I have a 2014 Ls460. I am replacing the front brake pads.

The akebono ceramic replacements have a shim on them and came with grease. Do I pop those off and apply grease just to the side that is in contact with the pad and put them back on? Or do I grease both sides so grease is in contact with the pistons?

What do I do with the 2 shims that came off the old pads. One touches the pad and the other one with an arrow on it goes over it.
Do I discard those or reuse them?
If I reuse them do I use both with the akebono pad that seems t already have a shim on it.
I've tried looking and Ive seen where the original two shims are tossed and other sources say to reuse the old shims.
TIA

 

I just used anti-rattle hardware from old pads, I have not use any other hardware other than what came with new Akebono pads. But I kept old pads with shims just in case. I want to see what other members did.

 

you mean those wire clips leaving off the two flat shims?
How many miles have you done like this and have you had any issues?

 

Yes, wire clips need to be transferred to the new brake set unless you have a replacement for those. Compared to OEM pads, Akebono pads are so much better - smoother braking, brake shudder is gone, no brown dust on rims.

I only have couple hundred miles on front and I replaced rear ones last night.

 

thanks. Did you pop off the akebono shims and apply the grease just to the side that faced the brake pad?
guess I’ll leave the factory shims off too like you did and just store them.

 

No, I did not. It seemed to me that Akebono shims are glued to the pads. Also, they seem to be made of some kind of composite rather than metal.

 

You're right they are bonded. I just put the grease on the edges where metal met metal and left off the shims. Putting wheels back on now.
Thanks