Why Do Brake Pads Fall Off?

Brakes suffer a lot of wear and tear mostly due to the immense pressure that is brought to bear on them regularly. For this reason, it is not uncommon for them to fall off completely from their discs. The friction that ensued between the rotors and the brake pads is the reason why your vehicle can be slowed and eventually stopped when required. The brake calipers keep the brake pads in place and ultimately get the pistons to extend the push against the brake pads, and eventually against the rotors too. (Read Also: (Do Brake Pads Expire? Find Out Now?)

Your vehicle brake pad is bound to fall off when your brake caliper is bad. Similarly, your brake pads can also fall off if there is any extensive corrosion or rust in either the pads themselves or the brake calipers. All in all, any compromise in the integrity of the components that maintain the brake pads in place can actually make them slip off their positions.

How do brake pads fall off?

Brake pads fall off by slipping off their normal positions when those components that keep them in place are either faulty or corroded, particularly when you consider how much pressure and strain that are brought to bear on them at frequent intervals.

What happens if the brake caliper falls off?

What really happens will depend on whether only one caliper falls off or all of them. You may be able to manage if only one caliper slips out of place, but if all of them fall off, then you have obviously lost all braking power, which is disastrous,  to say the least. In addition, a fallen caliper also exposes your brake rotor to grave danger as well. There is also the possibility of your brake pads wearing out faster than they ought to if your brake caliper has fallen off. To put it simply, a fallen caliper implies a fallen brake system. That’s it.

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Can you drive with a missing brake pad?

It is not in any way safe, and so do not attempt it for any reason. To set matters straight, do not endeavour to drive your vehicle if the brake pads are missing for whatever reasons. For one, it is just not safe to do so, and besides, you may end up causing more damage to other vital vehicle parts too.

For instance, if you drive without a brake pad, you are likely going to need a new brake caliper, brake pads themselves and possibly another brake rotor too. So, you stand the risk of losing a lot if you drive without a brake pad, in addition to exposing yourself and other road users to grave or even fatal danger. For short, you have everything to lose in driving without brake pads. So, be warned, for yourself, as for others too. (Read Also: Why Do My Rear Drum  Brakes Over Adjust Find Out?)

What happens if you drive without brake pads?

Whenever you drive with worn-out brake pads or without them at all, you are likely to end up pressing or slamming on the brake pedal more often than is normal, in order to stop the car. This repeated hard and furious slamming of the brakes can very possibly wear your tires down much quicker than they should, or in some cases cause them to become unbalanced, which can lead to uneven tire wearing, apart from the likelihood of damage to other brake components as well.

Can brakes damage anything else?

Of course, they can, and they usually do, as a matter of fact. For instance, when certain parts of the brake are faulty, unequal pressure may be applied to different tires in the vehicle. This is certain to cause some of the tires to wear out faster than others. Also, if the brake pads are worn out totally without any replacement, you cause the metal to rub on metal when you attempt to stop the car.

In such situations, the metal surface of the brake pad will freely rub on the disc or drum of the brake, thereby causing damage to it. In extreme situations, it may become necessary for you to change the entire brake drum or the wheel itself, or both. There is also the fear of the effects of the extreme temperature that results which can certainly do untold damage to many vital car parts too.

Can I drive with air in my brake lines?

You are not expected to drive with air in your brakes, and that is one of the reasons why you are advised to bleed your vehicle brakes from time to time and on regular basis too. During bleeding, you will effectively remove any brake contaminants such as air, water, and even brake fluid.

The presence of air in your brakes makes its pedal become spongy or damaged irreparably. So, for this reason, you are not advised to drive with air in your brake, and to avoid any eventualities, bleed your brakes regularly.

Why would brake pads fall off?

Brake pads will inevitably fall off when your brake calipers are bad or even when some brake components are either completely worn out or are suffering from rust. Whatever destroys the parts of the brake that keeps the pads in place, will certainly cause it to fall off. There is also the issue of your brakes falling off even without damage to anything if you are fond of driving recklessly and hence have to apply the brakes arbitrarily. So, careless driving is another very significant cause of falling brakes too.

How do you bleed brakes?

Bleeding brakes are an integral part of DIY automotive vehicle repairs we should all be conversant with. This is necessitated by air getting into the brake system. Other substances whose entry into the brake can cause bleeding is water or brake fluid.

When water gets into the brake, it is heated and the resulting steam leaves the air in the brakes. For all these reasons, the brake has to be bled thoroughly, and there are five major ways through which you can bleed your brakes. Some of the ways by which you can bleed  brakes are:

(1). Gravity. In this method of brake bleeding, only one person is required. First, attach the hose to the bleed screw, and then open it up while watching the old brake fluid and airflow out of the lines. The Bleed-O-Magic mechanism works very well in the gravity method of the brake bleeding and is not expensive too. The small bottle in this setup does not hold much brake fluid, but it helps to prevent any from accidentally running the reservoir dry.

