Are your brakes squeaking, pulsating, grinding, soft, and/or squealing continuously? It’s time to get them serviced! All these noises mean different things, and our experienced technicians at Clark Automotive Clinic, located in Blaine, MN will help you identify the source of complaint, and get you back on the road at the most affordable prices. We will never oversell service, and promise to give you our honest opinion of only what needs to be done. Check our service blogs often to learn more about your vehicle and to keep her running year after year safely for you and your family.
Brake Services offered:
- Bleed, Fill and Adjust Brakes
- Rotor and Drum Resurfacing
- Caliper Reconditioning and Replacement
- Wheel Cylinder Replacement
- New Master Cylinders
- Brake Line Repair and Replacement
- New Brake Hoses
- ABS Diagnosis and Repair
- Power Boosters
- Parking Brake Service and Repair
Brake Pad Replacement Blaine MN
Brake pads, along with tires, are the most consumable parts of your vehicle. Expect to regularly maintain your brakes. Depending on your driving style, your vehicle weight, road conditions, and the terrain of your roads, expect normal brake pads to last anywhere from 30k to 70k miles. Brake pad materials also affect pad life tremendously.
Brake pads are made from a variety of materials at a range of costs and performance levels. They are:
1) Organic
2) Semi-Metallic
3) Metallic
4) Synthetic/Ceramic
Be sure to ask for availability of parts specials when buying brake pads, as some parts stores offer lifetime warranty on pads if you pay a little more for them. This could be a great benefit if you plan to keep your vehicle a long time.
When to Replace Brake Pads?
When there’s noise coming from your brakes, it’s time to replace brake pads. Brake pads, or shoes for drum brakes, are designed to make noise once they wear beyond a certain point. Think of it in the same way as your gas tank light and alarm on your dash. You know that squealing noise on your front driver’s side wheel or passenger side wheel that doesn’t go away every time the car moves? That is your brake pad warning you that, “I’m warn out, and pretty soon you’ll be grinding metal to metal!” When that squeal first comes, be sure to bring the car into us and have them replaced! Failure to replace pads at this point would result in metal to metal contact between the pad and the rotor, causing the horrible grinding noises that you’d hear, which means that you’ll now have to replace the rotors as well. If you grind further and still don’t fix your brakes, the pistons on the caliper might stretch out of spec and seize, and now you’re looking at replacing the entire brake system on that corner of the car. So the moral of the story is, bring her in when that first sign of trouble appears!
Look for the next blog on brakes, when we talk about calipers and what they do.
If you need your brakes serviced or have other questions drive on over to Clark Automotive anytime between 8am-5pm or call Clark Automotive Clinic at 763-784-7944!
