Akebono ProACTs with ~1,500 miles on them. I’ve been having brake noise and was wondering if these look glazed? And if so how to fix them. I am looking into other areas that may be causing the brake noise (stop slip)
Brake pad glazing
- Thread starter TheReal_DW
- Start date
What do the rotors look like? 
They don't look too bad to me 
Do you do a lot of cold stops from low speeds? I notice a prominent ring near the outer diameter, but I don't see anything reflecting that on the pads.
Do you do a lot of cold stops from low speeds? I notice a prominent ring near the outer diameter, but I don't see anything reflecting that on the pads.
Yes I do, will that cause it? My slide pins were also not properly lubedThey don't look too bad to me
Do you do a lot of cold stops from low speeds? I notice a prominent ring near the outer diameter, but I don't see anything reflecting that on the pads.
Yes, sometimes brakes can make noise at low speed stops, especially when cold.
The bad slide pins don't help, either. Perhaps that could've caused the outer ridge. It's a good thing you caught it early, as another year could've caused the pins to completely seize, and the pads would show tapered wear, and possibly the rotors too.
How well did you bed them in? Never hurts to go out and do a good handful of hard slow-downs and then a nice long drive afterward to get the pad temps up and let them cool off.
Akebono proacts require aggressive bedding?
I've installed several sets of Akebono ACT's on various cars and have been pleased with all them up until the last set I put on my daughter's Ford Edge. After a few hundred miles they started squeaking (chirping) incessantly at random times at both low and high speeds. When she was finally able to get time to come back home I replaced the Akebono's with Bosch Quiet Cast pads and problem solved. There was nothing I could see wrong with the Akebono's, but both front and rears were making noise.
Replaced and re-lubed the pins very lightly, made sure that no sil-glyde got onto the tip of the pins. Put on the new boots and put everything back together. Pads fit pretty well, they can be pulled in and out with little resistance. The pins move a bit more freely; the ones with a rubber o-ring are still a bit resistant but I assume that is purposeful. There’s no grease at the bottom of the pinholes. The front brakes were replaced 2,000 miles ago and the rear 900 miles ago.
The old pins one of the rubber pieces was kind of chipping off and there was a lot of grease in the pinholes and on the pins, a mix of the old and “new” pink looking grease.
After this, I went onto the road for ~45 minutes and did 30-10mph, 45-10mph, 50-10mph, 60-10mph hard but not pedal to the metal stop cycles with 2-5 minute breaks in between to let the rotors and pads cool. I am unsure if it stopped the issue, but would something like what I just did undo the potential glazing?
North Carolina, not too much rust here luckily. If it doesn’t return maybe we can meet if you are in the area.
This vehicle never had its brake fluid change until recently 5 months ago. 13 years of neglect because a service advisor told the previous owner it just needed to be topped up every once in awhile. I never thought to mention this but could it be internal damage in the piston causing the stick-slip?
I was thinking of Bosch Quietcast on my test drive back, if I can’t find a fix I’ll consider spending a bit of money to try those new pads.
Is it okay to just swap to new pads on the same rotors without resurfacing them with a machine since they have already been broken in?
I haven't met a pad yet that didn't benefit from a well done bedding cycle.
Bosch blues and z17 do fine without the hardcore bedding
I sent you a pm.
Depends on condition of the rotor if it’s doable may want to use a maroon scrubby pad in non directional circular motion to break down existing friction material give the rotors a cleaning in hot soapy water with some dish detergent dry them real good they’ll flash rust a little but brake cleaner will take it off. Bosch quietcast cast usually use a truer match oe friction material my opinion they may not be as rotor friendly for a pad slap vs if the rotors were resurfaced or new. Powerstop z17 and Bosch blue which I have used several times despite the power stop packaging on bedding procedure are a more forgiving and pad slap friendly alternative. If you’re looking for reliable quiet stops on a daily driver those two mentioned are good options. As long as rotors are true, calipers are in good health a long with clean functioning slides.
My rotors were still practically new with only 5K miles on them so I did nothing to them beyond making an attempt to scuff the surface with some 200 grit sandpaper in a circular motion and then spraying them clean with brake cleaner. I also made sure to go through the complete bedding procedure before calling the job done. For my car that was sufficient.
I recently did a brake job on a 13 year old chevy truck with akebono pads,this is what I found -
Generic ceramics often:------
Akebono pads create a stable transfer film with normal driving. Generic ceramics often need aggressive bedding to stabilize the friction layer.
Break‑in behavior
Akebono pads do not require a formal bedding procedure. Their friction is fully cured at the factory, so they don’t need the “10 hard stops from 60 mph” routine.Generic ceramics often:------
- Need bedding to burn off resins
- Smell or smoke during first use
- Leave uneven deposits if not bedded correctly
Akebono pads create a stable transfer film with normal driving. Generic ceramics often need aggressive bedding to stabilize the friction layer.