Can I replace brake pads myself?

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:58 pm

Hi Everyone,

I have a 91 Legacy wagon I use as a station car. It's getting to the end of it's life but I'd like to make last through winter for the 4WD.

My question: the front brake pads are shot. Is it possible to replace them myself? I've been googling for resources but haven't found much instruction. I don't do much work on my cars but I can follow instructions.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

Silas

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 4:07 pm

Yes. It's easy.

It sounds like you're a beginner. Maybe you could start with a third-party repair manual, like AutoZone's repair guides. Realize that there are no very good third-party manuals for our cars, but brake jobs are so simple that any of them will give you what you need to know.

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:05 pm

Thanks vrg3.

I'll check out Autozone. I'm definitely a beginner but I thought it might be fun to give it a shot.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:27 pm

Yeah, definitely... This is actually a very good project to begin with, I'd say.

Just to make sure I'm clear -- that's a link above to AutoZone's repair guides; they're free on the web:

http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroke ... epairGuide

They're essentially digitized versions of the Chilton's manuals.

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:41 pm

Thanks again, I thought I'd have to get the repair guide at Autozone.

It does look fairly simple. Looking at the guide, I'm not sure about two things. Does the c-clamp only stay on until the lower retainer bolt comes off? And bleeding...if it's not gravity bleed, I'll need another person. Do you know which it is?

tonflo · Post by **tonflo** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:56 pm

You shouldn't need to bleed just to change pads and since you won't be opening the bleeder screw or brakeline bolt. Use a good sized C-clamp & the old inboard brake pad to compress the piston back into the caliper. The fixed part of the clamp will be on the back side of the caliper (closest to centerline of car) and the threaded part will be running thru the caliper to the old pad, centered over the piston. The old pad gives you a flat face to clamp against & distributes the force over the whole piston.

You only need to undo the bottom caliper bolt, the caliper can rotate up enough to on the top bolt to change pads. Be sure to push caliper back in on slider pins (the 2 little rubber accordion boots will compress) before putting new pads in (pull caliper toward axle nut, watch bronze colored pins get shorter). DON'T go near brake pedal while caliper off rotor & no pads in. You may need to use a syringe or turkey baster to remove some fluid from reservoir when compressing piston so it doesn't overflow. DO NOT get brake fluid on paint since it will take it right off. Make sure you undo bottom caliper bolt & not brakeline bolt, they are close together & tough to see back there.

See here for things to avoid doing & pics of stuff http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=25083

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:58 pm

You don't need to leave the C-clamp on; you just use it to push the piston back into the caliper. The piston won't spring back out if you remove the C-clamp.

To bleed it properly you will need another person, or some kind of single-person-brake-bleeding device. Gravity bleeding takes forever and allows lots of moisture from the air to get into the fluid.

You might consider investing in some speed bleeders. They're brake bleeder valves with check valves built in; they allow you to bleed the brakes by yourself since they prevent air from being sucked in through the valve. For this car you would need M10x1.0 bleeders.

If you don't open any of the brake lines, you won't introduce any new air into them, so you won't need to bleed the brakes after the brake job any more than you did before the brake job.

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:13 am

I read everything carefully and finally got started today. Thanks for taking the time to give advice.

But I've hit a snag: I cannot get the bottom caliper bolt loose. I'm worried I'm going to strip it or even break it off. Does anyone know how deep it goes? Is WD-40 going to help at all?

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:55 am

WD-40 might help, but it's not really good for this sort of thing. PB Blaster (found at a hardware store or auto parts store) is a much more effective penetrating lubricant. Most people here use it.

Spray it liberally with PB Blaster, let it sit for a few minutes, tap gently with a hammer, spray it some more, go inside and eat lunch, and then come out and give it another try.

Manarius · Post by **Manarius** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:14 am

Brake pads only requires removal of 1 bolt...the 10mm? caliber bolt. To get it lose, I'd just stick my socket or regular wrench on there, make sure I'm going the right way, and just smack on it. It'll come undone.

dwreck30 · Post by **dwreck30** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 6:07 am

When I did my brakes I just put a good sized flathead between the rotor and the pad and pried on it. Worked fine and no need for a big c-clamp.

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:50 pm

vrg3 wrote:WD-40 might help, but it's not really good for this sort of thing. PB Blaster (found at a hardware store or auto parts store) is a much more effective penetrating lubricant. Most people here use it.

Spray it liberally with PB Blaster, let it sit for a few minutes, tap gently with a hammer, spray it some more, go inside and eat lunch, and then come out and give it another try.

I have PB Blaster but I can't spray where it must be stuck because of the rubber sleeve on the bolt.

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:57 pm

Success! It was very simple. Thanks everyone.

It wasn't a money saver though. 6 stitches on my index finger ($230) but oh well.

Manarius · Post by **Manarius** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:54 pm

Stitches? Ouch. Time to wear gloves methinks.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:07 pm

How did you do that? I'm still technically a beginner mechanic and I've never done anything that needed stitches...

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:22 pm

Ive cut my hands to shit while working on the incredibly cramped engine compartment, but never anything deep enough to need stitches!

Did your hand slip while you were loosening the bolt or something?

silasbrock · Post by **silasbrock** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:58 am

Splinter wrote:Ive cut my hands to shit while working on the incredibly cramped engine compartment, but never anything deep enough to need stitches!

Did your hand slip while you were loosening the bolt or something?

The bolt was my fault because I was using the closest non-metric socket and an adjustable wrench. Once I got a 14mm piece it was pretty easy. Yeah, I'm a dumbass.

I don't even know what I cut myself on. Three brake pads came out easily but the fourth was really stuck. So I was trying to pry it without scraping the rotor and I slipped. Most of the time I was wearing gloves.

Now, I've got this old Audi that needs pads and rotors.

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:25 am

Well, the worst thing you would have to do if you scraped the rotor would be to have it cut, which wouldn't have been a bad idea anyway.

Pep Boys cuts loose rotors for $6 a pop.

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Can I replace brake pads myself?

Can I replace brake pads myself?