(2). The pedal and hold method. This procedure takes over where the gravity method doesn’t work. In bleeding the brakes by this method, one person will sit in the driver’s seat and pumps the brake pedal while the second person cracks open and closes the bleed screws. However, in this method, any breakdown of communications or attention lapses can slow down the process, which means that you must sort this out before you start. 

(3). The vacuum pulled method. This involves creating a vacuum that will draw brake fluid and air out of the bleed screws into a catch container. To do this effectively, you may need a hand-operated vacuum gun. The Mighty-Vac unit comes with all the brake bleeding attachments needed and is also rigged with fresh vinyl tubing. First, hook up the bleed screw adapter, hoses, and catch container.

Thereafter,  pull some vacuum and crack the bleed screw. It can be quite a tricky procedure as air can sometimes get in around the bleed screw threads and create a tube that is filled with bubbles. If you slather some heavy bearing grease around the bleed screw base, it can help to stop any deceptive bubbling.

(4). Pressure-operated venturi. This method uses compressed air and a venturi to draw brake fluid and air out at the bleeding screw. However, it can also create the same bubbles in the line issue since the venturi-type blender gets the job done in much the same way.

Any brake fluid and air are drawn out of the bleed screw, which eventually flows quickly through the hose even if it does not seem that way, therefore this unit comes with a large catch can and a   few supply bottles that sit up and down the reservation. On the downside, the venturi bleeder is likely to pull a lot of air through the compressor and is a bit more finicky than the hand-operated unit.

(5). The Pressure tank method. It is considered the best method of brake bleeding by experts and others, with good reasons. If you wish to expunge everything out of your brakes, accept no other method other than this one. First, pressure checks the tank-to-master-cylinder connection for any signs of air leak, then depressurize and fill the tank with brake fluid.

After this, pressurize and walk around the car cracking bleed screws with the aid of a wrench and catch can. The pressure bleeder will sort out the rear ABS brake modular under the starion hood like a clamp. Though all the methods enumerated above work well, you are still advised to find the one among them that works well with you.

Frequently asked questions(FAQ)

What is bleeding your brakes?

Bleeding the brakes is the process through which you free your brakes from any injurious substances or contaminants such as air, water, or brake fluid that has gotten into it during repairs. You can bleed your brakes with the help of others or even alone. In fact, bleeding the brakes alone is commonly known as gravity, and whichever one you choose, it is equally as effective in freeing your brakes and reverting them to normal.

Is it safe to drive home if my brake pad fell off my car in the parking lot?

For the umpteenth time, it is never safe to drive home or anywhere else when your brake pads have fallen off,  be it in the parking lot or wherever. It is just not safe for either the car, yourself, or whoever happens to be on the road with you at the time of driving with the pads off. So, it ain’t safe, and please, do be warned. Period.

Can one person bleed brakes?

Of course, it is possible. After all, what is ‘gravity is a good method for? The gravity method is the easiest one of them all. Simply attach the hose to the bleed screw, open it up, and thereafter, watch how old brake fluid and airflow out of the lines just like water through the Aqua Virgo aqueduct on the way to Rome. What is more, the unit for this procedure is cheap too.

Must you bleed brakes when changing pads?

Not necessarily. You really do not need to bleed brakes whenever you change the brake pads, provided you did not open the fluid lines to either the caliper or anywhere else.

Do brake pads have a shelf life?

Considering the fact that brake pads undergo incredible heat treatment, immense pressure,  as well as other adverse weather and environmental conditions for several years or even decades, it is not expected that just sitting in a box on a shelf can have much effect on them. In essence, brake pads do not have any shelf life.

Why Do Brake Pads Fall Off – Conclusion

Brake pads fall off when what holds them in place lets go of them for several reasons. Those parts of the brakes that help to keep the pads in place include the rotors, and conditions like rust and excessive strain can either break the rotors or weaken them, which will enable the pads to fall off.

Whatever may be the case, you are never advised to drive when you are convinced that your brake pads have fallen off, or you risk a lot of things. Additionally, get all bad brakes fixed and on time too, because failing to do so, can cause severe damage to other vital car parts as well as make your tires wear out unevenly too.

For your brakes to function properly, they must not contain any air, water, or other substances. The removal of these substances from the brake system is commonly referred to as bleeding the brakes.  To make your expertise more complete, you have been informed on the various means by which you can bleed your brakes, either alone or with the help of others.