I saw no brake pad replacement how-to under the FAQ questions so I'll ask.

Is there one? I have an 03 SE that needs rear pads and I don't want to pay my local stealer to do it. My dealer has agreed to turn my front rotors under warrantee though... surprised (27K miles). I don't suspect it's tough, but want to be sure I have the right tools, pads, etc., and want to be sure the anti-lock brake system does not get disturbed.

Pad recommendations would also be appreciated...

Thanks in advance...

 

Please... anyone? I need to do this yesterday and don't want to pay the stealer to do it.

Appreciate a response...

Thanks

 

it is fairly simple...

put the car on jack stands, take off the tires. take off the calipers (4 screws holding them). take out the old pads by pulling them out from the little metal braces. resurface the rotors at local pepboys for $8 per rotor. while you are at pepboys, buy the brake pad lubricant ($4...not sure you need it for sure on rears, but on fronts for sure). after your rotors are resurfaced place them back onto the wheel (Screws) and put new pads in the place of the old pads ...back into the metal braces inside calipers.

if the piston is in the way, you will need a clamp to tighten it. once you have enough clearance place the caliper over the rotor and screw back those 4 scres into respective places. for the love of go DO NOT PRESS THE BRAKES OR TURN THE IGNITION ON AT ANY POINT DURING THE INSTALL or your brake fluid will go all over the place. once installed, put the wheels back on and start her up. jack up the E-brake few times to build up pressure. you are ready to go....i hope i havent missed anything. google it up...if you are not sure. there are plenty of DYI write-ups on the web.

 

http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/300

Here you go. And PLEASE make sure to replace the brake pad guides and shims ... you'll have to buy a brake hardware kit from the dealer (autozone does not have them yet for 2002up)
Make sure to clean your rotors of all grease(if any from touching them) with brake cleaner.

For rear ones, do not use c-clamp to push in the piston, use a special tool or needle-nose pliers to TURN the piston into the caliper.
Another thing, do ONE wheel at a time...or make sure to jam the caliper you are NOT compressing so the piston does not pop out while you compress the other wheel, it will be a bich to get it back in.

Lastly, but mostly important in the long run, torque wheels to 85 lb evenly!

 

all is correct, with the exception of clamping the piston. the rear pistons need to be screwed in. DO NOT clamp them, you will damage them.

 

ever since i changed the pads/rotors i hear noise when i take off the foot from the brake pedal. it is annoyuing. i re-greased the pins. what else should be done to avoid the brake noise?

 

yea forgot that. use c clamp on fronts, on rears use pliers since the piston has a big cross on top of it you can just twist. was writing fast sorry. as for 85 lb evenly....i just used the long wrench and tighten it as hard as i could. should be ok, as long you do it evenly. 10-20-30 lb wont make a difference too much. those specifications have a range anyways....for safety

forgot to add. to bleed/bed (whatever the term is...) with axxis pads do 2 slow stops from 60-40 and do 8 consecutive hard stops from 60-20 mph. when i say hard i mean almost to the point where your ABS engages. DO NOT MAKE A FULL STOP, it will imprint pads on rotors and phuq up stuff. after that, drive 10 miles without braking too hard, just letting brakes cool. should be good to go after that

 

Make sure your pads sit in correctly...were the thin metal guides in good shape, did you clean them up? did you replace the shims?

 

GOD DAMMMIT SAME THING HAPPENING TO ME!!!! was wandering should i post it or no. it is like pads are running against the rotor when pedal is not pushed in. wtf is that? i thought maybe the pads are crooked but that cant be right since the piston pushes them in evenly so even if they were set up crooked tehy would have straightened out.

 

i did replace the shims. i cleaned the metal guides with wore brush and brake cleaner. should i lube them? it is not a grinding noise. it almost like opening a door with rusty hinges. i can hear it a lot if when stopped i let the car roll slightly. very annoying..what all does the brake hardware kit consist of?

 

what does the lubricant do? does it prevent noise?

 

Ok, it seems like the pad is dragging coming back. It might be that the pad is to fat in the section where it is inserted into the guide, in that case you can just file it a bit on the sides ( I had to do it). or the guide is bent not quite right...so either get new guides or try to straigten them out.
What pad are you running. I did fronts with OEM pads, and I had hell of a time gettnig the pad into the guide insde the torque member..

 

Ok, above is incorrect. Putting some A$$ into the lugs is not good. The range according to FSM is 75-90LB I belive. Over-torquing stresses rotors, stretches threads on the lugs and studs.....and warps rotors.
There is a reson for specifications, follow them. 85 lb is pretty high already. (for example torque spec on Z71 chevy trucks is ONLY 60lb)

As far as braking them in, yes you have do a "burnishing" procedure. Get y our brakes on, make sure they are SAFE by doing couple stops from 10-15mph. then drive around by accellerating to 45mph and braking to almost dead stop. Then drive to cool them for 2=3 minutes. Repeat 10-12 times.

 

Maybe I shouldthrow some KY JELLY on the brakes. That will prevent the noise

 

I suggest buying a service manual. If you have to ask about doing a brake job, the manual will help you here and in coutless other procedures. The best $20 investment you can make. If you can swing it, get the Nissan one off of ebay or something. Instead of relying on the accuracy of people's replies, you can get solid info from the manual.

 

how? screw simply holds the caliper in place, it is not in contact with the rotor. those screws are pretty hardcore and there is no way i am strong enough to cause such damage to the screw with a 10" wrench. i agree it is more safe to torque them to 85lb for sake of being exact, but i have done so for with my previous cars and had no problem. you screw it in with common sense, not overtorquing it or undertorquing it (sp?)

 

I was talking about lug nuts, not caliper or torque member bolts. Those have their own specs....per fsm.

 

Thanks very much everyone for your Information... It is much appreciated.

I will buy the service manual as well as follow your tips and cautions. I did not think there was a manual for the 03' yet. I know Haynes does not have one.

Is the one mentioned on Ebay titled "5th Generation" or "2003" or "2001 - 2003"?