Rear disc brake pad replacement

[Doohickie]

I passed 39k this week and noticed a brake squealer last night. From what I read on the forums, this is pretty typical mileage out of rear brake pads. I had the rear brakes laying around; got them last fall, so I put them in today. I took some pics along the way. I can write it up for anyone that needs help with brakes.

All four pads were pretty much identical. One side was squealing; the other side was real close.

[mlumz]

yeah write a diy, i gotta change my fronts in the future. I only got 35k on my rears

[reallyflycouple]

I found that you can extend the life of the rear pads by removing the large shim that attaches to the caliper itself. It presses against the pads and isn't needed as the caliper is fit to not allow the pads to move around. When you get a little dirt and corrosion in there, it was causing my pads to drag a little. I took mine out and noticed much less dust collecting on the rims after. I don't know if all years use the shim. Mine was a 06 GT.

[Doohickie]

I didn't see any dirt in there at all. That "shim" is actually a spring that holds the pads to keep them from rattling. It's function is to keep the pads from moving around (in certain directions).

[2002 GLS]

Holy!? 39K thats it!?

I am pretty sure i am on all original brakes, with 68K miles. I did buy it used at 58K miles, so im not sure that the owner replaced them, i dont think so, the drums are rusty... like flaky. but the ebrake works.

[Doohickie]

I've the hatch, which is heavier in the back, and the disc brakes. I think that makes a difference. A lot of owners report having to replace their rear pads at about 40k. In my case I got them for free from someone who had sold his Elantra but had already bought the pads. So I'm just out an hour or two of my life. (Next time will take much less; I was kind of looking around and checking things out and stuff.)

[ricerrx7]

Drums last longer. That's fairly typical mileage for disc brakes.

[reallyflycouple]

The spring your talking about does nothing. My pads didn't move anywhere except in and out for application of stopping. They overkilled the pressure on the pads. I talked to my old Hyundai tech buddies and they agreed that was a good idea. Try it. Trust me, they don't fall out or rattle. I only got 48,000km on mine before I hit the squealers. And my rotors warped at 24k from the excess drag that couldn't be corrected.