Hello,

So I already have all the parts ordered. I was originally going to have them professionally installed, but due to the worsening condition of my brakes/rotors, I need them changed ASAP. I plan on doing them tomorrow, myself, after class. I have never done a brake job, so I was hoping people may have some tips and a guide on how to do them?

It's a Lexus LS430 2004, I am changing all 4 wheels pads and rotors.

Thanks in advance!

 

Take a look at this post...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-w-photos.html

Or these Youtube videos
CAUTION: The person in the first video applied some sort of lubricant on the 2 main caliper bolts and torque them down without using a torque wrench. This practice MAY over-torque the bolts. Also, the factory repair manual suggests to replace these 2 bolts every time they are removed. Credit to Tom57 for catching these mistakes.

 

The first video shows him putting lubrication on the two caliper bolts. That's a really big mistake on aluminum bolts. The torque spec on those bolts is for a dry thread. Putting lube on the caliper bolt threads may result in over-torquing and stripped threads. Lexus recommends replacing those bolts as they are spec'd as one-time use bolts.

 

Nice catch, Tom!

I've added a cautionary comment to my previous post to this potential over-torque mistake.

Please see below the proper torque specs, locations to apply grease, and all the non-reusable parts.

 

If you haven't done a brake job before, this is a good one to start with. It's very easy on both front and rears. The parts are reasonably priced as well. Some tips:

1) To remove the rotors on the rear, make sure the parking brake is released.
2) Make sure you buy quality rotors and pads so you don't have to do the job again.
3) They say to buy new aluminum caliper bolts, but I've reused mine several times.
4) As Toms states don't put any loctite or anti-seize on them when you install them so they don't seize or break in the caliper.

One thing you may want to borrow from a friend or buy is a dial indicator (plunger or lever type) and magnetic base to check the lateral runout of the hub and rotor. If you put the plunger / needle of the dial gauge on the middle of the face of the rotor and set the gauge to 0, it should show a maximum of 0.002" difference in one revolution of the rotor. You can index the rotor in each of the five positions to find the lowest value. In this way you ensure that:

1) Your wheel hub has a flat surface. Since the hub is steel, you will probably find rust on it when you remove the rotor. If so, you can wire brush the corrosion off
2) The parallelism of the rotor face with the mounting surface at the hub is low. You can spot crappy rotors this way and return them before they are used. If you buy good quality parts this probably won't be an issue.
3) Your brakes do not vibrate when you push the pedal.
4) The pads wear evenly and uniformly.

 

How do you know you need new rotors? If you replace your pads before the metal rivets grind grooves into the rotors and you haven't overheated your rotors they are most likely fine. Use the dial indicator to measure run-out on your existing rotors. Return the new ones if you don't need them.

 

Good point. If they are flat and within the thickness limits, just pop in a set of new pads and you're good to go!

 

But should you decide to go with the new rotors, don't forget to perform the bed-in procedures...
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/tech/....jsp?techid=85

Check with your brake pads or rotors' manufacturer for specific procedures.

 

Does anyone have any real way of knowing what makes rotors and pads "quality"?

Price? You get what you pay for, but sometimes you just overpay.

Fancy Brand Name? How do you know that brand name isn't made by the same Chinaman making the off brand? Marketing sells....is there really quality to match?

OEM? Do you really have to buy from a Lexus dealer?

Rotors are a real crap shoot. I've had expensive rotors warp quickly and cheap rotors last a long time. I don't believe any of the hype..... Cross-drilled? I think they look nice and people pay more for them. My LS430 won't be on the track anytime soon, that's for sure.

 

Personally, I would look at spending around $70-$100 dollars a rotor on this. It's not a guarantee, but if you see $25 dollars a rotor I would be suspicious. You are absolutely correct that it is impossible guarantee quality, but if you go for a good brand name like a Brembo or Centric you should have a low chance of issues.

For me personally I would stay away from things on ebay. They may use poor quality cast iron and the rotor may not be machined square. You may be fine with them, but you may also find you spend money of a bunch of junk and waste your time doing the job twice.

For my car I went with Bremsen ($100 per rotor) and the rears Brembo ($70). When I put the dial indicator on both sets I was well under 0.002" lateral runout. I went with non-OEM parts as I could get them quickly and the dealer price in Canada where I lived was insane.

If you're going to replace the rotors I would go OEM as they aren't too expensive on this vehicle. I think around $85 for the fronts and $110 for the rears from myLparts online. I have had good experiences with myLparts and have saved me a lot of money.

I would avoid drilled or slotted rotors and any performance brake parts and try and stick as close to OEM as possible. This sort of car is not going to be driven around a race course and you may find that with performance brake parts the braking is not as smooth and that the components wear quickly.

Honestly, I would measure the lateral runout and thickness of your existing rotors and compare them with the factory spec. If they are good, then just replace the pads. You will save the most money this way.

 

Centric Premium rotors are OEM-equivalent. In fact, I've seen rotors in boxes with the name "Centric" on a shelf at the Lexus dealer in the parts area.