Front Brake Replacement

What i used 

-Front brake pads from Toyota 

-Shim kit also from Toyota (optional)

-Brake cleaner 

-Brake grease 

-Lug wrench 

-"C" clamp 

-Socket wrench w/14mm socket



Optional stuff:

-Protective eyewear

-Gloves

-Mask (!breathing brake dust is harmful to your health!)

-Shop towels or rags

-Sand paper

-Jackstands

Prep:

-First you have to pop the hood and remove the brake fluid resevoir cap. You may get some overflow when you puch your caliper piston in.




Then jack up your tire(s) and take off your hub caps. Then remove the lugs using your lug wrench and remove the tire(s). Using Jack stands is a good idea for safety and to save time. Also if you get stuck you can use one side as a model to look at.

Get the tire(s) off and you'll see your hub, brake disc, axle, caliper brake line...

 

You might notice a lot of dust and crud in there. DO NOT BLOW IT or use compressed air. Instead use the brake cleaner to saturate the whole thing. Be careful to avoid spraying your paint or anything rubber.

There is a "WINDOW" on the caliper to see the pad thickness without having to remove it. Remove the 2 bolts holding theCaliper with 14mm socket wrench and clean them with brake cleaner. Remove the caliper by sliding it off, but be careful of the brake line, do not let the caliper hang by the brake line, insted set it on something or use a wire to suspend it from the spring.



On my Prizm I would remove the 2 plunger bolts the caliper bolts to and grease them, but this echo is pretty new so I inspect them, they look fine, skip it.



-Spray the caliper and exposed break pads with cleaner. After they dry slide the brake pads out. Make a note of where the pads with the "wear indicator" was( wear indicator is the little metal tab that makes all those noises). Also take off the holding clips on the top and bottom. Spray them with cleaner and spray the area they were attached. Clean the clips well if you're not replacing them.

 

-Use the old pads as a reference to putting the new shims on. Grease all the shims and the backs off the pads generously. If re-using shims make sure you clean them well first.



-Since their was no damage to the discs and only a little rust I sanded them and cleaned them. If they are worn or grooved they may need to be refinished by a machine. If they are really bad or thinner than their specified thickness (marked on the disk) they'll need to be replaced.



-Put some grease on those clips and reinstall them. If they get mixed up, the with the slots goes on the bottom. Then put the new pads in. They'll be thicker than the old ones and it'll be a snug fit.

 

-New pads installed. Push the piston of the caliper back in using the c clamp.



-Put the caliper back on the pads. Put the bolts back in and tighten them to about 25 ft lbs or so. If you going to bleed the brake lines for bubbles or replace the brake fluid, now is a good time. But i didn't need to do that.

-Put your tires back, lower the car and push the brake pedal till you feel pressure. Put your brake fluid resevoir cap back on and drive to test your brakes. Make sure they grab evenly and not pulling to one side and listen for any noise.