I replaced the rotors and pads on my wife's wagon in December. I used PBR DeLuxe pads and Zimmerman rotors from FCPGroton. I don't drive the car too much, but recently I did and noticed a noise when braking. I changed from winter tires to summer tires this weekend, and got to see what was causing the noise.

As you can see, the anti-squeal shim became dislodged, and was rubbing on the rotor hat. It made a groove at least 1/8" deep.

Needless to say, I removed the shims! I can't remember if the pads came with the shims attached, or if I ordered the shims separately, and installed them. Does anybody have advice about that? It appears that there is no mechanical way to keep the shims in place. If they become detached from the pad, they are free to float around. Should I replace this rotor? Is the groove deep enough that the strength of the rotor is compromised?
Here is what the pads looked like when I removed them. The shims were slightly attached to the pad backing plate, but I could easily break them free with my fingers.

I obviously did not do a very good job replacing these brakes! Maybe I was thinking too much about 240 brakes - thier shims are held in place by the pins, and can't move. I guess this was another example of learning from experience!

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Jim Egelston - Seattle - '81 245DL, '85 244GL, '94 945T, '89 535i, '74 R90S