How to replace brake pads

I changed my brake pads last night. It had been quite a while since I had done it. I used to change my own brake pads until I figured I had enough money to have someone else do it for me. I have since had a change of heart about finances and decided to do it myself again. The vehicles that I had done brakes on in the past had been older cars. The most recent being a 1995 GMC Jimmy. I thought for sure that my 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser would be complicated and I was a bit apprehensive. The brakes started making noise while I was out fishing so I came home that night and purchased the pads for $36. When I got home, I immediately hit the net looking for how-to articles and any supporting videos etc. The best article I found was on edmunds.com. I have used Edmunds many times before as a reference for buying and selling cars as well as a wealth of information on the proper way to tow a trailer.

This is not meant to be 100% instructional but rather 100% informational. I am no kind of professional about these things. The information below is a representation of how I did it. If I have done something wrong, feel free to comment and let me know.


Step 1: Remove the wheel and tire:
Loosen the lug nuts on the wheel before you jack the car up. If you try to loosen the lug nuts with the tire in the air, the wheel will turn as you turn the wrench and makes it quite difficult. This is no different than changing a flat tire.



Step 2: Jack up the car:
Using a floor jack or the jack that came with your car, jack the car up and move the safety jack into position. When the safety jack stand is in place, slowly let the jack down and let the car rest on the safety jack stand. Remove the jack. Remove the lug nuts completely and remove the wheel and tire. I like to put the tire under the car. It makes me feel a bit more secure that upon the rare chance something happened to the safety jack stand, the car would fall on the tire and not me ...and it gets the tire out of the way.



Step3: Remove the brake caliper:
This step varies for each type of car. Most follow basic rules of having bolts on the top and bottom of the caliper. Some use allen keys, others use bolts and pins. Chilton's offers repair manuals rich with instruction and illustration for purchase at most big auto parts stores for your year and make. They also have an online service. Something I am seriously thinking about.


Step 4: Remove the caliper and inspect the rotor.
You might need to replace the rotors if they have been damaged. If the surface of the rotor has been damaged, it must be replaced. If it is not damaged but you can feel ridges on the surface you should have it turned. This means taking it to most any auto parts store and having them put it on a machine and ground smooth. This increases the surface area contact with the brake pad and extends the life of your brake pads. These rotors did not need to be turned so I have skipped this step.



Step 5: Remove the brake pads.
Make a note of the placement of the inside and outside brake pads. There might be clips on the old pads that you need to remove and clip onto the new pads.


Step 6: Compress the caliper piston.
Your new pads are thicker than the old pads. That's why you are replacing them. But as you wear them down the piston that pushes them against the rotor also adjusts in to compensate for the amount of pad that you have worn down. To put the new (thicker) pads in you have to compress this piston to a much more open position otherwise it wont fit over the new pads.




Step 7: Apply brake lubrication grease and install pads.
This is a special kind of lubrication sometimes called anti-squeal grease for your brake assembly. Apply it liberally to any surface that moves in or out. Do not get the lubrication on the surface of the rotor or any part of the face of the pad that comes in contact with the rotor.

With the caliper back in place, perform the steps backwards that you used to remove the caliper. Replace the screws and make sure the pads are secure.




Step 8: Replace the wheel and tire and let the car down
Align the studs on the rotor with the holes in the wheel. Replace the lug nuts on the wheel and tighten them as tight as you can with your fingers. Jack the car up a bit and remove the safety jack. Let the car down slowly. Now tighten all of the lug nuts again as tight as you can with the wrench.




So that's how I did it. I will be doing the brakes on my 2005 F150 truck soon. I'll plan to document that project as well.

Baseball had Ended

We had a great time with Josh and Xander's baseball season. Xander played his last game on June 11th and Josh played his last game on June 14th. Xander even had the opportunity to pitch a couple innings in one of the last games. The boys improved so much over the weeks thanks to their terrific coaches. Notice the score above... that is Josh's team kicking butt!

It was wonderful season and we are so excited for next year. You can check out all of the season's pictures and videos on our Flickr site.

Toothaches and Such

Sorry it has been a while since our last post. I (Steph) started to have a HORRIBLE toothace over Memorial Day weekend. It progressively got worse and I drug myself to the dreaded dentist. I had a large abcess on on of my molars and he referred me to an Endodontist. A few days later I was knocked out and got a root canal. Unfortunately they were unable to get the infection that had embedded itself in my jaw bone. So, after another weekend of what I can only describe as excrutiating pain, I had to have oral surgery. Thankfully after a week of normal surgical discomfort I was back to normal. I guess it will take a few months for the jaw bone to fully heal but I feel GREAT!!!

Memorial Day 2008

We took a fantastic trip to Lava Hot Springs, ID over the Memorial Day weekend. We stayed an RV Park called Rivers Edge Campground. It was absolutely beautiful at the campground, green, lush, and giant shade trees all around. The best part was it back up the river and was just off of the quaint little old town main street. There were lots of fun little shops to browse. I think everyone's favorite part was the mineral pools. Even Brian loved them. We went twice. I highly recommend them to all. It is truly unexplainable how wonderful you feel after being in them. The kids really love the olympic pool and water slides. We even got a good day of fishing in on the Portneuf River. Brian and the boys caught 4 fish total. My Mom, Danny, Julie, and Aimee came along for the weekend. The boys love playing with Julie and Aimee. The kids all did some exploring of main street and found 1 dollar root beer floats.

It was a wonderful way to spend a long holiday weekend. Check out the pictures on our Flickr account.