Car brake change - DIY

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Last Updated: Friday, 06 September 2024 00:06
Published: Monday, 08 July 2024 14:08
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Car Brake Pad/Rotor change

If you have a regular car, chances are that brake change is one of the things that you have to do once or twice a during the life of the car. Some people keep driving 100K miles w/o needing a brake job, while some might need it sooner. Pads are the first thing to replace, but most mechanics recommend changing both pads and rotors at the same time, as the labor cost is high and part cost is low. So, get it done in one shot, so that you don't have to pay for it again few years down the line. Usually new rotors with new pads are recommended, especially if you are doing this after a long interval (i.e 10 yrs or 100K miles)

Fantastic video showing basics ofhow pads, rotors and calibers work => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivMB4WEGgZo

Get your brakes evaluated every year or so to find out if they need replacement. All shops do the evaluation for free. Take pics while they are evaluating and and take it to different mechanics. This will give you an idea of what all needs to be replaced, Get a quote from each place. Once you are convinced that brake needs replacement, you can either do it yourself or at a mechanic's shop. I'll list both options below:

1. At a shop: The labor cost for replacing brake pads and rotors usually runs from $50 to $100 per wheel depending on the car. For 4 wheels, labor is around 3 hrs, and they will charge you around $200-$400. The cost of pads + rotors is around $400. Total quoted for my Toyota minivan was $1500 for all 4 wheels for pads+rotor. They will push you to change both pads and rotors. Very rarely will they agree to just change the pad. Also, they won't allow you to use your own pads and rotors. Their pads and rotors are the cheapest ones that they get in bulk from the auto parts stores.

Brake specialty places like brakeCheck, etc are also ripoff. All these repair shops basically milk you in parts as well as labor (parts are usually 2X-3X more expensive at these repair shops compared to what you can get at amazon)

2. Do it yourself (DIY): Of course you are here on this website to save money, so we do everything humanly possible ourselves. Brake change is such an easy job, that it can be done yourself. If you just do brakepads, they can be done  in less than 1 hr per wheel in your parking space. It not only saves you money but you put the best parts too. You should spread doing the brake job for 4 wheels over 2 weekends. One weekend do the front brakes and the next weekend, do the rear ones. The rear ones are usually harder. Doing the front ones will give you some experience, and you can also try them out over a week. Next week it gets easier when doing rear wheels

General procedure on brake pad/rotor replacement (3 part series): Part 1 (other 2 parts are in links in the first part) => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwEOP9Tobw8

 

 

When to do a Brake Change:

It's hard to know when to get brake work done, and what all parts to replace. Brake pads and Brake rotors are the 2 parts that usually need changing. How long they last depend on the quality of brake pads and rotors that are installed on your car. Bosch Brake pads and rotors are the best and even better than or as good as OEM parts for half the price.

  • Brake Pads: These are the parts that push against the rotor and stop your car. They start thinning out every time brake is applied. New brake pads are about 12mm-15mm in depth. Brake pads need replacement when they go to 3mm or less. This can happen in anywhere from 30K-80K. It's independent of how many years the car has been driven, but mostly on miles driven, and how hard you apply your brakes. Some people have their pads lasting 100K+ miles.
  • Brake Rotors: These rotors are circular disc attached to the transmission that the brake pads press against to stop the car. These also start degrading and thinning out over time. Experts say that the rotors last for at least 2 pad changes. That means, you can skip rotor change the first time you change your brake pads. The next time you replace your brake pads, you can replace rotors too. Since brake pads last from 30K-80K miles, rotors will need change at 60K-160K miles. Auto shops will push you for a rotor change. I changed my brake pads at 65K miles. They could have easily run for 10K miles more. Rotor was in pristine condition. Rotor may not need to be changed even at 150K miles. Car will expire before the rotors expire.

 

 

Items needed for Brake Change:

Get these things before you start doing oil change. These are one time investment, and can be reused.

