sivikvtec

I have changed many brake pads and for the most part brake caliper design all seems about the same, as is the procedure. So imagine my surprise when i was using the following diy:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/brake/rbpad.html

and came to find that my rear brakes (99 GS400) are nothing like this ?!

How do you do this? So far I can tell that you remove the cotter pin and pull out the rod thing that goes though a set of the hooks that is part of the brake pads, then you pull off that large flat metal clip.

What do you do after that? The caliper has some wierd star head screws on the back of it 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom, I assume I have to remove at least 2 of these. Please help!

AshburnM3

if you are just replacing the pads then just pull the pads straight out from the caliper! its that simple. then compress one side of the piston back into the bore, install one side of the pad then do the same with the other side of the caliper, put the metal clip back on, slide the pin thru the pads and clip, put the wheel back on and work on the other wheel. have fun

sivikvtec

Forgive the total n00b question, but does the rear caliper have a piston on both sides of the rotor?? Thats what it looks like??

So after the pads are out can you get a C-clamp up in there to compress the piston(s) on both sides of the rotor, or is some other tool/method required?

thanks for the help!

AshburnM3

yes to piston on both sides of rotor, compress one side of the piston in, then install one pad, then compress the other side in and install the second pad. i usually use a big screwdriver and pry it between the rotor and piston.

English66

I went thru this same problem last week. The DYI's are for Gen. 1 LS 400 breaks. First remove the flat spring that hooks under the pin. Next remove the cotter pin that holds the large pin and then pull the large pin out. now get a flat head screwdriver and remove the large ''W'' shaped sping. Now pull the pads stright out. For the last step, I used the flat end of my Craftsman Racthet to push both piston back.

sivikvtec

I think I understand this now. But you are talking about two "springs" (flat and W shaped) the only one I see is the large flat one that the large pin goes over, I assume this to be the W shaped one. What is the "flat spring that hooks under the pin"? I have seen no such thing when I was looking at it.

English66

My car had a large wire spring, shaped like a ''W'' that hooked in too the top holes of the break pads. the flat spring went on top and hooked under the pin.

sivikvtec

Gotcha, my car is missing that on both sides. Nothing in the top two holes. I will get some replacements.

SorrGwa

iTrader: (1)

you have 2 pins that slide thru the rear caliper and thru 2 holes in each of the brake pads. it goes from one side of the caliper, into the brake pad hole, then into the metal pressure clip, then thru the other brake pad hole, and out the other side of the caliper. its held in place on the other end by another little mini wire pin.

u remove those first, and ur brake pads should slide up and out thru the rectangular hole. you may need to push ur caliper piston back. for me, i removed the whole caliper from the rotor, and used a wooden block and a wedge to push the piston back.

put new pads in, and put back those 2 long slider pins back in place along with that pressure metal clip.

now with key in the on position but engine not running (better to make sure u do this semi fast and with a good battery and a topped up brake resevoir, have a friend step on the brakes a few times. then get him/her to press and hold the brake pedal while you open up the brake fluid bleeder screw to bleed some old fluid out. do this until u can see the fluid is clear. the reason for this is that the rear brakes are electronically controlled. if u did the traditional method, you wont bleed a drop out of the system.

make sure everything is back on and tight.


additional things u may want to consider are resurfacing/turning/machining the rotors, or replacing them if they are too worn down to be resurfaced/turned/machined

English66

On my 04 GS 300 I only have 1 slide pin and one hole in the caliper that it goes thru.

sivikvtec

same here, i think the other guy might not remember it right.

PHML

iTrader: (33)

see components

sivikvtec

Whats really wierd is that pic doesn't show the "W" shaped spring thats hooked through the top holes and my car didn't have it either. But it does exist because I was able to buy a brake hardware kit that had it??

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Can you take a picture of the 'W-spring' because my car doesn't have it either. Is your kit OEM or aftermarket?

GSJake

iTrader: (21)

Hello all. I went through this in the summer. Take a look.....

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...-clips-on.html