Change Your Brake Pads
Before you actually change your brake pads, you should first prepare your car. Make sure you've got everything ready to go before you start this project. Most important, be sure safety is at the front of your mind. You'll be taking the wheel off so be sure you have your car jacked up and resting securely on jackstands. Go ahead and break the lugs before you jack it up. It's much easier and safer with the wheel on the ground. You will need to lift your vehicles tires off the ground using a jack or stands. Most car owners usually lift both front tires off the ground at once or if you just have a standard jack, lift one tire off the ground at a time. Make sure to use tire blocks to keep your car safe and secure.
Step 1. Gain Access to the Brake Pads
Once your vehicle is securely lifted off the ground and stable, remove the tire or tires gaining access to the brake pads.
Step 2. Remove the Calipers & Check the Pads and Rotor
As stated above the calipers squeeze the brake pads. In order to remove the brake pads, you must first remove the calipers. Calipers are usually held together using simple bolts or clips. They should easily be able to be removed. Once you have access to the brake pads, inspect them to ensure they are worn out and need to be replaced. In addition, check the rotor- the shiny piece of metal. If the rotor looks badly worn out or warped it too needs to be replaced. In some cases, a scored rotor can be shaved down, making them smooth again. This way you just need to do a little maintenance on them instead of replacing them completely.
Step 3. Prep for the Installation of Your New Brake Pads
Once you have the old, worn out brake pads off your vehicle, go down to the auto parts store and buy a replacement. If your rotors were damaged, they should be replaced as well. In addition to buying new pads and or a new rotor, pick up a small tube of brake grease.
Once back at your vehicle, before you place your brake pads back on your car, you will need to reposition the caliper back into place. Moving the caliper back to its full open position is quick and easy, just find the back portion of the caliper and move it back- usually moving it back means moving the caliper toward the center of the vehicle. If you have difficulty, use a vice grip for better hold. Now that the caliper is back to its full open position, prep the brake pads by applying a little brake pad grease to them. The grease goes on the back of the pads.
Step 4. Compress the Brake Piston
As your brake pads wear out, the caliper adjusts itself so that you will have strong brakes throughout the life of the pads. If you look on the inside of the caliper you'll see a round piston coming out. This is what pushes on the brake pads from the back. Problem is, it's adjusted itself to match your worn out pads. Trying to get it over the new pads is like parking a Cadillac in New York City. You can do it, but the damage level will be high. Instead of destroying your new pads, you'll push the piston back to the starting point.
Take the c-clamp and place the end with the screw on it against the piston with the other end of the clamp around on the back of the caliper assembly. Now slowly tighten the clamp until the piston has moved far enough in that you can easily plop the caliper assembly over the new pads.
Step 5. Reassemble the Brake Pad on Your Vehicle
Once you have greased up your brake pad, you can install them back onto your vehicle simply by reversing the steps. First install the brake pads onto your calipers, then clip or bolt your caliper back on and then placing the tire back onto the axle.
Once you lower your vehicle from the jack, ramp or stands, make sure you tighten the wheels. In addition, before you start driving your vehicle normally, make sure your vehicle stops correctly. With new brake pads, you may see some dust or hear screeching noise for the first few days- this is common due to the newness of the pad.
Replacing your brake pads is generally an easy to moderate project. However, if your vehicle has anti-lock brakes or looks complex, one of the best ways to accomplish this task is by buying a car repair book for your specific vehicle. These books generally have lots of diagrams and installation instructions that make the entire process much easier to understand. If you still don't feel comfortable or are unsure of exactly how to replace your brake pads, consult with your local car mechanic.
