DIY: Brake Pad Replacement DIY

WarrantyTracker wrote

I'm not having any luck this weekend. I just swapped my standard pads back into all four corners, because I wasn't crazy about the low-dust pads I was trying as an experiment.

Pushed the pistons back in using Kaiv's method of levering the caliper against the carrier. I had forgotten to open the master cyl cap, but they went back in fine anyway.

After, I added a few ounces of fluid to the master cyl res to top it up.

Now I have a soft pedal that goes to the floor before the brakes engage.

Any thoughts? I know how to bleed the system if I have to, but what a PITA. I can't imagine how I might have gotten air in it changing the pads.

r53s65e90 wrote

It will go to the floor the first 2-3 times per corner you press until the pistons go back in place. The thinner the pads the more times the pedal will go to the floor. Before you start driving you are supposed to pump the brakes until pedal is hard again.

How many times have you pumped your brakes?

Majin Buu wrote

how low was the fluid in the master cylinder? you might have introduced air at the reservoir level. Anytime you push a caliper piston in, you should pump the pedal to get the fluid back down into the caliper before moving on to the next caliper

kwike92 wrote

anyone know the minimum thickness on the factory rotors before they need replacing?

1MOREMOD wrote  

kwike92 wrote

anyone know the minimum thickness on the factory rotors before they need replacing?

Front or rear?

1MOREMOD wrote  

It is on the rotor itself. May need cleaning to see. Front is 28.4 and rear 26.4 if memory serves.

kwike92 wrote

Nice. Thank you.

This is my first brake job. So I doubt the rotors will need replacing. But I'll measure them up anyway.

1MOREMOD wrote  

kwike92 wrote

Nice. Thank you.

This is my first brake job. So I doubt the rotors will need replacing. But I'll measure them up anyway.

Just look at the edge of the hat to confirm what I said. Rotors are good for a lot of sets of pads. I ran probably 8 sets of race pads before replacing my rotors.

kwike92 wrote

Sounds good.

I don't track. I may go here in the future once or twice. But is there a certain pad you recommend? Or should I just go with factory replacements??

If aftermarket, where can I buy them?

1MOREMOD wrote  

kwike92 wrote

Sounds good.

I don't track. I may go here in the future once or twice. But is there a certain pad you recommend? Or should I just go with factory replacements??

If aftermarket, where can I buy them?

I would say maybe the stoptech st pad if you don't plan on tracking. Talk to harold at hpautowerks or richard ar M-world. I haven't used them because I use race pads but they are supposed to be okay for light track use and good on the street without a lot of noise like a race pad which will make your car sound like a bus.

nez wrote

My sliding pins wont fit back in the carrier

I was swapping my rear pads and had no problems removing the 2 pins but I just couldn't screw them back in once the pads had been swapped. I tried swapping pin positions (top / bottom) but neither of them screwed back easily. I even tried screwing them without the calipher being on to see if they screwed in straight and had no luck. They became stuck halfway in and seemed to be on an angle that wasn't 90 degrees to the rotor.

I cleaned the carrier holes with a cloth and q tips. There was quite a bit of brake pad dust in there which i cleaned as best i could but that only helped a bit.

The pins weren't stripped of their thread but the threads weren't in flawless shape either.

I managed to screw them in with only 3 - 4 mm of the pin thread exposed and put plastic caps and the anti rattle clip back on. The caliper felt secure and I couldn't move it when i tried with my hand.

I'm going to have to take it to the stealership tomorrow to get it checked out I guess but I simply can't drive it far without the pins being fully in.

Question - can i drive it at all to the dealer or is it too risky with a rear caliper that's not fully secure. I suppse there's a risk the pads will stick as the caliper won't be able to slide back and forth easily but is that the worse that can happen?

kaiv wrote

Glad I could help