Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 11:56:34 -0700
Reply-To: Jere Hawn <jbrschawn@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jere Hawn <jbrschawn@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: Survey: brake pad life
In-Reply-To: <BB472955DE9DD411993300B0D03E7977B846FB@nwwmail01.nww.usace.army.mil>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
Hi,
15K-20 K is about what I get out of mine. (I did get 130K out of the drums
on the first set and still running on the second at 120K)
90 vanagon
manual
Mountains, hills and the flats (pacific northwest) and a mix of highway and
city (50/50)
I use Napa “lifetime” warranty pads and I don’t turn the rotor unless there
is a significant grove or warping (usually about 4 pads per turning) or
about every 2-3 years
Note for those who have been hesitant to do the work them selves. I am not
a professional mechanic, and I have changed pads wearing a suit and tie in
about 30 minutes. All you need after you take the tire off is a 13 mm
wrench to remove one side of the caliper and loosen the other then roll back
the caliper. A pair of needle nose pliers to remove the clips and old pads
(keeps dirt off hands and suit). Compress the caliper piston all the way
back. Drop in shims and pads (don’t forget the orange or blue
stuff/glue/anti-squeak stuff, it use to come with the pads but I haven’t
seen it in the box in a couple of years). Roll the caliper back, tighten,
and put the tire back on. I bleed the breaks every other time which add
about 30 more minutes and the use of a highly skilled digi-wife or digi-kid
to push the break peddle.
Good luck
Jere
90 GL
88 GL
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf Of
Moritz, Thomas W NWW
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2001 8:44 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Survey: brake pad life
Fellow Vanagon owners -
I have just had the brake pads replaced and rotors turned on our '90 Westy.
This only after 14,000 miles! My mechanic was very surprised that the
brakes had worn down in such a short period. The fact is he doesn't have a
lot of clients with vanagons and I think we are the only ones with a Westy.
After a call to a colleague in Portland who maintains more of these unique
vehicles our mechanic came back to me with the following explanation.
The Westy is a heavy vehicle. Combine that with an automatic transmission
and the demand on the brakes is very high. If you do a lot of around the
town driving or mountain driving that requires additional braking the brake
life will be decreased even further. My colleague in Portland said that 20K
is about average pad life for his customers with standard transmission
Vanagons. Less for Vanagons with automatic transmissions and he would
assume less for Westfalias with automatic transmissions.
I am trying to get a better feel for how many miles I can expect out of our
brakes so I would like to survey the list and compile some data on this
subject. If I get sufficient response to the questions below I will post my
analysis at a later date. If somebody has already done this and you are
aware of it, please let me know.
My questions for the list are:
Based on you repair history/records, how many miles do you get out of your
disc brake pads?
What type of vehicle do you own, Vanagon, Weekender, Westy?
What kind of transmission does your vehicle have, standard or automatic?
What percentage of your driving is in-town/city, highway cruising,
hills/mountains requiring frequent braking?
Do you or your mechanic use VW pads, or aftermarket pads?
Thanks,
Tom Moritz
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