Ok so I've never actually done a disc brake pad replacement myself, but in auto shop I watched a kid do it to his truck, and it seemed pretty straight forward, he got it done in about 30 minutes.

What I saw happen (and am assuming will be the same procedure) is after he took the wheel off, he took the caliper off, and it could just dangle from there. The brake pads just sort of came out by hand from there I think, or maybe he screwed them in or something (cant remember)

and then opposite to put it all back together. Is this correct, or are there more steps to it than this?

Also, I know that this is probably a stupid question to those "in the know" but... how do you bleed brakes? I understand that it gets rid of air in the brake system, but I dont understand how it works (or if I have to do it), or if there is a special tool to do it.

Thanks in advance for all your help!


P.S. I have read through the tech article and my Hayne's manual but would still like a little bit of human confirmation Thx

 

It's best to have the caliper supported and not "dangle” Use a wire or rope to support the caliper which will prevent damaging the brake line.
As far as bleeding the brake, it's best to use the bleeder tool (one man operation) which you can get at an auto store. If no tool, it will require a 2 male/female or a combination of both (trying to be politically correct) One person in the driver seat and the other person on the brake assembly. On the caliper there is grease fitting which you will use to bleed the brakes. Have the person in the vehicle apply the brakes and hold it to the floor then loosen the fitting. Brake fluid will come out then tighten the nut. Once the nut is tightened then the person can slowly let the brake pedal bake up and go over the step over again. Very important that the person holds the brake pedal to the floor until you have tightened the nut or else air will get in to the system. Make sure you check the brake fluid reservoir to make sure it is not empty

 

Just a couple hints,,
Do one side at a time,so you can use assembled side for reference(beats any pictures,imho)
Also,you will need to push the caliper piston back in,I just use a C-Clamp myself,Go VERY slowly,
Cant remember off-hand if the pads(inner/outer) are different on our cars,but pay attention to that too
Good luck
Its a fairly simple and rewarding job,that I refuse to pay to have done!
Later
Steve

 

Wait a min if your just changing your pads why u wanna bleed the brakes. Unless you have air in the lines.

 

I've done a few brake systems, and just for the hell of it if you can spare the time and the $3 for fluid why not? With one person you can use a cheap gravity bleed system and can get both fronts done in about 20 minutes with the car already jacked up and the wheels off.

 

you can cheat on this to do it with one person if you take the grease fitting and put a little vaccume hose off it and put it in a jar holding clean brake fluid. this way when you let off the brakes it will suck a little fluid back in rather then air. and while you might suck in some dirty fluid most all of the fluid should be pushed back out on the next pump.

cheap easy and needs only one person :-)

 

Just did the pads last week for the first time. Here's the play by play:

Jack the car, remove the wheel. If you're on the driver's side, turn the wheel all the way to the right. Opposite way for opposite side.
You need to remove two bolts that hold the caliper to the spindle. They could be hex head, torx head, or plain old bolts, so you may want to have enough tools on hand or another car to pick up the correct one from the store. Mine were hex head, but I used a torx socket that happened to fit with a little coaxing.
Once the bolts are out, simply pull the caliper up and off the rotor. I had to use a hammer to help it out a bit, just don't go nuts hitting the thing. At this point, the caliper is only connected to the brake line, so be sure to take the tension off of it. I just stuck a cinder block under the car and rested the caliper on it. You can tie it to the spindle, too.
The outboard pad will probably have already fallen out when you take the caliper off the rotor. Before removing the inboard pad though, use a C-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper. One end of the clamp goes on the pad itself and the other side goes on the back of the caliper, then clamp it down until the pad bottoms out.
The inboard pad is held into the piston with a retaining clip; simply pull the pad out. You will probably need to remove the retaining clip and put it on the new pad, so double check your new pads before throwing out the old ones.
At this point, I put some caliper grease on the inside of the caliper where the pads contact it (the edge of the piston and most of the outboard side of the caliper) to prevent sqeaks and whatnot. Do not use a different kind of grease, as it probably cannot hold up to high braking temps and will end up dripping onto your rotors! Not a good thing.
Now you can put the new pads onto the caliper. Be careful not to get grease on the pads themselves when you install them. In fact, just don't touch the pads period if you can avoid it. Same with the rotor surface. Anyway, put the pads on the caliper and then just slide the whole assembly back onto the spindle and rotor. If you can't get it on, you either skipped the c-clamp step or didn't compress the piston enough. Use an OLD pad to compress it further, if necessary. Also, on the inboard side of the caliper are two "spacers" (one for each bolt) that you may have to push into the caliper to get it on the spindle.
Once it's together, apply some caliper grease on the bolts above and below the threads and at the ends, then bolt it back together. If you have a torque wrench, find the torque specs in Haynes or Chilton and put it together properly. Torqueing the lugnuts when you put the wheel back on is a good practice, too.
Before driving anywhere, start the car and pump the pedal a few times until it feels firm. Then you're ready to go. I'm not sure if pads have a break-in period, but I would just go easy on the brakes for a little while. Re-torque your lugnuts after driving a few miles, too. And that's it, you're done.

 

you should pull the rotor and clean and repack the grease in the bearing replace the seals and have the rotors turned at your local parts store or machine shop.

just putting pads on will work but you are putting smooth pads against a uneven rotor and it will take some time for them to wear in. You may also get a pulsation in the pedal from untrue rotors.

that normal is to pull the rotor with every brake job and service bearing and turn.

Jeff

 

Thanks for all the help, espescially on that write-up CaysE! I feel very confident in doing this now. I was going to get the rotors turned if they looked to be in good condition, otherwise I was already prepared to get new rotors (and have those turned too)

The most expensive part of this project for me is going to be a jack and jackstands (lol). I've been spoled with ramps so far hehe.

 

if you buy new rotor there is no need to turn them only a good cleaning with brake clean and put some new grease seal in the back of em. which you need to do for any of the choices you make.

Jeff

 

You're welcome. The Torx bit I used was a T55, in case you need it.

I replaced the rotors and bearings at the same time, as well. No need to cut new rotors on a street car. If they get warped (or already are), call the place you got them from and demand replacements. New street rotors should not have to be cut, don't let the shop tell you otherwise.