Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?
- Calavera
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Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?
My car needs new brakes, and I'd really love to save some money and do it myself, but I've never did it before. Has anyone here ever did it, is it a big pain in the ass? BTW, my car is a 1994 Grand Prix.
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I helped my dad replace a caliper and pads on his car. No rotors though.Calavera wrote:Has anyone here ever did it
It was a pain in the ass. Not because it was complicated, just because parts of it were physically difficult to do. Also you at least need one other person in order to bleed the brake lines.Calavera wrote:is it a big pain in the ass?
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like they've all said- it depends if you have disc or drum brakes.
i did mine (disc) and it took longer to jack and support the car then the actual work of changing the brakes.
the hardest part was getting the piston back in. because i only replaced the rear ones, you have to push and turn it in with a pair of pliers. if your doing fronts, you just have to push it in with a c-clamp, or spend under 10$ at autozone and get the speacial tool to do it.
when your pushing in the piston, make sure you have the brake fluid cap off under your hood, and put a towel around it (in case some does come out- none did on mine, but i'm a little low on brake fluid).
it's pretty self explanitory, you could do it with taking only 1 bolt off on the caliper. but i took the whole caliper off because it was frozen and i had to grease up the sliders.
the biggest thing to remember is brake grease! it's 1$ a packet, and you put it on the BACKSIDE! of the brakes to make sure they dont squeel.
google diy brakes and just read some of them. the first one that came up is from about, and it's a good read but no pics. there are some (one of a truck) that does have pics.
i did mine (disc) and it took longer to jack and support the car then the actual work of changing the brakes.
the hardest part was getting the piston back in. because i only replaced the rear ones, you have to push and turn it in with a pair of pliers. if your doing fronts, you just have to push it in with a c-clamp, or spend under 10$ at autozone and get the speacial tool to do it.
when your pushing in the piston, make sure you have the brake fluid cap off under your hood, and put a towel around it (in case some does come out- none did on mine, but i'm a little low on brake fluid).
it's pretty self explanitory, you could do it with taking only 1 bolt off on the caliper. but i took the whole caliper off because it was frozen and i had to grease up the sliders.
the biggest thing to remember is brake grease! it's 1$ a packet, and you put it on the BACKSIDE! of the brakes to make sure they dont squeel.
google diy brakes and just read some of them. the first one that came up is from about, and it's a good read but no pics. there are some (one of a truck) that does have pics.
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yay a topic where my mechanical expertise comes in handy! (ok so i'm just a mechanic one weekend a month, whats that matter?)
if you have disc brakes it will be a piece of cake. the drum brakes are also easy, except they have a lot more parts to put together. brakes are definitely a good do it yourself job. it equates to taking jacking the wheel up, taking off the tire, remove and replace the brake pad, and put everything back together. assuming of course you are simply referring to needing to replace the break pads.
my suggestion, go and find a chilton mannual for your car. they are great repair manuals and include step by step guides (with diagrams!) for nearly every repair job you'll ever need.
if you have disc brakes it will be a piece of cake. the drum brakes are also easy, except they have a lot more parts to put together. brakes are definitely a good do it yourself job. it equates to taking jacking the wheel up, taking off the tire, remove and replace the brake pad, and put everything back together. assuming of course you are simply referring to needing to replace the break pads.
my suggestion, go and find a chilton mannual for your car. they are great repair manuals and include step by step guides (with diagrams!) for nearly every repair job you'll ever need.
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caliper replacmenct requires you to bleed them, real quiet. since its a gm-10/w-body, use a 15mm socket for the caliper bolts. use clamps to drive the pistons back in, unless you go and get the tool. rear calipers require a tool, a meatnormous star shaped bit, can't remember the size. visit/register on w-body.com and or 60degreev6.com. these are top sites/forums for our cars.
Re: Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?
Too much confusion around here. Its not hard. Your Pontiac GP has disc brakes all around.Calavera wrote:My car needs new brakes, and I'd really love to save some money and do it myself, but I've never did it before. Has anyone here ever did it, is it a big pain in the ass? BTW, my car is a 1994 Grand Prix.
1. Jack car up
2. Take wheel off
3. Unbolt the caliper
4. Take the pads out (usually either bolted or clipped in)
5. Spread that brake pad grease on the BACK of the pads
Do the reverse to install. Also, check. for wear/notch marks on the rotor. Lastly, its likely your brake fluid hasn't been changed in many years. You should consider that too. If in doubt you should pick up a mechanic's guide to you car
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Goto your local library pick up the god book for your car, find the chapter on brakes make a copy of the needed pages and try your best to do it right. And like said above get some help for bleeding your brakes and even just someone to watch over your shoulder to make sure you're not fucking something up.