More brakes; O'Reilly's rotors, pads, shoes OK?

[UncleS2]

Yup, yet another brake thread- forgive me please!

After 204,7xx miles, my 97 Neon Sport finally needs some attention to its factory-installed brakes. Boy, you just can't trust these American-brand cars, huh?

For those of you who might know a thing or three about 95-99 Neons & their brake variations, mine has 14" wheels, 5-lug hubs, disc front, drum rear. I plan to replace the front rotors & pads at a minimum, probably the rear shoes as well, & even the rear drums if needed(drums seem unlikely though).

After reading here, it seems we can't trust that spending more $$ will buy us better brake rotors. Prices at O'Reillys, A-Zone, & Adv Auto vary quite a bit, with O'Reilly's having the best price overall(website, but sez they're stocked at my local store). Also, there's an O'Reillys about 5 miles from my house, while the nearest A-Zone is 25 miles, & Adv Auto is almost 35 miles. CarQuest about 25 mi, never dealt with them before, & Pep Boys is over 70 miles, out of the question.

With all this- is there any reason to avoid the O'Reillys parts? Think they call 'em Brakebest, or Bestbrake, something like that- but let's face it, they probaboy get 'em from the same suppliers as most other auto parts chains. If anyone's had really bad experiences with O'Reillys brake rotors, pads, or shoes please post here & sound off. Otherwise- well, let's just say that proximity *and* price put O'Reillys at the top of my list so far. And I'm getting mighty tired of babying the brakes & hearing that squeak.

Oh yeah- if you have a preference of type/brands of pads etc at O'Reillys I'm willing to learn. TIA

 

[The Critic]

Quote:

---

After reading here, it seems we can't trust that spending more $$ will buy us better brake rotors.

---

True, but spending more $$ does buy you better pads.

Quote:

---

With all this- is there any reason to avoid the O'Reillys parts?

---

My recommendation is to get the cheapest imported "Chinese" rotors but pair them with GOOD pads. ThermoQuiet pads by Wagner are priced quite reasonably for your car and are available at the store of your choice.

Example:

Front Brake Pads:
Wagner ThermoQuiet MX642= $35.99

Rear Brake Shoes:
Wagner ThermoQuiet PAB519R= $29.99

I wouldn't worry about the rear drums. Just resurface them and install a new set of shoes and a new hardware kit.

Whatever you do, buy a packet of CRC or Permatex synthetic brake caliper grease (single-use packs for around $1) and lube the shim, pad abutment points, and slide pins. Do NOT use the adhesive, orange colored disc brake quiet (or equivalent aerosol version) on the pads!

 

[UncleS2]

Thanks, TC. I know you've been researching this lately, & suspect that's very good advice. I had to go right by the O'Reillys shortly after posting, & went in. They had a pair of rotors in stock for my car, & they looked as good as any I've ever seen- for $19.99 each.

They also had their house-brand/BrakeBest semi-metallic pads in stock, $19.99/set, w/limited lifetime warranty. So I bought rotors and pads- but think I'll take your advice, return the pads & have 'em order a full set of the Wagner ThermoQuiet pads & shoes, should arrive overnight. Kinda pricey, but I want to do this *once* & be done with it. And I do like that this way I get a truly "matched set" of front pads & rear shoes.

The other alternative- wait till I go to Longview later this week & get a set of A-Zone Duralast Gold ceramic front pads($30.99) & their rear brake shoes, which are a different material than the front pads. But I'll probably just buy the high-grade Wagner shoes & pads and let O'Reillys make a few $ off me.

Thanks for the input.

 

[alreadygone]

Been installing OReilley's BRAKEBEST brand pads for over 10 years now as our standard use brake job. Do 3 to 12 brake installs every week. From new rotors and pads, to resurface rotors/replace pads, to slap on a set of pads and hope for the best. Whatever customer's willing to pay for. Nine out of ten of our resurface/replace pad jobs go more miles than original parts lasted. How much better do you want?

Bob

 

[Virtuoso]

I agree. I'm using the cheapest BrakeBest pads O'Rileys had for my Saturn and am very happy with the performance, especially for the price. This is coupled with the cheap rotors they carried as well.

 

[UncleS2]

Alreadygone & Virtuoso, you've about convinced me to go with the front pads I have. The only thing that bugs me is that for rear brake *shoes*, O'Reilly has only 2 choices- the Wagner Thermoquiets for $30, or some BrakeBest *Rebuilt* rear shoes for $13. I know that rebuilt shoes should be OK for he rear drums, but it just kinda bugs me. Still, I made over 200,000 miles on the factory brakes- maybe even the rebuilt shoes will make it to 300,000!

