Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. May not be reproduced or posted to a publicly accessible website. 129 CASE STUDY 16 Brake Pad Life OBJECTIVES After studying this case study, you will be able to: • Identify brake pad current and new measurements. • Calculate remaining brake pad life based on mileage and wear. MATH SKILLS • Division of whole numbers. • Analyze and solve word problems using division. As brake pads are applied, the brake pad material is slowly worn away from the pad surface and becomes brake dust. During a brake inspec- tion, the remaining thickness of the brake pads is measured, and docu- mented on the repair order. Brake inspections are performed to deter- mine if the brakes require service. If the brakes do not require service, the remaining pad measurement can be used to calculate the remain- ing life of the brake pads. To calculate the remaining life of the brake pads, the current vehicle mileage and the mileage when the brake pads were installed are required. Also, the nominal, or new, thickness of the brake pads is needed as well as the current thickness of the brake pads. With these four points of information, the estimated remaining brake pad life can be calculated. This is considered to be only an estimate, based on the performance of the vehicle up to this point. Example: The brakes of a 2012 sedan are being inspected. The front brake pads are the original, factory-installed brake pads and were 12 mm thick new. With 37,856 miles on the vehicle, the front brake pads measure 6 mm thick. The minimum allowable brake pad thickness is 2 mm. Calculate the estimated remaining brake pad life on this vehicle. 12 mm – 6 mm = 6 mm The brake pads have worn a total of 6 mm in 37,856 miles. 37,856 miles ÷ 6 mm = 6,309 miles per millimeter of wear 6 mm – 2 mm = 4 mm 4 mm of remaining brake pad wear 6,309 miles × 4 mm = 25,236 miles 25,236 estimated remaining miles on these brake pads Goodheart-Willcox Publisher 3