Rate My Brakes!

Okay, my brakes have been squealing lately, and before I go to my mechanic I always like to have at least a loose idea of what work needs to be done. Plus, I'm pretty handy with stuff and am considering following the instructions in that thread of a few months back when that fellow showed how to change your pads/rotors. Here's some pictures of 3 of my brake pads, as well as one that gives a good view of what my rotors look like. What do people think, how much life do these have on them? While rotors do have a "lip", they are otherwise very consistent with no cracks, etc.

in the second pic it looks like you have zero pad but I think its the angle... the rotors have a fairly big groove, but not spent (esp for street) they look "glazed" have you given them a good work out lately? I would start there...read tire rack's "how to bed brakes" its a good work out for them..then get them used a little more...brake later and harder IMO - the squeaking should lesson or at least give you a smile and less to worry about

I can't see any obvious problems. Your rotors look worn and it looks like the pads are fairly worn as well but still have material on them. You need to actually measure each rotor thickness with a mic and compare to minimum specs to know where you are. I've never heard first hand of resurfacing the discs but I'm sure you could have them kissed if you're within the usable range. Then fit new pads and you're good to go. The difference between DIY and having a shop do the work is shops are in business to make a profit and hopefully do the most complete and best job out there regardless of cost. This most likely will get expensive with new discs, rotors, all misc hardware, sensors, etc and possibly a fluid change. With a DIY, you can reuse some of the components that are not subject to wear, turn the rotors, shop for pads, spend extra time cleaning and painting the hats, etc. GL!

Time to change

To me it looks like you are a little more than half way through the pad.

+1 on using micrometer on discs. 26mm is minimum front disc thickness, and 22 mm is minimum for the rear. These are each only 2 mm less than new disc thickness, which makes turning the discs a very dodgy proposition. Harbor Freight tools has a 3-micrometer set for $30, accuracy is plenty good for brake work. As for the pads...you're probably okay for street use as long as the wear material is noticeably thicker than the backing plate. If you track your car at all you want thicker (1/4", or about twice the backing plate thickness). Squealing could be result of someone not installing the front/real anti-vibration dampeners at a previous brake job. They're not cheap (cost about on par with new pads themselves). You can reuse the old ones if you go to the trouble of removing the old adhesive and then using CRC Disc Brake Quiet (pink adhesive) to re-adhere them. Note--reusing but not re-adhering them will likely keep them from delivering good "no squeal" performance...so glue them back on. 996 brakes are remarkably easy to work on; simple DIY job. There's a good set of videos on youtube (search on "porsche 996 brake repair"...vsvenson did a great set of videos). I just did my first pad replacement on my 996 in a few hours; these videos were a great teaching aid for me ahead of doing the work. Good luck.

You're probably ok for now but as mentioned before the ruler isn't going to do it since we're measuring with millimeters here - you're going to need a micrometer. The pads will eventually need changing but the squealing could be remedied just by going on the highway and hitting the brakes hard to a near-stop a few times in a row. The whole thing is pretty easy to do if you decide to take on this project yourself.

as for the "glue" mentioned above....avoid using that stuff....you dont need it - plenty of people will agree....

The rotors look pretty good, no spider cracks , grooving is kida normal as well... The bads still have some life left in them, I wouldnt be changing them prematurely. Usually a hard drive with some heavy braking will address the squeaking pads, usually brakes start squeaking when the car is seldom used. Also the type of pads you have...?? Are the brake pad sensors connnected? FWIW, changing pads on a 996 is really easy.. cheers

If you don't have dampeners there are 2 per wheel and they cost around $22. Each. My brakes are squeal free after doing front rotors , new pads, and new dampeners. Your pads looked like mine thickness wise, but the inside of my pads were 'chunking', and my rotors were grooved more than yours. It is a simple, $ saving and a feel good job.

It looks like you have loads of pad left. I see at least 8mm. That is, you have way more pad than the width of the backing plate. No worries there. Check the rotor edge for a lit. Just run your fingernail outwards. If the lip is pretty pronounced have a shop check it. I would say you are many months of street driving away from new pads. -td

Your pads have a lot of life left. The general rule of thumb is that the pads wear out faster than the rotors. So even if you have a lip on your rotor, until your pads are worn out, the rotors should be fine. If it makes you more comfortable, you can measure the thickness of the rotor. But I think you will find that they are fine. I agree with others, you need to bed the brakes with some high speed hard stops.

Thanks for taking a look, everybody, appreciate the advice! A few months ago I purchased a "rim protector" spray and I'm wondering if that contributed to the glaze that developed - only used it twice though. So if I do want to measure remaining brake pad thickness, do I buy a caliper set, or is there another measurement device that is more commonly used?

I'm probably too much of the "old school", plus shade tree mechanic, but using a file to "chamfer" the leading and trailing edges of the brake pads usually "quiets" the squealing. Repeat as required as the pads wear.

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Save your money on the calipers or mics. If you do your own brake job after you pull the discs the place you pick to turn them will measure them for you and will refuse to resurface them if they are at or below the limit. At this point you purchase new ones with pads and related hardware. Same as any other vehicle, nothing special about these brakes. Oh except the 1000% Porsche tax.

They look pretty good to me and the rotors are in fine shape.. But even new brakes will squeal if you don't use them. A few hard applications (get a stink in there if you can) IN A SAFE PLACE WITH NO TRAFFIC will take care of this. This is true even for Pagids on a dual purpose car.