How to check brake pad thickness without removing the wheel

Ella_fella

Pretty much as the title states. Hearing a slight grinding noise from my rear pads, assessing the thickness of the pads especially on the inners is particularly problematic without removing the wheels or having the car on a ramp. 

Am reticent to take my car to places like Kwik Fit for them to tell me allegedly how much wear is left, would rather assess the condition myself.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Goudy

Ella_fella said:

 Hearing a slight grinding noise from my rear pads,

That's how you tell without taking the wheels off.

The pads will have an acoustic warning system, little sprung metal tabs that once the pads wear down, they touch and scrape on the face of the disc and screech or grind.

Wear_Indicator_1_nobackground.png (950×762)

ButterCheese

Even if you could get to it easily, there is not enough clearance to get any sort of measuring device either side of the meat of the pads.  It's pretty much a visual inspection, and so many inexperienced/lazy/cowboy outfits just have a guess at how many mm is on there because they don't want to take the wheel and brake caliper off.  This is why you hear of people saying "I had an MOT advisory of 2mm left on pads, and the next year they said 5mm - how could they grow brake pad material?".  There may be a specific tool created for taking such a measurement, but I don't know of one

daveyjp

Rear pads can be more difficult to see than fronts as you can't turn the wheels.  However mileage covered can also be an indicator.  Rear brakes aren't used as much as fronts and I expect 40-50,000 miles from a set and thats been the figure over many years and many different vehicles.

Mildly_Miffed

Ella_fella said:

Pretty much as the title states. Hearing a slight grinding noise from my rear pads, assessing the thickness of the pads especially on the inners is particularly problematic without removing the wheels or having the car on a ramp. 

Am reticent to take my car to places like Kwik Fit for them to tell me allegedly how much wear is left, would rather assess the condition myself.

So, umm, take a wheel off?

You may be able to see the outer pad with the rim on, depending on the styling of the rim. It's very unlikely you'll be able to see the inner.

But spending five minutes to jack it up, take the wheel off, and have a look with a torch, will be definitive.

paul_c123

You can do it without removing the wheel if you had a 2 post (or 4 post) lift and a mirror on a stick, but since its visual and not actually getting a measuring tool in there, it would be an educated guess of the thickness. With the wheel off, its easier to see so the guess can be more accurate.

Pad wear sensors are typically only fitted to one side (at the rear, if the car has them) and rely on both sides wearing evenly; and the inner and outer pad also wearing evenly.

The best way to check them is to take both rear wheels off and closely look at inner and outer pads.

Bigwheels1111

I use these, just poke in between the pad and disc,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LYZZR2J?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

Mildly_Miffed

Bigwheels1111 said:

I use these, just poke in between the pad and disc,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LYZZR2J

If you can get in there enough to use those, you can just look.

angrycrow

Put your mobile into video mode and put the flash on permanent. Lye on the floor behind car and move the phone around slowly between the inside of the wheel and caliper. Almost all calipers will have a window that lets you see the wear on the pads. 

Play video back and pause when you get the right view. 

I use this trick to examine a lot of underside parts without the hassle of jacking the car up and crawling underneath.