GM / General Motors: 2000 impala

Charles wrote: 

On a typical GM car, the front brake pads will wear thin first. At first, you
will hear a "chirping" noise. This is caused by a little metal piece that
contacts the rotor when the pad is about 95% gone. My rule of thumb is to
listen for that chirp noise and then get it to a brake shop within 500 miles,
and then there will be no rotor damage. If you let it go too long, then rotor
damage might happen.

---Bob Gross---

If you got the 5 spoke aluminum wheels you can probably see the brake
wear sqeaker and how close it is to the rotor.
Just drive the car forward till you can see the upper part of the brake
caliper.

A simple inspection will determine if you need brakes. I bought my car
in Feb 1991 and replaced the front brakes in Nov 1992 at 43,289 miles.
The original ( drum ) rear brakes were replaced in Aug 1997 at 125,000
miles.

Brake life is shorter if you drive fast & brake hard.

My uncles 94 Century has about 75,000 on the original front & rear
brakes, but he barely dives over 25 mph and does alot of coasting up to
the insections with little or no braking.

Good Luck

=========
Harryface
=========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE
~_~_~273,304 miles_~_~_

Robertwgross wrote:
 
Even easier than that order the pads ahead of time. I ordered a set of pads
and stuck them in the trunk. Once my wife hears the sound I just replace
them the next nice day.

For the front brakes (which generally wear fastest), depending on what kind
of wheels you have, you may be able to see the edge of the brake caliper
through the spokes - look at how far away the squealer tab on the brake pad
is away from the rotor. If it's getting close to the rotor, they'll probably
need changing soon. When it starts touching, that's what makes the squealing
noise to let you know to change the pads. If you keep driving it around for
very long after that, you'll start getting worse noise from the metal
backing plate of the pads grinding into the rotor, probably resulting in the
rotors needing to be replaced as well as the pads.

--
Robert Hancock Saskatoon, SK, Canada
To email, remove "nospam" from ca
Home Page: http://www.roberthancock.com/


"Charles Martinez" <rr.com> wrote in message
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