How To Change Brake Pads Midlothian VA

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A brake job, or changing your brake pads, is a great do-it-yourself job. Before you begin, it's important to remember that the brakes are the single most important system in your car. Take plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the brakes on your car before you begin to work. Also, it's a good idea to work on one side at a time in case you have trouble. That way, you have one side to use as a reference. We'll assume that you want to know how to change the front disc brakes on your car since front brakes provide most of the stopping power.

Preparation

You'll need to buy brake pads before you begin this basic car maintenance project. Make sure they come with an anti-squeal device such as a shim, or buy some specially made fluid to add to the back of the brake pads.

Brake pads come in several different flavors. The cheap pads generally wear out faster and leave an unsightly black dust on your front wheels. More expensive pads leave less dust, but they may be more prone to squealing if they are harder pads.

Change your brake pads:

1. Set the parking brake, and block the rear tires so that the car cannot move.
   
2. Loosen the lug nuts.
   
3. Raise the car with a jack and place it securely on jackstands.
   
4. Remove the lug nuts and remove the wheel.
   
5. Now you can see the brake calipers holding the brake pads in place against the rotor. There are two pads per wheel that squeeze the rotor. Use a C-clamp to compress the caliper piston into the caliper housing. This will make it possible to remove the caliper assembly, and it creates a space for the increased pad width of the new brake pads.
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Author: Joshua Murphy