alkoholiks

kinda new on replacing pads, so after its all said and done will the piston go back to its normal position or do you need to apply preasure and or maybe bleed the brakes, please help

eric_r_ho

iTrader: (9)

Yeah you definitely need to push the pistons back and the easiest way to do this is with a huuuge one of these,

http://www.dreamstime.com/channel-lo...umb7404047.jpg

And then squeeeze the F out of it using the old pad and the caliper itself with a rag over it..don't worry you won't damage anything

alkoholiks

eric ho, so when i go for a test drive my brakes wont go all the way down to the floor, thats what happen when my friend did his pad replacement

iLL TL

iTrader: (1)

did u bleed the brakes by any chance?

Could be that some air was inside of those lines if u did..

alkoholiks

didonh tuesday, and javys step by step directions helped a lot, thanks to everyone that helped me out, no problem whats so ever, it took me about 2 hrs

eric_r_ho

iTrader: (9)

What do you mean? After you do ANY brake job you have to pump the brake pedal until you get adequate pressure on the brake rotor again. Unless your braking system is a brake-by-wire system like on some of the Mercedes-Benz's.

The brake pedal should NEVER go down to the floor, EVER. That happens when there is air in the system or when the brakes are overheated..

alkoholiks

gotcha, yeah i figured it out thankks eric r ho

steviej

iTrader: (1)

very helpful thead, thank you.
I just installed Hawk Performance Ceramic pads and reviewing this thread first made it that much easier.

steviej

BounceNY

iTrader: (9)

Great write up Javy. Just wondering if I need to order new shim and fit kits when doing a brake pad change. Not sure if it matters or not, but I'll probably change the rotors too.

lexus-is2

I need to replace my rear pads, can I follow this DIY guide for the rear aswell? is it similar?

duyl27

what is the torque spec for the brake bolt?

domnf15

Bumping an old thread but figured I'd answer this...

Uneven wear can be caused by excessive heat and/or sudden excessive pressure on the rotors (slamming on the brake pedal in an emergency, for example).

For front brakes, you're better off putting new rotors in anyway when you do the pads, unless the pads wore out extremely prematurely, like within 10-15k miles. It might add $100 to the total cost of the job, but the car will perform better, especially since a large percentage of the actual braking is done by the front pads/rotors. Thinner rotors get heat saturated faster, and will transfer more heat to the entire braking system. Boiling the brake fluid is what causes brake failure, so you want to keep temperatures from reaching extreme highs very often. Also the higher temps will make the thinner rotors more prone to warping/grooving. If it were the rears, I would say use em until they wear out...

You are correct about using the old pad with the C-clamp, you don't want to exert pressure on just that one part of the caliper piston, it's better to spread it out. From the pics it looks like the piston is "hollow", so you don't want that edge to bend...

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I haven't found a brake piston I couldn't press in by hand. If it takes more force than your hand can generate you need to get to the gym or replace a bad caliper.

Fluid boiling is only one failure mode. Pads can fade.

Rotors add $100 to the job? More like $300 just for the fronts on the 350, unless you're going aftermarket.

haras

I have replaced the pads on my IS250 but someone is telling me I was supposed to lube a couple of pins. What are they referring to?

gridlock13

iTrader: (1)

first i wanna thank the OP for this DIY. i had a lot of fun doing this job and it saved me $200.

my question is, i didn't have a shim kit but i put the anti squeal grease on the back of the pad which comes in contact with the caliper and piston. did i just screw something up? should i wipe it off and install the shim kit?