How to Change Brake Pads
If your car is having trouble stopping, it is probably due to the brake pads. Your braking system on your vehicle is extremely reliable and very capable. Most problems with the braking system occur due to negligence rather than a faulty part. The truth of the matter is that braking is extremely important to you and your family’s safety and 9 times out of 10; the cause for poor stopping is due to the fact that your brake pads are worn out and require a new replacement.
Two Types of Brakes
There are two types of brakes; they are Drum brakes and Disc brakes. Most new cars use disc brakes. Disc brakes are quite simple to change and are fairly inexpensive. They are also excellent at stopping your vehicle. Drum brakes have been used in mainly older cars and while effective are no longer a popular choice.
Because disc brakes are on the vast majority of vehicles, this article will focus only on changing Disc brakes.
How Disc Brakes Work
A disc brake has a few elements. First is a caliper, two brake pads and a rotor. There are also bolts and clips that hold all the parts together. Calipers either come as floating caliper or fixed calipers. A caliper squeezes the brake pad toward the central metal plate- which is the rotor. When the rotor comes in contact with the brake pad friction occurs and slows down the vehicle. Brake pads are attached to the inside of the caliper either with clips or bolts depending on your vehicle’s design. Brake pads are made from materials that can resist lots of heat and stress. Many brake pads are made from ceramic materials.
How to Change Brake Pads
Step 1: Determine Whether Your Brakes Require a Replacement
There are two way to determine whether the pads need replacing. The first is if your brakes are screeching, you probably require new brake pads. If when you press down on the brake, the brakes sound like two pieces of metal scraping against one another, you probably require rotors as well. Replace your brakes immediately to avoid damaging your rotors. The second way to inspect your brake pads is to look at your pads in order to determine if they are worn down. Usually a brake pad of less than 1/4 of an inch should be replaced. However if your brake pads are worn unevenly, they should also be replaced. It should be noted that front brakes are almost always the first to go.
Step 2: Prepare Your Car
You will need to take off each tire that you are replacing your brake pads on. Obviously, you will replace both sides, so you will either take off both front tires or both rear tires each time. However, before doing so, park your car on a level surface out of the way of traffic- preferably in a driveway. Jack up the vehicle- preferably with a hydraulic jack and then keep the vehicle level with tire jacks. Don’t trust only a jack to keep your vehicle up in place for long periods of time, especially when you will be working underneath it. Make sure the front or rear of the car (depending on which brakes you are replacing) is prevented from moving. To prevent the vehicle from moving, use tire blocks.
Step 3: Remove the Wheels Giving You Access to the Brake Pads
Work on your vehicle one wheel at a time. First remove the lug nuts and then remove the wheel. A disc brake has a few elements. First is a caliper, two brake pads and a rotor. There are also bolts and clips that hold all the parts together.
Step 4: Remove the Calipers
Your car will have either bolts or clips holding your brake pads to the calipers. These bolts or clips must be removed. Inspect the brake pads and if they are damaged or worn out remove them. If your brake pads are in bad shape, chances are they have already damaged the rotor. The rotor is the shiny pieces of round metal next to the brake pads. Rotors should also be checked and replaced if your brake pads were grinding away at them. If there are any scores in them, they are damaged and should be removed. You can either have them replaced or ask a mechanic to have them turned- meaning shaved down or smoothed.
Step 5: Prepare to Install the New Brake Pads
If your brake pads were damaged, you should go to your local auto parts store and purchase a good pair of brake pads to fit your vehicle. In addition, if your rotors were damaged, either have them turned or replace them as well. The only other thing you need is a little brake grease, which can be bought in small tubes for a few bucks.
Before placing new brake pads onto a caliper, you must move the piston back to its full open position. You can accomplish this by finding the back portion of the caliper and move it back. Back meaning towards the center of the vehicle. You may need a vice grip or even channel lock to accomplish this.
Step 6: Grease the Brake Pad Appropriately
Use your brake pad grease to grease the brake pad. The grease goes on the back of the brake pad that comes into contact with the rotor. The grease goes between the plate of the caliper and the back of the brake pad.
Step 7: Reassemble
From this point, you will install the brake pads back onto your calipers, bolting or clipping them back on and reassembling the wheels back onto the vehicle.
Things to Consider
With new brakes, your car will always have some noise and usually some brake dust, this is common for a few days.
Test your vehicle making sure it stops before driving it normally.
Buy a car repair book for your specific vehicle. They will usually have diagrams and installation instructions for your exact vehicle.