I am going to change my front brakes tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone has done there own yet and if so are there any tricks i need to know

 

I assume you are doing the fronts only? Thats usually the case.

1. Do one side at a time so you have the other side as reference.
2. I always have the manual handy, Just in case. Front brakes are very easy though.
3. I own a micrometer to accurately measure the disk width. The disk should have the minumum thickness stamped on it.
4. Have a large jaw C-clamp to push the caliper piston back. Buy a cheap one from Harbor freight or some other discount tool seller. You can always use a Large C-clamp.
5. I use a small turkey baster to extract any extra brake fluid from the master cylinder when pushing back the piston.

I may have missed something but I am sure others will have tips as well. Good luck!

I did my corolla front brakes last week in about 10 minutes!

 

wear gloves, brake dust under nails is a pain in the ****

 

Er, just where are you putting your fingers???

 

you need a 14mm socket, rachet, & 14mm opened wrench, basically thats all you need to take off the calipers. if you were to hit me earlier i could have gotten a set of brakes pads out to you. if you're ever interested or have other buddies interested check out the product review "N-Brake high performance brake pads".

 

My 2005 Xa required a 17mm to remove the calipers. You don't need a c-clamp to compress the piston. These are full floating calipers. All you need is a large screwdriver. Before removing anything other than your wheels, simply stick a large screwdriver between the opening in the front of the caliper and the leading edge of the rotor. Then slowly pry toward you and the caliper will compress as it slides accross the floating pins. Just keep an eye on your master cylinder level to make sure it doesn't overflow. Once the caliper is fully compressed, remove the two 17mm retaining bolts. Have a coat hanger or piece of heavy wire at hand so you can suspend the caliper from the spring. Don't let it hang on its own by the hose - you might damage the hose otherwise. Then, Just remove the pads, etc.. and re-install. I didn't have the torque specs for the caliper bolts, but they were not really that tight to begin with. I simply torqued them to 80lbs.

I just installed my slotted/dimpled rotors yesterday so this is all pretty fresh in my mind. You can see the results in my gallery if you want. I documented the whole process with pictures and stuff, but I don't know where to post them to get them in this damn forum! If you want to see more pictures, send me an EMAIL and I'll send them to you.

Anyway, the whole process is simple.

David -