Tools Needed to Change Brake Pads
Changing brake pads is one of the easier jobs to perform on a motor vehicle and is well within the scope of the careful amateur mechanic. Extreme care is needed in working on automobile repairs. Always wear safety goggles and be sure the vehicle is firmly supported and cannot move or fall onto the worker. Work undertaken as a result of guidance in this article is the responsibility of the individual.
It is always useful to consult a pictorial guide or video such as the ones cited below.
Basic tools you will need include a wheel-brace, car jack, chocks, long-nosed pliers, metric size 13 combination spanner and G clamp,
Before starting work, make sure the vehicle is safely parked on level ground with the hand-brake firmly on. You may also wish to chock the wheels as an extra precaution against movement.
First you’ll need to loosen the wheel nuts with a wheel-brace which should be a part of the car’s equipment. If not, you’ll need to consider buying a good solid brace from a car accessory store.
Next, position a strong jack underneath the car and hoist up the wheel from the ground so it can be freely rotated. The jack is another item which is usually supplied with the car, but for added safety you might consider using a either an axle stand or a 2-ton trolley jack. Take off the loosened wheel nuts by hand and remove the road wheel.
Once the wheel has been removed you’ll see clearly the disc and callipers. On the front edge of the callipers you’ll see two split pins which need to be carefully removed with a pair of long nosed pliers. Now you need to take out the anti-squeal shims which should reveal the brake pads. You may find an electrical connection on the brake pad which needs to be removed. Using a metric sized 13 combination spanner, loosen and remove the bolts holding the calliper to the wheel hub. Once this has been done, using the same pair of pliers you can pull out the old brake pads. The calliper will now hang loose from the wheel and will need to be supported on a suitable wood or stone block, or secured to the suspension spring with a length of wire to prevent tension damage to the break pipe.
Always replace the old brake pads with new ones. Never use old pads from another car as they will wear unevenly. To replace the pads you’ll need to push back the pistons so that the new pads will fit into place. One way to do this is to gently wind an 8 inch G clamp on the piston until it seats itself back into the calliper housing. Place the calliper back into position. Push in the new pads and gently tap them into place using a wooden mallet. Next replace the anti-squeal shims and with the long nosed pliers replace the split pins and bend over the ends. If the whole job is done carefully enough the brakes should not need bleeding but however do ensure the brake fluid reservoir is topped up to the maximum marks on the side of the reservoir.
Lastly, replace the road wheel and put on the nuts hand tight. Lower the wheel to the ground and with the wheel brace tighten all four wheel nuts to the manufacturer’s specifications. Job done! The whole process needn’t take more than thirty minutes per wheel.
Before driving off, pump the brake pedal several times to make sure the pistons are correctly seated. If the brakes feel firm, they are fine, but if they still feel spongy you will need to check the brake fluid again.
http://www.racepad.com/tech/change_brake_pads/change_brake_pads_download.pdf
http://www.answerbag.com/brake-tools
