The Easy Guide On How To Change Brake Pads
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How To Change Brake Pads In 14 Easy Steps
his guide on how to change brake pads shows the basic steps necessary for someone who is mechanically inclined, to change the brakes on their own car. The brakes on your car are one of the most important safety features that you have, protecting your family and others, and it is important to familiarize yourself with your vehicles braking system before beginning to work. This is a general guide only, and your specific vehicle may be different – please consult your vehicle owners manual for specific information.
1. You need to purchase the correct brake pads for your vehicle which you can usually obtain at your local automobile part supplier or car dealership.
2. Before you actually start to work on your brakes, allow your car to sit for at least one half hour after driving it, to ensure that the brake components have cooled down. Before you jack up the car, loosen the wheel nuts (but do not remove them) as they will be much easier to remove once the wheel are in the air.
3. Jack the car up and place onto jack stands. Always place chocks behind the wheels that are still on the ground to ensure that the car will not roll while you are working on it.
4. Now that the wheel is off the ground and the vehicle is secure, remove all of the wheel nuts and then the wheel itself. With the wheel removed, you will now be looking at the brake components ie. the rotor and caliper.
5. Loosen the bolts that hold the caliper into position. There are various configurations, but the bolts will be on the backside, and you may want to use some type of penetrating oil such as WD40 or similar, to help loosen the bolts.
6. Before removing the caliper, make sure that it is not under any pressure or tension and that is has some play. Remove the caliper from the rotor by pulling it off, but make sure you do not let it drop to the floor and watch that the brake line does not kink.
7. Remove the old brake pads taking note of how each one comes off and remember to keep track of all hardware pieces and where they go.
8. Install the new brake pads in the same way as the old ones. Use the brakes on the other side of the car for reference if you are not sure how it reassembles.
9. You will need to use a caliper clamp to squeeze the piston back onto the caliper. This will usually require a fair amount of force to completed this. If you remove the cap of the master cylinder it will make this easier.
10. Carefully slide the caliper back onto the disc, ensuring that nothing is damaged in the process.
11. Re-install the wheels and hand tighten the bolts.
12. Lower the car back to the ground and finish tightening all of the bolts on the wheel.
13. Start up the car and pump the brakes many times to ensure that they are seated properly. Put the car in gear with the brake pedal depressed and make sure the car does not move.
14. Test the brakes by going slowly at first, and then with increasing speed to make sure that the brakes are working properly. Do this several times and at various speeds. Test the brakes also with the car going in reverse. By testing the brakes on quiet residential streets to confirm they are working well, you will have confidence in your brake repair before you take the car onto busier roads. New brakes may squeak until they are broken in, but if there is a grinding sound, you may have installed the brake pads on backwards and you must check for this and correct if necessary.
Tips On How To Change Brake Pads - Video
Here is another site on how to change brake pads.
