Rear Pads + Rotors
A lot of people told me these would be harder than the front. I found the rear to be a lot easier. Maybe it's just because I learned of few tricks on the way, but the rear's only took me about 20-30min a piece after I had the wheels off.
Again, jack the car up from the back this time. Get it as high as you SAFELY can. Make sure you have blocks of wood or something to put under the front wheels so your car doesn't go rolling away. You'll want to release the e-brake now.
The first step (Now learning from the others) is to push the caliper piston back as far as you can so you can get the new pads and rotors on. Take a screw driver, get some leverage in the caliper hole between your inner pad and rotor and pry towards you. Again, do not stick the screw driver between the piston and inner pad as you will probably damage the piston. The rear ones were super easy for me, it only took a little bit of pressure to get the pistons back all the way.
The picture looks backwards because this is the oposite side of all the rest, I forgot to take a picture.
Get your bungee cords ready; again attach them to your springs. Remove the caliper guide pin bolts from the rear caliper. I think I used either a 9mm or 10mm socket to get the bolts out.
Getting off the rear caliper gets a little tricky. Get out your flat head screw driver and position it at the top of the caliper. You'll have to pry the caliper outward a little bit until it's loose, and then pull it upwards to take it off. Be careful here as the brake line is pretty stiff and we don't want to damage that. Firm but gentle.
After the caliper is off and attached to your bungee cords, remove the rotor. It should come out pretty easily. My rear rotors didn't have any of that grey coating on them, so I skipped sanding and slipped them on.
Next we have to remove the pads from the calipers. This is also tricky because you have to remove clips, while holding the caliper so it doesn't extend the brake line. Pry off both ends of the outer pad clips and slide the pad out. Firm but gentle =). Takes notes on how the pads are in place.
Next we remove the inner pad. Take a screw driver and position it behind the pad and just pry or pull towards you. It should come off pretty easily. You could just use your hands, but mine were rusted so a screw driver was necessary.
Now get out your new pads and put in the inner one first. I was not able to push mine in with my hands while holding the caliper (hands hurt by now) so I had to take some pliers and crimp the brace things closer together. Just a tad is all you need. You still want them to be in there securely so don't crimp them to close together.
Next install the outer pad. For this one I had to pry the clips up just a bit so I could get them started around the caliper. They still need to fit securely so do not pry them up very much. I'm talking just a tad here. Install the outer pad how the original one was installed. You did take notes right? Make sure the pads are in the caliper snug.
Now we re-install the rear caliper. Remove it from your bungee cords and slide it back on in reverse to how you took it off. You will have to pull the rubber pieces out for the caliper to go all the way in. Do not force it in. It took me awhile to figure this out. They are on the top and bottom of the caliper, where you took the guide bolts out. Just pull them out enough to slide the caliper back on.
I hope you took a mental note on how the caliper was fitted before you took it off. You could always use the other side for a reference. Make sure this is on correctly and snug. It's probably not a good thing if it isn't =)! Pay attention to how all the pieces look before securing the caliper.
Next you just re-attach the caliper guide bolts and you're done with the rear.
Congrats! You just saved another $175.00! Make sure everything looks correct (Look at the other side for reference) and put your wheel back on
(Tighten lug nuts to 100FT/LBS). Do the other side the same way.
PUT THE MASTER CYLINDER CAP BACK ON, DO NOT FORGET THIS! Make sure you pump your brakes before you go for a test drive.
Pump the brake pedal to set the brake shoes to the brake rotors, then check brake fluid level in master cylinder reservoir. Adjust brake fluid level as necessary.
I started my car and pumped the brakes a good 2 dozen times, maybe an overkill but I am paraniod and I wanted to make sure they were good to go.
Hawk HPS Break-in (Burnishing):
1. Make 6 stops from approx 30-35 mph applying moderate pressure.
2. Make an additional 2-3 hard stops from approx 40-45 mph.
3. Allow 15 minutes for brakes to cool down.
DO NOT DRAG BRAKES!
These pads stop on a dime! After a week or so check your brake fluid. If it's low tip it off with some DOT3 Brake fluid.
I hope you enjoyed my How-To! If I missed anything or if you have any suggestions please let me know. I would also like to know if this worked for you.
Download PDF:
http://www.phphq.net/junk/srt/brake-install/HowTo - Brakes + Rotors.pdf
-Scott
