of my front calipers had seized the pads onto the rotors because water had entered the brake line at some point causing major damage to the rotors (they'd need to be replaced according to them), 2 new front calipers, and obviously 2 new front brake pads which, btw, had resulted in my failing the state inspection. The parts and labor totaled to $900+ ... ($400 for labor, $500 for parts). They didn't charge me for the cost of failing my car though.

I wrote here and what you guys told me was definitely helpful in determining that 1) I wouldn't be taking my car back to Curry's for the repairs, and the 2) something was definitely fishy with their diagnosis. I took the vehicle to a mechanically inclined friend of mine (he's built and rebuilt his '88 Porsche from the ground up multiple times), and let him make the final call on what parts I needed, if I could salvage the apparently screwed rotors, etc.

It cost me $30 bucks in brake pads and $50 in steaks and beer to get my car fixed in less than an hour. My rotors were perfectly smooth, and my friend took the calipers apart and said that their was absolutely NO signs of seizing and that I had another year on my calipers (he also knows how to refurb them) and another 2 years on my rotors. Mind = Blown. I went from having to cough up $900 bucks to $30... THIRTY dollars.

Summary, first, thank you guys for the info. Really appreciate the community and the information you all are so willing to share. If I ever find a Z bro on the side of the road, I'd stop to help just to pay it forward (don't worry, I'm usually carrying a firearm so that doesn't sound as sketchy as it should).

And also, I'm not sure if any of you take your vehicle to Curry's, but consider yourself warned. I was about to fork up nine hundies before divine car guy intervention saved me some srs cheddar!

And lastly, yes. I am a chick. I've been to a few of the meet back in the day so some people here know me as more than "Human Resources Miracle" (that's totally not what my SN stands for - it's my initials)

Cheers!

 

You should post on a review site about that shop

 

As soon as I get my car reinspected (and passed) I oh so plan to...

 

Now that everything is finished and you didn't get screwed out of $900 where are your pics? Not of the car but them legs in the heels mentioned in one of your posts.....we will provide more help if needed in the future with some quick snaps