Front brake pad replacement Qs

[FlyZLow]

Hi guys -

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I did a quick search and didn't see much. I'm changing the front pads on my '04 V8 SE and was wondering what tools/tricks/tips are there for depressing the 4-pot caliper pistons w/o just moving the fluid around in the caliper? I saw one person said leave the pads in and use channel locks, but I was wondering if anyone had any better ideas/solutions. Is it easier to replace the pads 1 side of the caliper at a time? I'm used to the single piston calipers on my '99 4Runner and Acura integra. I have a sweet little tool that works great for those, but don't have anything for these 4-pots.

Also, the Toyota pads didn't come w/ any anti-squeal grease. What do you guys use/recommend? It looked like the old pads/shims had some crusty moly-lube on them or something. Is that what I should be using? I've had bad experiences with the standard autozone $0.99 silicone brake lube, so I wasn't very anxious to run down and just grab some of that when I saw that the new pads didn't come with any.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Uneek]

I remove the clips, spring and pins that hold the pads in place. Then I take a C-clamp and place it against the tab on the tab where the pins go through and the caliper and compress it. You'll need to get the pistons flat before the new pads will have enough clearance to go in.

 

[cabowally]

2 big flat-tip screwdrivers with electrical tape on the ends. One to pry and the other to hold 2nd compressed piston down.

Someone here or on Tundra Solutions suggested hooking up a bleeder and cracking the bleeder valve before doing each side. That way the calipers will move a lot easier and it helps by flushing out some of the old brake fluid. I changed the Tundra's front pads last week and it worked pretty good.

Made a bleeder tool with 2 feet of 1/4 or 3/8 inch clear plastic tubing and a 12 oz empty plastic coke bottle. Drilled a hole in the cap for the tube to insert into and then fill a 1/4 of the bottle with brake fluid. Insert the tube so that the end is submersed in fluid. Attach it to the bleeder valve and open 1/4 to 1/2 turn, pump the brake pedal at least 2x to bleed fluid into the bottle (making sure that all the air is out of the tubing). NOTE: Make sure the brake fluid is topped off, if you get any air into the lines you are in for a full system bleeding --major PITA. Then go to work on replacing the pads--1 side at a time. The calipers will move easily. When you get the calipers out of the way, close the valve.

When I got a new set of pads on one side, I pumped the brake peddle a couple of times to seat the calipers and pads and then opened the bleeder again to pump fluid through the system until it was clean. 4 or 5 pumps and then refill the brake reservoir.

cheers.

 

[FlyZLow]

Ah. I didn't think about opening the bleeder valve. I'll try that next time. Thanks for the tip! I did try the C-clamp and channel-lock methods and neither of those were super easy, but they actually worked better than I mentally gave them credit for before I tried them. I think the hardest part was that the rotor isn't held in place, so whichever side you're not doing can still press out by moving the rotor while you're doing the other side. I think having the bleeder cracked would definitely alleviate that. Plus, as you mentioned, it never hurts to bleed a little of the old fluid off anyway to reduce the moisture content.

I ended up getting a moly/graphite brake lube made by CRC and O'reilly/Checker for about $11. Should be enough to last for about 100 sets of brake pads, which is actually more practical than it sounds given how often I do brakes for friends and stuff. Seems good so far. No squeaks or anything, but not much mileage on it at this point.