Lexus rear brake job. Please help me. [Solved]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I found out that many O'Reilly's parts store have a brake lathe. It's almost always cheaper and no waiting days on shipping. It's so rare for people to shave them down anymore that most of the time you will have plenty of thickness left to shave them smooth. I've brought more than a dozen pairs of rotors there over the past couple of years.

Jack wrote:I always enjoy your intrepid attitude taking on these projects.  

Thanks. I owe that to the patience of my dad and grandpa. My brother and I were allowed to 'help' by being in the way. Not on every project, but enough to not be afraid to try.

I ordered the rotor and pads set from Rock Auto. Much cheaper than other places I priced. As jackstands were vetoed, I put the car up on cinderblocks.

The grooved rotor is the second picture upthread. It is the back left rotor.

I am not the final decision making person. Hunny was concerned about breaking lug nuts, or something... so he consulted with the neighbor and since they both have replaced only pads on rotors worse than ours, that's what I did.

It should have been straight forward. Those clips are a nightmare. I got the damned thing back together by headlamp light. Thank you Patrick of Truely Garden! (Formerly Loma Creek)

The calipers retracted easily with a c clamp, so I think they are fine. I did have to tuck the ummm... boot? back inside on each of the inner halves.

We will need to seat the pads properly tomorrow in the light of day. We don't need to be anywhere until Wednesday. I'll update the results then.

So the breaks make sraping noises slowly driving down the road. The car stops... ideas?

Hmmm... a clip broke, a pad fitting thingy is bent. Trying to flatten it back.

Is this a picture of the new pads?

Could you just have a bent dust shield?  That is, assuming your Lexus has dust shields...

This is a sort of sheet metal circle (think pizza pan) on the inner side of the rotor.  It will have a cutout to clear the caliper.  It is stationary, and is there to keep the worst of the crud off the rotor and away from the inner pad and caliper piston.  But only the worst of the crud.

In any case, sometimes the dust shield can get bent by getting bumped on a stump, rock, curb, football, wayward child's bicycle in the tall grass (a sad day, indeed), etc.  Some of these dust shields aren't very sturdy to start with.  214,000 miles later, all bets are off.  I usually bend my dust shields while trying to free a corrosion bonded aluminum wheel from the hub and studs with precision application of a 4-lb dead blow shot hammer.  The targeting mechanism isn't fool-proof.

If it just the dust shield - and you may be able to just peer at it with a flashlight to inspect - then it can probably be bent back straight enough with a pry bar, claw hammer, broomstick or whatever else falls readily to hand.  Gently jam the implement of choice between the rotor and the dust shield and lever it away from the rotor until it doesn't scrape any more.  This may be easier to assess with the car jacked up so the wheel can be turned by hand to check for quality control.  As before, chock the wheels, use your cinder blocks, etc.  No shortcuts, here, since it takes a long time to grow a replacement right hand, if you get my drift.  YOu may need to pull the wheel off again, for better sight lines and access.

I am not a professional by any stretch, so take my suggestion with a grain of salt.  Maybe two grains.  But I have owned a bunch of low first cost vehicles.  I paid $500 for my current daily driver, and my 4WD one-ton woods truck cost me a cool $800 (but it mostly runs and drives - not bad for a truck that was rated for 12,000lb gross).  RockAuto and I are good friends, at those prices, and not a few of the usual suspects in nearby towns.  I don't think I've ever paid less than $500, but this is at least my third $500 vehicle.  I also paid that for a Ford Escort, and for an '81 Subaru GL wagon (with part time 4WD).  I don't remember for sure what I paid for an old Toyota Tercel, but it was probably about the same.  I always figure I will put at least twice my purchase price into my vehicles within the first few months, and will spend some quality time in the driveway, laying in the mud or snow.  The Tercel and the Escort were the exceptions - they both hardly cost me a penny for as long as I had them.  But, it beats a car payment hollow.  Brakes, starters, wheel bearings, u-joints, drive-shafts (operator error - don't ask!), radiators, head gaskets - I've learned how to do a bunch of stuff by using a shop manual (in the bad old days), user forums and YouTube.  The current most pressing need is to mend the hydraulic clutch on my daily driver.  Double clutching is pretty well obligatory, at the moment.  I need to fix the leak, then it will be fine, but it's always some little thing or other.  My wife has a nice newer vehicle (2015 Honda CR-V, bought as a returned lease from a dealership out west, where there is less road salt).  I, however, do whatever is necessary to nurse along my raggedy jalopies.

Anyway, check for a dragging dust shield.  Hope springs eternal.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Hmmm... a clip broke, a pad fitting thingy is bent. Trying to flatten it back.

Are those the shims that go on the back of the pads? They're there to reduce squeaking. Try your best to bend them back into shape and get them back on, but if you can't...honestly don't fret over it.

I work as a professional auto tech, been doing it for almost 20 years. At work, on a customer's car, if I couldn't get them back on, I'd absolutely get a new set of pads. At home, on my cheap beater......I can deal with squeaky brakes. Cheaper pads don't even come with the shims.

Yes, the back side of the new pads. They were prettier straight out of the box. Yes, the shim.

I flattened the shim. I got the pads and caliper bracket put back together by using the old clip. Went for a second ride. NO NOISE! And the brakes work!

I think we can call this a success story! Woo hoo!

I think I may have put the clip in upside down the first time. So it broke.

I agree with James, if it was just the thin shim you will be just fine.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:
I think we can call this a success story! Woo hoo!

YAY!!!
I'm proud of you Joylynn!!

Seriously, Joylynn! You RAWK!!
(And all who helped her do, too!!)

Thank you everyone for your help. I feel much better about doing these things because of all ya'll.

Yes I do wrok!

Then, Hunny rained on my parade. He wants me to do the front ones soon. Aaarrrgh!

Bwahahaha!! You've created a monster!

No good deed goes unpunished.

It has been 6 days. The car still silently stops when the brake pedal is pushed. Yay!

I just want make a note to my future self...

Robert Ray wrote:First thing is to jack that baby up remove the left rear wheel and spin the rotor. It might be very obvious if as William has suggested the caliper is sticking. If the rotor spins freely with the wheel off far easier to isolate where the noise is coming from.

Put the damn car in neutral before attempting the above. Doh!