Brake pads...you get what you pay for
About 55,000 miles ago, I had to replace the front rotors and brake pads on our Quigley 4x4 conversion (too much riding the brakes coming down from Donner Summit). I bought the replacement rotors and pads from Quigley's supplier and had them installed by Custom Alignment in Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A couple years ago, during a routine "oil filter/lube" appointment at our local Ford dealer, the Ford service manager called to inform me that the front pads needed to be replaced and I had them do it. A week later, the brakes started squeaking every time I applied the brakes. I complained to Ford and they applied an "anti-squeak" lubricant to them which worked for a week and then the squeak was back. I gave up and decided to live with it.
Finally, last week, I decided I'd had enough and decided to replace the front pads even though there was plenty of pad left. This time, I went back to Custom Alignment. In calling them about my problem, they explained that they didn't use stock pads but use "fleet" pads (which, I assume are heavy-duty). They also always turn the rotors to match the pads and chamfer the trailing edge of the pads, both to minimize "chatter" or squeaks. Once our van was on the rack and they had inspected the components, they also noticed the need to replace a couple of the steering bushings (not unexpected with the weight of our vans). After installing the replacement pads, they test drove it and found that it was pulling to one side. They swapped the pads from one side to the other but another test drive found that that just moved the problem to the other side, which suggested that the pads on one side were the problem. They ordered another set of pads and installed them...that corrected the problem.
I drove the van down to Fresno for a new house battery this morning and braking was straight without any pulling. And no brake squeak!
So...think before you decide to take advantage of that cheap brake pad replacement deal...no connection with Custom Alignment except for handing them our credit card...I've also used them a couple of times for replacement shocks and other alignment issues.
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Jack
'01 Ford EB50p Quigley 4WD
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