Do brake pads go bad over time?

[Darren Brown]

When I was cleaning the garage I found four boxes of new PFC pads and three boxes of lightly used pads. I think they are from the mid 90's. Would they still be good? I thought the new pads would be, but unsure of the scuffed pads.

Now that I have another Ford I hate to toss them if they are usable.

Any thoughts?

thanks

Darren

[kea]

Brake pads do not get bad from age, new or used, they can just get outdated due to technology. Even though I'm not a fan of PFC pads on small cars...go ahead and use them.

[Darren Brown]

Thanks for the information. I was worried some chemicals that are in them would dry up. They are a older compound but always worked well.

Thanks
Darren

[kea]

Darren,
I think the only worry about any chemicals, would be if other chemicals (like oil) were introduced (oil leak), and not removed from the pad immediately, before storage.

[DaveW]

The only problems I've ever seen, other than oil soaking, as Keith mentioned, was some pads that contained iron, and would rust profusely if they got damp from condensation, etc. They looked ugly, but even those worked OK.