I have an 05 sedan (rwd). I need new brake pads badly and the front rotors are in need of resurfacing. They vibrate slightly when braking from speeds above 65mph. Anyway, I bought the brake pads (oem infiniti) and have a friend that is going to do the labor for $95 + the $30 it will cost to take the fronts to napa for resurfacing. Not bad considering Dealership wants $250 for the same thing.

Anyway, I have 2 questions:

1.) The dealership told me to make sure that I get a shim kit or the brakes will wobble, vibrate, wear unevenly etc. Is this really necessary?

2.) The dealership also told me that the resurfacing MUST be done on the car (ie not at napa) and that if I didn't do this they wouldn't be done properly and would still vibrate. Is this also necessary? I don't see what would make our cars any different from any other car that you would have resurfaced off the car.


Is the dealership trying to scare me in to getting the work done there or are these items really necessary? As always any input is greatly appreciated.



-Daniel

 

btw I'm non brembo

 

You cut the rotor on the car to account for variations in the hub. If you cut it on the car, it accounts for the variations, however if you dont it's not the end of the world. @ 71k on the odometer the hub "should" be ok and your mechanic friend will have the tool to check. I'd say cut the rotor off the car based on the opinion of the mechanic.

 

what about the shim situation? Do shims come with the pads?

 

There are two types of shims. The shims that they are probably referring to are rotor shims which come in sizes .003" correction, .006" correction and .009". It's like a $10 or $15 if needed. Rotor runout will determine the need for shims. So if your mechanic finds no runout, you will not need shims.

 

How much are brake pad shims? How are they sold? In sets or i have to pay $50 for each wheel? as far as the Rotor shims how do I know if i have rotor shims because I know that I don't have brake pad shims

 

here's another question... About a week ago for about 5 days my car was making the most horrid scratching squealing sound from the right rear brake. Even when the brakes were not applied it would continue. It then became intermitent and now is gone. Was that an early warning system type deal? Or is everything on that pad just completely gone now? I'm not trying to push it on my brakes till something gets ****ed up but I would like to know if I could wait till saturday to get this taken care of...