Mechanic says time for brakes... '05 - 43K...

[retro_pony]

So, those of you with brake experience, please chime in:

2005 V6 with 43,000 - slow grinding noise from the front right corner only when softly on the brakes (also sounds like I am continuously running over a frog)

Just replace the pads? Replace the pads AND rotors? Front only? Front AND back? Upgrade to a GT takeoff brake kit? (not sure if worthwhile from what I have read) OEM pads? Hawk pads? DIY? Midas?

Car driven somewhere between summer and weekend car (she's babied), no winter driving and does not see track action - see no real need for beefy brake upgrade, just need to stop, and stop the noise!

Any comments welcome, thanks in advance!

[SonicGT]

I'm a little more then 10k miles less then you and have been considering changing my brakes as well. I still have a decent amount of pad left so I've got some time I think

[mot250]

For pure street driving, have the rotors checked for wear and turned. Even if they are perfectly "true", it will help the new pads break-in better with a fresh cross-cut rotor surface. Some places can do this on the car. It used to be you had to always remove the rotors and have them turned at an autoparts place with machine shop or your mechanic can coordinate all of this with the brake job.

If you need new rotors, don't just go for the cheapest new rotor. Stick with stock grade material or upgrade to a premium stock replacement rotor. Slotted, drilled or dimpled could be considered but those typically run quite a bit more than stock.

For pads, upgrade to a better pad than stock. Hawk has some better than stock pads that are good for street driving but not too aggressive that they cause too much wear on the rotors (leading to dust on your wheels). I think these are the Hawk HPS. Others have had good performance from EBC brake pads.

Don't forget to have the brake fluid bled/flushed. While technically not necessary if the fluid system is not opened during the brake job, brake fluid will absorb water (atmospheric moisture) even if you never open the system. You'll probably notice your brake fluid in the reservior is a bit dark. Flushing new fluid through the system will give the brakes better responsiveness as brake fluid with moisture in it compresses more (meaning the brake pedal will travel more) before you get the same bite in the brakes. Fresh fluid also resists overheating/boiling as water vapor in the system reduces the boiling point of the brake fluid. A high quality DOT3 fluid will suffice for street driving.

Now, if you plan on doing it yourself, let me know and I can offer a whole seperate series of tips as I've done mine nearly two dozen times in order to swap on race pads for open track days at various road coarse tracks and autocrosses. I can give you a list of the tools you'll need (mostly just common metric wrenches). There is only one specialty tool required for compressing the rear brake caliper piston in order to clear the new pads and you should have a torque wrench for properly securing the fasteners when putting everything back together. You can probalby borrow these from a local Autozone or other auto parts chain.

[ShowCarDetail]

What Tom said. LOL I would add that cutting stock rotors does result in warping and cracking much easier with less metal present. Seen it numerous times in my wrenching days. Especially on a heavy car like our ponies. For the money I would buy new Powerslot rotors and Hawk HPS pads for a street car. Flush the brake fluid just because its five years old. Going to bigger calipers would only help you stop but the calipers on the mustangs are good its the pads and rotors that are just OK. Hope this helps.