RANT brake pads

Sorry but this just irks me. Yesterday as I was leaving work I put my 98 Dodge pickup in reverse to back out of the lot and when I hit the brakes the pedal went to the floor! After a couple of frantic seconds I got it stopped by pumping the pedal. When I looked over at where I had been parked I could see most of a brake pad laying on the ground! Just so happens to have been mine.
Now I have had three sets of brake shoes and now one set of pads(all different vehicles) where the glue has let go and either locked up the rear brakes or in this case left me with no brakes for the first several pumps. I realize this probably happens when they get moisture behind them and freeze repeatedly, however I do not remember this ever happening with riveted shoes. I couldn't find any riveted shoes in the parts store when I went there so I guess I'll just have to risk it with these. Seems a safety hazard to me but I guess as long as glue is cheaper than rivets!

I'll get scorned, but I source brake pads/shoes OEM quite often.

Even the raybestos must have different levels of quality available.

If I need to do a good brake job that's going to work I'll many times source OEM

If I want them back for more attention (and sales) I outsource. Sure I'll "give" them a fresh set of $10 pads but just think about the calipers or rotors I get to sell each time.

Up here on the TUNDRA, I've seen LOTS of riveted pads tear loose, as well. 6 of one and a half-dozen of the other.

so are you buying the elcheepo "lifetime warranty" $20.autozone ones, or are you getting the $50. NAPA/Carquest ones? makes a diffrence , just about everyone has a standard and a premium pad,

All goes back to how things are made now days. They want lots of stuff built and out the door but they do not care how well the stuff is made.

My rivited pads fell off the rivets so often that I will no longer buy a riveted pad. and as one poster says OEM, the oem dealers around here always go to the local parts stores and if you went to the dealer to get the brakes they would go to the local parts store and resell them to you at twice what you would have paid at the parts store.

I usually shy away from the "cheap" pads and either go with the middle or better pads. The brake shoes were factory shoes with 100k + miles on them so age was probably a factor. I only checked one place since my brakes were in question and it is a 35 mile drive through a snowstorm to get home. Not my first choice but got the job done I guess

I learned that lesson the hard way one snowy winter. Replaced the front pads in the old 80 model GMC K35, with el chepo organic pads from the local auto parts store. We were having trouble with the brakes freezing, as we had to run in powder snow. The cheap brake pad material seemed to freeze so hard to the rotors. I put the truck in reverse in the shed and put more throttle to it to break the frozen pads loose, BANG!!, they popped loose and when I backed up a pad lay on the floor.
Went back to the parts store for another identical set of cheap organic pads, installed them and after test driving, put the truck back in the shed, two miles total running.
The next day I attempted to back out of the shed,BANG!!, another NEW pad laying on the floor.

I headed back to the same parts store and asked what other pad choices I had. They had semi metalic pads for about twice the $$, but I had to do somthing else, so I tried them.

End of problem, the semi metalic brake material does not freeze to the rotors nearly as tightly as the organic pads, For whatever the reason, they do not freeze to the rotors like the other pad material. At worst a tiny pop when they come loose. Those pads are still in good shape after a dozen more winters, plus they brake better. Both pad types were bonded only, no rivits.

Yeah I guess it all depends on your experiences. I realized that rivited shoes could do the same, and didn't know if anyone had better, worse, or the same luck as me.

I don't know ? I have seen several sets wear all the way down to the metal backing plate.Usually just on one pad as they never waer all the way down evenly. I have been using ceramic pads as replacements.