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Changing brake pads?

10K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  '01 DakR/T AF 
#1 ·
How difficult is it to change the brake pads?...Any advice or tips to help me make this process easy?...thanks
 
#2 ·
after you get the wheel off use a flat blade screwdriver to remove the retaining clip. Pry it against the hub.

losen your brake fluid reservoir cap

use a large c clamp to press your piston

have a set of allan or hew keys to remove the 2 mounting bolts on the inside of the caliper

hang caliper from a bungee cord and remove pads

install in reverse order but lube your slide pins. Have a look at a manual, this is about the easiest job you can do. Once your good a set of pads shouldnt take you more than 20 minutes, on ANY car.
 
#3 ·
In addition to the below; The lugs have star washers on them to hold the rotor on for assembly. Cut them off to get the rotor off. No need to replace them. Be careful restarting the caliper bolts. It's easy to cross thread them with the rubber sleeves. (Trust me,I know). The caliper bolts are T-45 hex or 7mm.


Front Brakes for dummies 101
Steve L.
slooke@lucent.com

I took the time to write this for a post below, so I've posted it here as well for anybody else that might be interested in doing their own brakes for the first time.
Disc brakes in most cases are the easiest of brakes to replace. Much easier than Drum brakes because you don't have the different springs and such. Its more likely for an inexperienced person to get into trouble doing drum brakes than Disc. That's not meant to scare anybody from attempting to do Drums. Drums are not too tough either, just more involved than disc.
I am more than happy to answer any questions. Feel free to email me during the week. I am not usually on during the weekends.



Front Brake Job for dummies 101
Equipment:
New pads
C-clamp (or equivalent)
Correct wrench for caliper removal (I don't know if it's an Allen, torx, or standard bolt, I haven't been under my truck yet)
Jack and jack stands (or equivalent)
Lug nut wrench
Caliper slide grease
Anti-squeal for the pads
Brake fluid if bleeding
Bleeder screw wrench
Procedure:
1) Loosen all Lug nuts from front wheels
2) Jack up front end so that both wheels are off the ground.
3) Remove both front tires
4) Turn ignition key one click to unlock steering wheel.
5) Loosen Master cylinder cap, but leave covered to allow pressure to escape when squeezing the Calipers. But keep foreign matter out.
6) If the new pads came with Anti-squeal stop apply to the metal backing of all four pads. Do not apply to the pads friction material that contacts the rotors!
7) Work on one side at a time. Pick a side and turn the wheel in the right direction to make easy access to the back of the caliper. Remove the caliper by its mounting slide bolts.
8) Be careful not to strain the brake hose once the caliper is off.
9) Remove both pads and use one pad as a backing to squeeze the piston all the way into the caliper using a C-clamp or large water pump pliers (slip joint pliers).
10) Inspect rotors. Look for mirror like finish, deep grooves, rust build up on the inner and outer pad surface edges of the rotor. (all of these problems can be fixed by bringing the rotors to a local garage and have them turned for around $10-$15 each.) Exceptional amounts of rust in the pad surface of the rotor or badly out of round (pulsation when braking) could require rotor replacement. Under normal circumstances and doing the brakes before they grind usually reduces the need to have the rotors cut. Keep in mind for the best results you should have them cut anyway. This will give a nice dull finish and take out the imperfections to help braking distance, reduce squeaks, and pad live.
11) Remove the slide bolts from the caliper and clean. It is best to use a lube especially for caliper bolts, in a pinch use a heavy grease, or anti-seize. White lithium is not a good choice.
12) Match up the new inner and outer pads with the old and reinstall on the caliper. Install the rotor and caliper. Again be careful not to stain the brake hose.
13) Turn the wheel the other way and repeat the steps 7-12.
14) Now that the brakes are back together re-cap the master cylinder and pump the brake pedal with slow full strokes until the pedal get hard.
15) Test drive; be very careful to be sure the brake pedal has been pumped up before running up the truck. Other wise it will take those 5 or so pumps before your brakes start to work. By that time you've crashed! Do not do any panic stops to test out the brakes for the first 100 miles. This will give the pads time to break in to the rotors. You don't want to crack your new pads.
Optional work:
It's not a bad idea to bleed the brakes. This requires two people in most instances. If you're going to bleed the whole system, start at the right rear-left rear-right front-finishing up at the left front. If you only want to bleed the fronts, than start at the right front. The idea is to start at the wheel furthest from the master cylinder.
1) Person in vehicle pumps up the brakes until firm and holds down. He should tell the person at the axle when he is ready.
2) Person under the vehicle cracks open bleeder just enough to allow fluid the flow out. Try not to get squirted in the eye, Brake fluid burns eyeballs.
3) The guy in the car will feel the pedal drop to the floor.
4) Bleeder should be closed just before fluid stops flowing. That way no air will be into the system. Never pump the brake pedal with the bleeder open.
5) Once the bleeder is closed, tell the person in the car to pump them up again, he should let you know when the pedal is firm and he is holding down and ready to do it again.
6) Repeat 2-5 a few times remembering to check the master fluid level. Do not let it run dry or you'll be in for more work bleeding the entire system.
7) Once you start getting clean fluid out, your ready to go to the next wheel.
Bleeding can be messy. Be prepared to spill fluid on the ground, or garage floor/driveway. It's not a bad idea to have an oil drain bucked and large piece of cardboard to keep your driveway or garage floor clean.
 
#13 ·
There is nothing holding the rotor on once the wheel, caliper and star washers, if you have them still on.
 
#14 ·
Nice write-up Neil. I've always done my own brake jobs on every vehicle I've owned and have to say that covered everything pretty well.

9) Remove both pads and use one pad as a backing to squeeze the piston all the way into the caliper using a C-clamp or large water pump pliers (slip joint pliers).
Using something for backing is important. You don't want to compress the caliper unevenly as you may damage it, especially on older vehicles with older parts.

And even though this doesn't cover drums, remember to take the parking brake off before you get into those.. yeah I'm guilty of that lol
 
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