 

[beanoil]

I second the ThermoQuiet. That was my choice for my 99 F250 pulling a 7klb travel trailer. Great pads. Sounds like you have a good combination brewing there.

 

[UncleS2]

Decisions, decisions! I just need to remember that the difference in price between the house brand shoes & pads, & the Thermoquiets, is equal to less than 10 gallons of gas.

 

[frank2009]

Another vote for thermo-quiets. i put them on my '97 neon a few years ago; no problems at all. i'm planning to install a new set soon. there is also a $15 rebate till the end of august. Here is the link:
http://www.ultimateroadtrip2007.com/images/UltimateRoadTrip_Rebate.pdf

 

[UncleS2]

Thank You! for that link, Frank- a $15 rebate salts it away, I'll go with the Thermoquiets.

My late-night math was *Wrong*, the TQ's cost $33+ tax more than the house pads & house *rebuilt* shoes- still only 12 gal of gas or 1 fill-up on a really empty tank.

The rebate will whittle it down by 5 gallons!

 

[Russ]

I would stay away from the O'Reilly's house brand (whatever the name of it is) brake products altogether.
About 7 years ago I put a set of their front rotors and pads on my 95 F150. The brakes started to squeal about 1 mile after leaving the shop (I am talking about a loud, consistent squealing sound that would take place literally every single time the brakes were applied). The rotors warped after a couple of 30-mile trips on the highway. I never bothered with returning either the pads or rotors. As a result, a horrific amount of brake dust accumulated on the front wheels over the next couple of months.
When I finally got around to replacing the brakes again, I decided to bite the bullet and go with Wagner hardware (pads and rotors). Same vehicle, same driving style, same installation procedure (I am quite confident that I know how to perform a brake job - I have done quite a few in my day) and none of the problems described above.
My recommendation is to go with Wagner brand for both pads and rotors.

 

[wagsg]

Make sure to print a copy of the prices from the website (which ever store you buy from) and compare it to the store price. They do not always match. I put pads/rotors from Checker Auto on my daughter's Galant this past weekend and the internet price was higher on the pads and lower on the rotors, so they gave me the lowest price on both.

BTW, I used the Raybestos PG Plus Ceramics for about $32 along with the cheap (China) rotors. So far, not a peep out of them and little to no dust!

My opinion is to stick with either Wagner or Raybestos brands for pads, no matter what type of material you want.

 

[UncleS2]

Thanks for the further input, guys. I've already ordered the Wagner ThermoQuiet pads & shoes, should be at the store right now. Plan to go with the $20 rotors & the TQ pads & shoes, mebbe new rear drums. What I've found so far:

*The I-net price & local O'Reillys store price are the same on pads, shoes, rotors, & drums for my car.
*It'll cost $6 each to get my old rear brake drums turned- or $10 each for brand new ones! If they look as good as the rotors, I'll just buy new drums too.
*No signs of fluid leaks anywhere in the brake system- though I haven't pulled the rear drus yet. I'll be mighty surprised if those wheel cylinders are leaking though.

Oh yeah, about the little brake lube packets- they say that those might indeed be a good idea for their "normal" pads, but the shop owner(this place started as a repair garage, they added the parts store years later) said he'd be extremely surprised if the TQ pads needed anything other than a clean dry installation.

 

[The Critic]

The lube MUST be used to lubricate the caliper slide pins or else the calipers will stick/drag. The lube should also be used to lubricate the pad abutment points to minimize noise. With the TQ pads, its probably optional to apply a thin layer of the lube to the back of the pad, but I still recommend it since you already have the lube.

Remember to ask for Permatex or CRC branded "synthetic brake caliper grease," not the "disc brake quiet" product.

 

[engineer20]

i was wondering the same, are brakebest pads good? is the premium worth it and do they last longer than the regular brakebests? theyr'e better than azone duralasts, but how do they compare to napa brake pads? i'm thinking about doing my first diy brakejob on the camry soon

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The lube MUST be used to lubricate the caliper slide pins or else the calipers will stick/drag. The lube should also be used to lubricate the pad abutment points to minimize noise. With the TQ pads, its probably optional to apply a thin layer of the lube to the back of the pad, but I still recommend it since you already have the lube.

Remember to ask for Permatex or CRC branded "synthetic brake caliper grease," not the "disc brake quiet" product.


Agreed on the lube. Avoid their Versachem stuff, it just does not last. The Permatex and CRC stuff is good, but I still prefer good old Sil Glyde, which my local O' Reilly keeps a small stock of.