When it comes to your vehicle, it is very important to keep it maintained and working properly. A car that is not mechanically sound is very dangerous. Not only to the driver, but to the passengers and also other vehicles on the road. Unusual noises, smells and performance should be checked out by person that understands the workings of a vehicle. However, there are many car mend jobs that can be done by an owner, even with wee mechanical knowledge.
Changing disc brakes is one of those jobs. Not all vehicles are the same, so before you start removing parts from your car, make sure you eye the entire area to be worked on for any issues that you might run into. Unfortunately you cannot always make a determination of problems until you have started removing the old parts. I also propose starting the job when you have a merge days off from work. Then if you do run into a snag you will have time to get the primary parts or help before you have to return to work. I have changed the brake pads on all my vehicles since I owned my first car nearly 35 years ago. Disc brakes have always been extremely easy to change. Drum brakes are more difficult and will not be discussed in this article.
Do It Yourself
You will need to jack up your car. But before you do that make sure the car is sitting on level ground and you have a solid surface to work on. Next, loosen the lug nuts slightly on the wheel you will be working on. Just a half turn is good. Now jack the car up. But only jack up one angle at a time. There is no need to jack up more than one wheel at a time when you are changing disc brake pads. Only jack the car up until the wheel is off the ground about one inch. Immediately place a jack stand between a solid part of the car's frame or underbody and the ground. Never ever reconsider getting underneath the car when it is jacked up without a jack stand in place. Once the car is jacked up and a jack stand is in place, take off the lug nuts and the wheel. Set the lug nuts on the wheel so you know where they are when you need to put the wheel back on.
With the wheel off, fully eye the brake components. If all looks good, you are ready to start removing and replacing the brake pads and rotors. But before you try to take off any bolts I propose spraying them with a liquid penetrant designed to help loosen frozen and rusted bolts and nuts. I often use a goods called Pb Blaster. It has worked well for me. Spray all the bolts that need to be removed and let the penetrant soak in for 15 - 30 minutes. You can spray complicated times if need be.
On all the cars I've worked on I always change both the brake pads and the brake rotors. In the "old" days you would take the rotors to the auto store and have them resurfaced and then use them again. Today it is hard to find a shop that will resurface rotors. Modern rotors are much thinner so it's much harder to resurface them. Plus as you take off material the rotor will heat up faster and warp easier when in use. Then you'll have the dreaded thump whenever you apply pressure to the brakes. Rotors for many cars are fairly inexpensive. It's best to just buy new rotors and replace them at the same time you replace the brake pads.
There should be two bolts retention the brake caliper on. You'll need to take off both of those bolts and then pull the brake caliper away from the brake caliper bracket. Once you get the brake caliper off, take off the brake pads. Normally they are in the caliper housing. Sometimes they are still stuck on the brake rotor. Just take off them. Then set the brake caliper off to the side. It will still be attached to the brake hose so don't let the caliper hang by the hose. Use a piece of wire or string to hang the caliper from. Or see if you can somehow find a place to set the caliper so that no pressure is on the brake hose.
To change the rotor you will need to take off the caliper bracket. The caliper bracket is held to the front housing assembly by two more bolts. take off those two bolts and then pull off the caliper bracket. The rotor should now just fall off. You may need to smack it a few times with a hammer to get it to come loose. The rotor and brake pads are now removed. Now you need to start replacing parts. The first part to put back on is the rotor. If the old rotor was difficult to remove, place some Permatex Anti-sieze blend on the back of the new rotor before placing it back on the hub assembly. This will ensure that you don't have a qoute getting the rotor off the next time you do a brake job.
Next you will need to replace the caliper bracket. That is just a straightforward matter of lining up the holes on the bracket with the holes in the housing assembly and then using the two bolts you removed previously, reattach the caliper bracket. On these bolts, and all other bolts in the reassembly, you will want to tighten them to their installation designated torque settings. Often you can find the torque settings by searching online. Or you can ask your automotive parts store for the torque specification. You could pick up a Haines or Chilton's manual. They have the torque specifications for most tasteless mend jobs on your definite vehicle.
It's now time to setup the new brake pads and then reassemble the brake caliper to the caliper bracket. Before you can put in the new pads, you will need to squeeze the caliper piston back to its fully retracted state. To do this you want to take off the cap off the scholar cylinder. This allows air to leave out of the law when you squeeze the piston back. Now take a large pair of pliers or a c-clamp and very slowly squeeze the caliper piston back until it is fully retracted. Do this slowly and check to see if there are any leaks nearby the piston gasket. If there are leaks then you will need to get a cylinder rebuild kit, or you will need to purchase a new brake caliper. When you've got the piston fully retracted, slide the new brake shoes into the brake caliper and then place the brake caliper back into place over the brake rotor. Reinstall the two bolts you removed from the caliper and tighten them to the proper torque specification.
Ensure all is tightened properly, eye the entire work area for any extra parts that you may have forgotten to replace and then replace the wheel. Tighten the lug nuts to their recommended torque specification and replace the wheel cover if you have one. Now you can take the car out for a test drive. Just be sure to pump the brakes many times after you start the car and before you drive it. This will push the caliper piston tight against the new brake pads. Now you can test drive the car and make sure all feels right. Many habitancy do not have the tools primary to do this kind of job. If that's the case, then you can call your local automotive parts provider and ask if they have a tool loaner program. Places like enlarge Auto Parts and Autozone have tool loaner programs. You just sign out the tools and then return them when you are done. If you don't return the tool, or you break it then you will get charged for it.
Sometimes there are lubricants you need to use when doing a brake job. There may be a lubricant for the bolts that hold the caliper to the caliper bracket. These are typically a bolt head with a pin that slides straight through the caliper into the bracket. It's important to use the lubricant if recommended. The caliper slides on this pin and allows for even wear of the brake pads. Often there is also other lubricant that is placed on the surface of the brake shoes. It is supposed to help preclude squeaking caused by the brake shoe rubbing on the brake caliper.
It may seem like there is a lot to do when you change your own disc brake pads on your vehicle. But authentically the entire process will take you less than two hours once you are comfortable with it. It now takes me less than one hour to change the front disc brake pads and rotors on my vehicles. When you perceive how much money you can save you understand why it's a good idea to change your own disc brake pads and rotors. Please remember to be safe, and double check all your work to ensure nothing was missed.
Brake Job - Do it Yourself
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