basic brake job questions

[tcpoob]

4th gen 2005 4wd V6

newbie questions for front brake job. Should i turn the tires to the left or right or leave them straight before jacking up the ride and set up the jack stand, so i get easier access to the caliper/pads? it would seem to access driver side caliper and pads, i should turn the wheel to the passenger side, and vice versa. can you manually adjust the orientation as need once the ride is up on the stands - do i have to set the transmission to neutral so i can grab the rotor to turn it?

more importantly, (actually it's for a different vehicle - a Honda odyssey 2004 EXL), i think i over-torqued and stripped the threads of the caliper bolt going through caliper into the caliper slide pin (female). it's just free spinning there and not tightening the caliper anymore than it'd. would i have much trouble removing the bolt? just giving it some outward pull/pry force as i turn it counter clockwise? it's bugging me but i didn't have time that day when putting everything back together. is this a big safety concern or i can wait a little bit? i do have the new slide pin and caliper bolt ready.

 

[fenrisx]

I'd just remove the tires, and then you don't have to worry about the direction your turn them, and you'll have better access.

You can turn them once you're on the stands though.

 

[tcpoob]

does it matter if the auto transmission is in park or neutral ? i suppose in park, you can not turn the wheel?

You can turn them once you're on the stands though.

 

[fenrisx]

When installing the lift we turned my wheels with it in park. It's not easy to turn obviously, with no power steering.