If you’re a do-it-yourselfer and prefer to save those extra few dollars changing your own oil, swapping out your own air filters and rotating your own tires, you’re more of a car guy than most drivers on the road. If it’s time to up the ante and start getting a little more oil under those finger nails, there are a few tricks you may want to know to make your DIY job go off without a hitch.
If you know how to work with your hands, you can easily change out your brake pads. Typically called for every 45,000 miles- depending on your driving habits- your brake pads make the stopping power you need when you need it. Regular brake pad maintenance also protects the life of your rotors.
Protecting your rotors is saving a huge cost. Regular brake maintenance protects your rotors from metal-on-metal wear. This is because waiting too long for brake pad replacement wears your brake pads down to the shoe, which is made of metal. And if you are rubbing metal on metal every time you hit your brakes, your rotors quickly warp and divot.
Replacing your brake pads once every 45,000 miles is much cheaper than replacing your brake pads, shoes, rotors and possibly master cylinder. If you replace your pads yourself, it could cost as little as $25, which compares to a whole new brake system- which only professionals should replace- with a price tag upward of $1,000.
There are a few things to remember before changing your brakes; first- securely lift your car. A tire jack will not provide the stability needed when you are torqueing off your old pads and replacing your new ones. So always put your car on pyramid jack stands before you begin changing your brakes.
When you have your car securely lifted and your front tires of, you can unscrew your pads and gently mallet them out of the shoe. Be careful not to snap your pad clips. Before you put your new pads in place, however, be sure to liberally apply anti squeal paste. It’s well worth the extra $2 and will prevent any annoying squealing you may experience with most brake changes. Finally, when you put your tire back on, be sure to securely fasten all lug nuts.
Tips for Safely Changing Brake Pads
4 Responses to “Tips for Safely Changing Brake Pads”
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It was helpful to learn that changing the brake pads depends on your driving habits. My husband was concerned that someone was seriously wrong with my car since the brake pads already need to be replaced. However, I’m constantly on the road running errands, so it makes sense why it’s time to take my car into an auto shop.
It really helped when you mentioned how it is a good idea to apply some anti squeal paste when replacing your brake pads. I can see that doing this can help you avoid loud sounds from your car and be able to make the most of your new brakes. We just moved to a new town and want to make sure we take good care of our cars and their breaks, so I will keep this in mind and choose a mechanic that can do all this for me.
I liked that you had mentioned that it could be important to make sure that you replace your brake pads on time to avoid needing to replace the full system. My wife’s brakes have started making a squealing noise and I know enough about cars to know that this means the brake pads are going out. I’m not very great at the technical side of things with cars, so I might just have to start looking around for a professional that can handle replacing the brake pads for us.
The brakes on my wife’s car have been giving her problems and we haven’t been sure how to fix them to avoid further problems. I liked that you had mentioned that it can be important to lift your car and take them out very carefully to avoid possible issues. We’ll have to look for a professional that can handle something like this because I don’t think it’s something I’d be able to do myself.