cnic111

Anyone know of one in the Houston area? I need some new brake pads for a 2002 LS430! I may have the dealer do it but I want someone in Houston just for the future. Thanks.

JPI Racing

The front brakes on your vehicle is complicated. And you should let an Independent lexus shop or Lexus dealership do it. The caliper bolts need to be replaced. These bolts will stretch. Torque them down to 85 foot pound. Otherwise, You will ruin the EXPENSIVE caplipers.
JPI

Lexmexico

For just a simple brake pad change, most mechanics can do this. I have a guy in Mexico would took one look at it my RX300 (no Lexuses here) and said it was virtually identical to a Pathfinder. This guy even painted the calipers. Brakes have worked like a charm.

I have experimented with several types of pads for the front including Hawk (Carbotech), Greenstuff (EBC) and the newest Lexus pads. In the end, the new Lexus pads are the best bet and I order them from the States when I need them.

There is nothing special about putting on new brake pads.

JPI Racing

Not all brakes are the same. The Ls430 design is a lot different. You will have to change the caliper bolts when replacing them and torque them down to 85 lbs. The calipers on the Ls430 are aluminum and You DO NOT want to run your air impact in there. Remember this is a lexus not a Ford. Bring it to someone that knows what they are doing or to the dealership!
JPI

VVT-i

Lexmax, have you ever look at the brake set up on the 01+ LS430. The calipers are mounted on aluminum( one piece) knuckles on both front and rear. Just like JPI said, you don't want to ruine the calipers and if over tighten with impact gun, it will strip the thread on the aluminum knuckle. Now, you're talking about some big$$$$.
With all the new technologies, I think nothing is simple anymore. I mean you have to know the direction of where to put the brake pads(cut in the pads will have to go into certain direction) and the torque spec of the bolts+you have to use the new bolts every time you do the brake job.