I just purchased a trans am and the brakes are shot. im limited on money so could i buy front and rear pads and use them for a month or so then use those pads on some new rotors?

 

Also my friends mom had her front rotors and pads done on a 2002 firebird and it has a jerky stop where the pads seem to be grabbing the rear at one spot over and over

 

Best option would be to sleep with your friend's Mom and then blackmail her for enough money to do a full brake job. (A Mom with a Firebird... That's hot.) When she forks over the cash - you can tell her that she has a bad brake caliper or sticking pins.


You can put new pads on old rotors, but I'd be worried about the groves (and rusted edges) in the rotors cutting up the new pads. If you can find a place that will turn the rotors until you can get new ones - that might be best.

BTW - If you buy the pads online at a place like RockAuto, you should be able to save some cash.

When you do get around to changing the rotors, you'll need to adjust your parking brake to the new rotor bores in the rear. (The adjustment is on both sides of the car and can only be done with the rotors off.)

 

Thats funny..lol....the only problem is not only is she my friends mom but she is also my girlfriends mom so anyways point aside....hawk hps vs red stuff?

 

I got a full set of slotted and drilled rotors for $125 shipped on Ebay 2 years ago and they are still Great and put autozone gold brake pads on. I don't remember who I got the rotors from but I was in the same boat and figuered what the hell I'll take a chance. It worked out Great for me. Take a look on Ebay.

 

... excellent - I actually had a boss that pulled that off.

Lots of folks swear by the Hawk pads but for daily driving I've been really happy with the AC Delco pads. They work well, produce hardly any brake dust, and are a fair price.

 

Ill check the ebays out. I work at advance so I could get the golds but I have had bad experiences with them on other cars. We carry Akebonos at advance. Are they any good?

 

Go to the vendor's specials in the classifieds, pads and rotors for 165 shipped.

 

check brakeotive out on here you can get pads an rotors for like 180 bucks or less. good quality too

 

Not enough emphasis is put on addressing the root cause of most brake problems I've seen on these cars: frozen pins. If you have a frozen or sticking pin in any caliper, it will cause you to warp and new set of rotors and pads fast, regardless of manufacturer. Grease your pins and put new rotors/pads on, then forget about them for 3+ years.

 

MY 98 New from the factory had a pulse and itonly got worse with time. Chevrolet was in Denile about the problem and I carried for years cutting and replacing them until i bout the drilled and slotted.

 

Ok I will definitely grease the pins. I wanted to paint the calipers while doing brakes and I saw the write up on that was good. 165 shipped is great.