Hi everyone! i have recently become a new owner of a 1997 Lexus Es300! The car has a few problems, which i kind of expected for a 16 year old vehicle, but I'm excited to tackle them and also learn a thing or two!
I took it into a mechanic recently and they said i needed a:
1) Tune Up
2) Rear Brake Pads
3) Fuel Filter

Is there any advice i could get on doing these projects
I attempted the brake pads yesterday as i did a search on this forum and there was a step by step. I ran into a problem with getting the caliper off because i either didn't have the clearance from my socket, or the bolt was just locked in place. Im a big guy (230 lbs) and i couldn't get the top bolt of the caliper off to save my life.

Thanks!

Also, i swung the caliper up after removing the 12mm bolt from the back. I put the new brake pads in after pushing the piston back. when i put the caliper back down, there was not enough room.. the 12mm bolt hole wouldn't line back up and was hitting the part that held the pads in place. Has anyone else encountered this?

 

Your caliper bolts are seized up. They are supposed to allow the caliper to slide. I had the same clearance issue, and I fixed it by tapping the bottom caliper bolt out and lubing it up.

 

ok, i felt that they may have been. i used some penetrating to lube today to see of that might do the trick. (it didn't) What do you mean by tapping the bolt out?

 

The bottom bolts can be completely removed out of the caliper. I used a punch and a hammer to get it out.