How to Change Brake Pads and Rotors
Brakes can become worn over time. Your brake pads and rotors should be checked and replaced when you notice any wear on them. This is a relatively easy task but it does require some mechanical knowledge. Changing your brake pads and rotors will increase the life of your vehicle.
Items Needed:
- Brake pads
- Rotors
- Floor jack
- Lug wrench
- Allen wrenches
- C-clamp
- Brake cleaner
- Clean old rags
- Park your vehicle on a flat level surface with the engine off.
- Apply your emergency brake.
- Place the floor jack under the frame of your vehicle near the brake system you will be working on. You will be changing the pads and rotors on one wheel at a time.
- Loosen the lug nuts with your lug wrench on the tire you are working on.
- Raise your vehicle, with the jack, just enough off the ground to freely spin the wheel.
- Take the lug nuts completely off and remove the tire.
- Clean any brake dust and dirt from your working brake assembly using clean rags and brake cleaner.
- Using Allen wrenches, loosen the two Allen head bolts that secure the caliper to the caliper mount from behind the caliper.
- Remove the Allen head bolts completely.
- Slide the caliper off the brake rotor.
- Remove the old brake pads from inside the caliper.
- Insert the new brake pads into the caliper with their new retaining clips.
- Set the caliper on the axle while you work on the rotor. Do not allow it to hang as this may cause damage to the brake line.
- Pull the disc brake rotor from the wheel lugs. This will remove it from the axle.
- Line up the new rotor over the existing wheel studs. Push it into place.
- Position the caliper, with new brake pads, over the brake rotor so that the rotor's edge will slide in between the two new pads.
- Slide the caliper into the caliper mounting bracket.
- Place the Allen head bolts through the caliper into their threads in the bracket.
- Tighten the Allen head bolts.
- Replace the wheel and move on to the next brake system.