My mechanic said he 'heard something' and 'checked rear brakes' and they need replacement - that he can do for $240. How do I check the state of my rear brakes?

 

Drums or Disc?

 

GIGO

You have to GIVE us info before you can GET any. What vehicle are you talking about???

 

Typically they will make noise, like squeel, all the time. This is mainly disc but drum too. Look to see how much actual pad material left is there, a few millimeters, almost flat? This can be seen once the wheel is off through the caliper or once the drum is off. Mileage usually is the winning bet, if it's around 70 000 miles, it's due and pretty much that many miles thereafter at most. Grinding or any funky pedal feel should raise a few red flags. When replacing, my suggestion is Carquest semi-metallic "blue" pads, excellent everything, trust me, I know brakes!!!

 

2002 F150 4x2 4.6L V8

Truck has 81k miles, I owned it since 55k and never changed rear brakes. There is no squealing and the mech said there's a grinding noise or feeling; IDK if I might be hearing a slight one or if it's my imagination. But I didn't notice any beforehand. There is no towing done on the truck, but I race it around and brake hard and ride brakes all the time. I exchanged my front ones twice at least or maybe three times I can't remember.

 

Sounds like you need rear brakes. Usually two sets of front to one set of rears, but maybe the proportioning valve is out of adjustment if your going three to one.

 

I hate to say but a mech will more than likely tell you the brakes are in need of replacing. Moreso with women, easier job security. I would have it done probably anyways, but make sure they are in need. My aunt took her van in for oil change, the guy said he tested the coolant and it read zero. Zero what? Then she flipped thinking the coolant was nothing but water and would freeze below 32F. I laughed and showed her what he called sludge and asked if he had her look at the overflow. I pulled the rad cap off and whaddyaknow, nice green antifreeze, tested at 37F below too no less. It's a good idea to replace brakes before it's too late, but don't freak the people out misleading them, educate them. I love it when they pull this with me, I all but say "go f@&% yourself" and they're like okay then.

 

Assuming you have discs (2002), it is pretty easy. Pull the wheels and look at the thickness left on the pads. Just look at the friction material, don't count the metal plate in that measurement. Anything below about 3/16" I would replace.

If your pads have little indicators (small metal strips that are designed to contact the rotors and make a lot of noise when pad wear becomes critical) and they are close to touching, or have started to touch, you definitely need pads.

Drag the tip of your fingernail radially across the disc surface. If you feel any deep gouges, regardless of the remaining pad thickness noted above, it is time for service.

Have a look at this article...

Here's another...

Good luck

 

3/16" is close to half the pad thickness. They're not critical until they're under 3/32".

 

I agree with Steve because about that time, 3/32"-1/8" they start with the noises and grinding etc. 3/16" seems a little thick to be replacing on pads or shoes alike. It's alot of money to be giving out if you don't have to or don't do brake jobs yourself. Really though, the rears, if discs, are really easy to do, as long as the rotor comes off easy (e-brakes). A piece of advice: keep an eye on the operation of the e-brakes especially, they are goofy and ***ue up alot.

 

Those links I posted, one said think about replacing once they get below 1/4", the other said definitely at 1/8", which is consistent with what I said and have practiced for years.

I said "Anything below about 3/16" I would replace" which is midway between those suggestions.