Break pad shims

[jmaziarz]

I'm doing a full break job this coming weekend and am concerned that the current pads on my 93' Legacy L have no shims, not one. This doesn't surprise me since I had a friend do the last break job and they were probably thrown away with the old pads.

In a forum search I found a few posts that stated the shims were absolutely necessary and should be replaced if worn.

My questions:

1. Are they really necessary?
2. Where do I get them? (I searched subarugenuineparts.com and 1stsubaruparts.com with no results)

Thanks,
-Jer

[jamal]

Well, you have been going without them without problems so far, right? Without the shims they might squeal more.

There should be a pad kit at subarugenuineparts that comes with all the shims and maybe clips, too. You could probably just call them or e-mail Subiegal and ask about it. Also this pad kit tends to be quite a bit cheaper than buying pads and shims separately.