1. Brake Pads and Rotors: You need to buy pads and rotors. Rotors are only needed if they have gotten bad. I got my set of Bosch rotors from amazon for $60 ($40 for front wheels, $20 for rear wheels). Pads come in set of 4, so that you can replace pads in both tires (right and left). Bosch rotors were $80 a piece, so would cost $300. So, rotors are 4X more expensive than pads, that's why people try to postpone changing rotors.

2. Jack and pair of Jack Stand: You need a jack to lift the car (usually avilable with spare tire that's already there in your car). Pair of Jack stands are needed to hold the car for extra safety.

3. Brake Lube and Brake Cleaner: Brake lube and Brake cleaner are good to have.

4. Misc items to rent: You can get these on rent at any Auto parts store for FREE. Do not waste money buying them.

 

 

Steps:

Lot of videos on youtube for all common models of cars. Search for your model and follow the procedure exactly as shown.

Video on replacing front brake pads only on Toyota Sienna => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSIh1PzSpo8

Video on replacing rear brake pads only on Toyota Sienna => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2OG_hffd1o

Videos on replacing both pad and rotor replacement on front wheel):

Sequence to take parts out is : Wheels => Calipers => Pads => Brackets => Rotors. Now reverse the order when assembling these back.

Summarized steps:

FRONT BRAKES:

