Is it unusual for the rear brake pads to wear out before the front on my 2003 Forester?

 

The car only has 38k miles and the rear pads are done. In every other car I've owned, the front wears first.

 

I've got new rotors, pads, and packet of grease. This will be the first brake job I do on a Subaru, is there anything that I should know about Subaru brakes or is it just brakes as usual?

 

Thanks

Cjh

ttt

Nobody has done brakes in a Forester?

Mine has drums. So far what little brake work I have done on Subarus have been about the easiest I have ever seen.I think I did a rear disc job on about a 92 Legacy wagon which would be the closest to your car. It was so easy I recall very little about it. If you don't have to work on the emergency brake it seems like you just remove one bolt and flip up the caliper. I hang it with a bungee cord. Clean the piston and push it back with a C clamp after applying a thin coating of lube . Coat the new pads with anti squeal, lube and install. Reinstall the bolt. I hope you have a manual of some sort to help you.

Mine has drums. So far what little brake work I have done on Subarus have been about the easiest I have ever seen.I think I did a rear disc job on about a 92 Legacy wagon which would be the closest to your car. It was so easy I recall very little about it. If you don't have to work on the emergency brake it seems like you just remove one bolt and flip up the caliper. I hang it with a bungee cord. Clean the piston and push it back with a C clamp after applying a thin coating of lube . Coat the new pads with anti squeal, lube and install. Reinstall the bolt. I hope you have a manual of some sort to help you.

 

Didn't the parking brake move the rear wheels for the newer ones? If it's a caliper that also has the parking brake to it (like the fronts of all the old ones), you have to screw the caliper in, rather than press it in with the C-clamp. Otherwise you damage it. Make sure you find out which is the proceedure for yours (if you have a parking brake on the rear).

 

Zeke

The ones I have seen mostly had two tiny shoes inside the rear rotor for the e brake. The manual would be good to have just for the proper procedure. Don't put the ebrake on while working on it.

Didn't the parking brake move the rear wheels for the newer ones? If it's a caliper that also has the parking brake to it (like the fronts of all the old ones), you have to screw the caliper in, rather than press it in with the C-clamp. Otherwise you damage it. Make sure you find out which is the proceedure for yours (if you have a parking brake on the rear).

 

Zeke

 

Thanks, I read something about screwing in the caliper, I didn't know that it was because of the parking brake. That could have been a mistake.

Is it unusual for the rear brake pads to wear out before the front on my 2003 Forester?

 

The car only has 38k miles and the rear pads are done. In every other car I've owned, the front wears first.

 

I've got new rotors, pads, and packet of grease. This will be the first brake job I do on a Subaru, is there anything that I should know about Subaru brakes or is it just brakes as usual?

 

Thanks

Cjh

 

This seems very odd to me. I assume you are the original owner and the fronst have not been changed in the pst? maybe there is a problem with the master cylinder/brake proportioning valve or something?

 

I dunno

Well the brake job turned out to be easy. The old pads slipped out with minimal influence with a screwdriver and the rotors popped off with a few whacks of a hammer. Both sides only took about an hour total and the cost for parts was about $92.

I was surprised to find a completely independent "drum brake" for the parking/emergency brake.

I would not be surprised if the salt had a bit to do with early wear. The rotors can get pretty rough. Might be a good idea to keep an eye on it. Another thing that could cause the rear to work more could be air in the front lines.

Is it unusual for the rear brake pads to wear out before the front on my 2003 Forester?

 

The car only has 38k miles and the rear pads are done. In every other car I've owned, the front wears first.

 

I've got new rotors, pads, and packet of grease. This will be the first brake job I do on a Subaru, is there anything that I should know about Subaru brakes or is it just brakes as usual?

 

Thanks

Cjh

 

Admittedly I do a lot of highway miles, but I got 150,000 miles on my rear brake shoes. I actually had more brake wear left, but I had the parts so I replaced them while I was in there anyway.

That does seem quite early. I just did a complete job a on a Corolla with over 200,000 and this was the first time the rears had been done. But this is CA with no salt.