What Tools Do I Need To Change Brake Pads And Rotors

What tools exercise you need to replace your brake pads? Beneath is a listing of the essential tools and supplies yous should take before you lot plough the first lugnut. Having these items before y'all showtime will save you from having to hitch a ride to the parts store.

Torque Wrench

Brakes are a safety-critical vehicle arrangement and guessing if a bolt for a caliper is tight enough is not an option. Cheap torque wrenches tin exist purchased at Harbor Freight or other discount tool stores.

Tools for Retracting Caliper Pistons

For forepart brakes, you tin can use a worn restriction pad and c-clamp or a pair of big pliers. For rear disc brakes, yous might need a special tool to rotate the pistons in the caliper to retract and reset the emergency restriction mechanism. Some parts stores tin can loan you this tool or you lot can buy it yourself very inexpensively.

The about important matter to remember is to not harm the rubber boot that protects the piston. Even the smallest tear can allow dirt and h2o tin can damage the surface of the piston and cause leaks and/or the piston to seize in the caliper.

Thread-locking Compound

Many caliper guide pin bolts and caliper bracket bolts employ a special glue for bolts. Thread-locking compounds or Loctite products are designed to continue the bolts from coming loose due to vibration and rut. If you see a cerise, blueish or yellow substance on the threads, the old thread-locking chemical compound needs to exist removed with a brush and denatured alcohol and it needs to exist replaced. Parts stores have small unmarried-use packets or tubes of thread-locking compound typically at the parts counter.

Restriction-Specific Grease/Lube

Brake specific lubricants are formulated to withstand repeated loftier temperatures that the brakes can produce. Using a general-purpose grease or oil tin pb to a seized caliper, or information technology tin can melt and come up in contact with the pads. The virtually important thing to think is that less is more. Too much grease can contaminate the restriction pads and concenter dirt and dust. Some brake pad sets include restriction lubricant packets for the job or at the parts counter most stores will accept unmarried-employ sizes.

Aerosol Brake Clean

Clean brakes are tranquility brakes. Aerosol cans of brake clean are filled with strong solvents that wash away grease and don't leave any residue. Degreasers and solvents like carb cleaner may leave backside a film that can contaminate the virgin brake pads.

Manus Tools

Make sure your sockets are metric! At that place has not been an import or domestic vehicle made in the last 35 years that uses standard, majestic or fractional fasteners for the brakes. You lot at to the lowest degree need a fix of 3/viii″ (drive size) sockets set with sizes 8-19mm. Some vehicles use Allen or Torx bits for the caliper guide pins. Torx and Allen $.25 are not interchangeable. The wrong bit may feel like it fits, but it might harm the female head of the bolt. Y'all tin can find individual sockets or sets online or at an auto parts shop.

Jack and Jack Stand

You can utilise the jack in the trunk to lift the car or truck. Just, yous should never use the jack to support the car during the restriction job. If the car falls off the jack, you can be injured and y'all might not be able to jack the vehicle upwards over again because information technology is resting basis. Jack stands can exist inexpensive and will allow you to wrench on the brakes without the fright or dropping the vehicle.

As extra insurance, you can put the wheel and tire nether the vehicle.

Quality Replacement Brake Pads

With the extra money you lot are saving doing the brakes yourself, put some of the dough into a fix of high-quality restriction pads. Using the least expensive set of pads from a retail auto parts store, eBay or Amazon may get the vehicle back on the route, but they could cause noise and performance issues.

Premium restriction pad sets can have ameliorate friction materials that match the original parts from the mill. Some sets also match the attachment method used by the OEM to bond the friction material to the bankroll plate. High-quality sets will as well include better hardware similar abutment clips, anti-rattle springs and even bolts pre-treated with thread-locking compounds.

Some premium brake pad sets have improve anti-corrosion features so you can get the total value from the brake pad. Anti-corrosion treatments similar galvanization can treat the entire surface of the backing plate, including the bonding area between the plate and friction material. Low-quality brake pads use simply paint to protect depression-quality steel from the highly corrosive environment. If corrosion gets betwixt the backing plate and friction material, it tin can cause rust jacking and delamination. If the friction material separates, it reduces the stopping ability of the brake pads.

Flashlight

A flashlight is a must for inspecting the brake system. If you are inspecting brakes on your vehicle, don't assume rust and corrosion are normal. Take time to wait at the disquisitional areas like the brake lines, caliper and interruption. Too, thoroughly inspect the brakes with the flashlight earlier y'all put the wheels back on.

Service Information

YouTube might be great for getting the full general directions for replacing your restriction pads. Only, you volition need service information to get details like torque specifications and how to retract the emergency restriction on vehicles with electric parking brake systems. You can purchase a limited-time subscription from some service data providers.

Side by side up! The tools you need to alter brake rotors!