  1. Park your car and get your Parking brake (special brake on the side or near the brakes) so that the car won't move, no matter what. It locks the wheels completely. Now, look at the level of brake fluid under the hood to make sure it's close to MIN level. If the pads are worn out, and the brake fluid level is near the max, then it's possible that after putting the new brake pads, the brake fluid may come gushing out. To prevent that, take some brake fluid out to take it to MIN level. Do this before you start the brake job. For me, the brake fluid was just below the "Max" level, and after he brake job, it went just over the "Max" level. This was just with front 2 brake pad change.
  2. Use 21mm socket with the breaker bar to loosen wheel nuts. Instead of breaker bar with 21mm socket, use "Automotive cross bar" listed above. Do it for 2 front wheels, and then raise the car using jack stands. Now loosen the nuts completely to take off the front wheels.
  3. You will now see your brake assembly. To work on front pads in a easier way, get on the car, and turn the steering wheel so that the pad is more visible to you. For the other side, again turn the steering wheel in completely opposite direction. After taking the wheels out, you will see 2 wishbone springs. Take them out by hand and remember to put them back in (They provide new ones with brake pads, so use new ones if available)
  4. Now take 17mm wrench and 14mm socket (attached to the ratchet) to unscrew the bolt that goes into the side holding the caliper. To unscrew, you need to turn the bolt "counterclockwise" looking into the bolt. To put it back, you need to turn it "clockwise" looking into the bolt. It's easy to do it other way, as you are looking at it from behind the nut, so directions get messed up. Even some videos will appear like they are moving nuts in wrong direction, but they are not. If you are moving it, and nut doesn't seem to move, you need to reverse direction. I did this mistake too. Also, the 17 mm wrench need to be thin (NOT thick), as then it won't go into the small space that's there. So, get different thickness 17mm wrench before you start the job. I had three 17mm wrench, and only one of them was able to go in the limited space available there. We need to take out this caliper before we can access the pads, as the caliper is covering the pads. When lifting the calipers, make sure that you don't stress out the brake fluid line or let it hanging by itself, as any kink in that will cause big trouble and total replacement. If you are not comfortable, just unscrew the bottom bolt and leave the top bolt in place, but loosen it a bit. This will allow you to keep caliper in place and still change the pads. You can get away with this only if you are changing pads ONLY. IF changing the rotor too, then you will need to unscrew both top and bottom nuts. Leaving the top nut in place will prevent any damage to the brake fluid pipe, as the pipe is never hanging. Put the caliper on the top where it has support and be very careful with the brake fluid line. If you do take bot nuts off, hang it using the "Brake Caliper Hanger".
    1. NOTE: The caliper may sometimes seem too tight, and refuse to budge. This is because the pistons in the calipers are pushing against the pads, making it difficult to move. Don't try to force it out. Watch videos on how to loosen the caliper using a screwdriver or other pointed tool. Many novice DIYers end up destroying their caliper thinking it's stuck.
    2. IMP: Turn the bolt counterclockwise to unscrew it, as explained above.
  5. Once the caliper is resting on some solid surface on the car, push the pistons back to be flush with the housing. You will need Brake pad spreader to do that. You might need to take out both brake pads to assist you with this job. Toyota sienna is a twin piston, so you will 2 holes. Many cars are single piston, doesn't matter for our purpose.
    1. Make sure no brake fluid is behind the duct seal.
    2. When you push the pistons in using C-caliper or brake pad spreader, you will notice brake fluid rising in the container under the hood. This is why we reduced the brake fluid level in step 1 above.
  6. OPTIONAL (Rotor Replacement) If you need to replace rotor, watch video on how to take old rotor out. Replace them with new rotor.
    1. To take rotor out, we have to first detach the bracket from the car, since it's covering the rotor. The bracket has two 17mm nuts on the back side, which need to be unscrewed.
    2. Then you can take the brake rotor out and put the new brake rotor. Then screw the bracket back in. You need to toque the screws to 76 ft-lb. See the videos above.
  7. Use brake cleaning liquid to clean areas around caliper, brake pads, rotors, etc.
  8. OPTIONAL: Now pull the side pins in rubber boot out and clean them. Apply lube and put both pins back. Make sure they go in the rubber boot completely, as they were before you took them out. People do it, I didn't think it was necessary.
  9. Get new brake pads, and install the wear indicator on top of each brake pad. It should make a clicking sounf when inserted completely, as there's a notch on pad where it gets inserted in. On the brake housing itself, remove the old brake slide pins, and replace it with new ones after cleaning the surface with brake cleaning liquid. Put a dab of brake lube on each piece. Also put the lube on back side of each brake pad.
  10. Install the brake pad on new fitting kit (you my use the old fitting kit, but if you got new ones with the new pads, use the new ones). Put the caliper back and tighten the caliper bolts to 25 ft-lb using the same 17mm wrench and 14mm socket.
  11. Finally put the wheels back. Tighten the wheel nuts a bit while car is lifted. Repeat the whole process for other wheel in the front. Then bring the car down on the ground and tighten both wheels to 76 ft-lb.
  12. Before you drive the car, turn it on, and press the brake pedal a few times to build the pressure. Do NOT put the car into any gear (leave it in PARK). Only once the pressure is built, you should take a test drive. I pressed it 5-10 times, which was good enough. Do NOT forget to put your car out of "Emergency Parking" (the thing we did in step 1)
  13. Now do the rear brakes. They are slightly more difficult than front ones, but process is the same.

 

REAR BRAKES:

  1. Do your rear brakes after test driving with your front brakes replaced. Rear brakes turned out to be much easier than front.Rear wheels don't turn with Steering wheel, so nothing to be done. Take the wheels out and then take the calipers out.
  2. There is no wishbone spring. Even the nuts on calipers only require 14 mm wrench to open (no 17mm wrench or 14 mm socket needed), as only 14mm nut moves. Just a little counter clockwise push, and it will loosen.
  3. Once loosened, open it. There is no place to hang the calipers, so have someone hold it by hand, while you are replacing the pads. Steps exactly the same. Do NOT forget to install the wear indicator on the bottom of the pad.
  4. Most of the other steps same as Front brakes.

 

Front brake will take time, if you are doing it for the first time. Maybe an hour to 2 hours. Rear brakes will take at most an hour. All in all, 3hrs is the most you will need on changing pads on all 4 wheels. Congrats on learning a new skill and a job well done !!