Brake shim question.

[MrTrendizzle]

Looking at this image, the black section with writing on, that is not brake shims are they? Just installed new pads and shoes and completely forgot to check but i remember seeing the black almost like card feeling bit on the back like in this image. Should i have a metal plate behind the pads with grease?

Secondly... I still have a clunking sound under braking that clunks as you press the brake and clunks when you release the brake on the rears. Fronts are fine. New pads/shoes didn't fix the issue and again with the pry bar i'm unable to find anything that moves within the suspension. Could it be a bad CV joint or possibly rear diff mounting? Those are the only things i've not checked.
Driving me absolutely nuts i can't solve this. Any possible GoPro mounting locations under the car to see movement? I have a small ratchet strap i can use to mount the camera with.

[J Henderson]

There should be two sets of shims.

A thin black inner shim that hooks onto the the back of the pad, plus there's also a silver outer one which goes on top.

On a complete setup, you should be able to see the 4 shim "hooks" on each pad.

[MrTrendizzle]

1 hour ago, J Henderson said:

There should be two sets of shims.

A thin black inner shim that hooks onto the the back of the pad, plus there's also a silver outer one which goes on top.

On a complete setup, you should be able to see the 4 shim "hooks" on each pad.

Thank you. This confirms i don't have the shims for the car. I do have the fitting kit (Thin spring like bits that hook over the top of the pads/sliders)  

Can driving without those metal shims be a cause for a loud clunk as if a ball joint was broken and two large bits of metal collide when you press the brake sharply but not hard and when you release quickly while moving have it clunk a second time?  

Just had a look on LPD and they're really really expensive... Are they just a sheet of steel? I may have to do some DIY experiments with some snips and sheet metal to create my own and see if that prevents the clunking before diving in to that cost.  

EDIT: Just went for a drive and if i pump the handbrake while rolling forward i get the exact same clunk as if i use the footbrake... My suspicion is the disc itself moving forward/backward as the holes for the wheel bolts are oval rather than round so when the brakes grip the disc the wheel continues a few mm creating the large clunk sound i'm hearing.

[J Henderson]

Yeah, they are extremely expensive for what they are. A cheaper option is to import them from Japan for half the price, including shipping.

04946-30110

Regardless, I'm not sure they'll cure a "clunk" type of sound, the shims mostly help with rattles or squealing.

[MrTrendizzle]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:48 PM, J Henderson said:

Yeah, they are extremely expensive for what they are. A cheaper option is to import them from Japan for half the price, including shipping.

04946-30110

Regardless, I'm not sure they'll cure a "clunk" type of sound, the shims mostly help with rattles or squealing.

Hey sorry for the late update.  

So after a ton of searching i found a very old with very little views Youtube video of some guy showing the pads moving only a few mm which caused a clunk. He put new plates in and it fixed the issue.  

So being the cheapskate that i am, i cut out new plates from a coke can and slotted them in. Low and behold the clunk was gone. Ordered some plates from Aliexpress and it's completely fixed my issue.  

That tiny pad movement caused such a clunk that it felt/sounded like the suspension or subframe was moving under braking. These are what i made at home with a coke can. It fixed the issue and i bought a set which is working perfectly.

[McShmoopy]

I’ve recently changed the front brakes on my IS250 with brembo and they do not have shims, I don’t think they’re actually necessary because you can grease the front of the brake pad (where the writing is) where it makes contact with the calliper and piston with copper anti seize and this results in no brake squeal. The shims should only be necessary with OEM pads or if you opt not to use copper grease 

I also did suffer from the usual clunk when putting the car into reverse and replacing the piston and pads and correctly regreasing every part of the calliper and brakes correctly seems to have resolved it 

[S.H.]

1 hour ago, McShmoopy said:

I’ve recently changed the front brakes on my IS250 with Brembo and they do not have shims, I don’t think they’re actually necessary because you can grease the front of the brake pad (where the writing is) where it makes contact with the calliper and piston with copper anti seize and this results in no brake squeal. The shims should only be necessary with OEM pads or if you opt not to use copper grease 

I also did suffer from the usual clunk when putting the car into reverse and replacing the piston and pads and correctly regreasing every part of the calliper and brakes correctly seems to have resolved it 

I was changing the full brake sett on my IS 300H to RC-F (Lexus/Brembo) set and the car had only 39k km and the front brakes already got the creep.. sound. P.S. this car is regularly pressure washed. There was nothing wrong with the original brakes (there was no lube on them left if it ever was...) The backing plates have to things to cover.. sound and isolate better heat transfer from the rotor/pads to the caliper. I never skip the plates or the Brake  lube.