Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?

Calavera · Post by **Calavera** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:59 am

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.

MulletMan13 · Post by **MulletMan13** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:32 am

It isn't that hard at all, it would just be much better if you had some prior knowledge.

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:37 am

Calavera wrote:Has anyone here ever did it

I helped my dad replace a caliper and pads on his car. No rotors though.

Calavera wrote:is it a big pain in the ass?

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.

hearld500 · Post by **hearld500** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:23 am

Calipers a pretty easy to replace, doesn't take too much. Drums on the other hand can be a bit of a hastle.

Smiley · Post by **Smiley** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:17 pm

Go to the library and get one of those do-it-yourself type books for your car; thats what I do.

Last time I tried anything brake wise on my car, I ended up not packing the bearing correctyl or something.

MKE · Post by **MKE** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 1:34 pm

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.

Covar · Post by **Covar** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:24 pm

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.

bizzle · Post by **bizzle** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:46 pm

You shouldn't have to bleed the lines if you're just replacing pads and rotors, atleast I didn't have to on my car.

_X_ · Post by **_X_** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:58 pm

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.

MKE · Post by **MKE** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:38 pm

oh, yeah well if your replacing the hole caliper, yeah you need to bleed them. but if your just doing brakes- absolutely no need.

Sir Slash · Post by **Sir Slash** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 1:42 am

its easy looking but can be fairly difficult..especially if you end up needing to replace your rotors

btm4k · Post by **btm4k** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 11:38 am

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.

Too much confusion around here. Its not hard. Your Pontiac GP has disc brakes all around.
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

FETUS · Post by **FETUS** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:40 pm

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.

Covar · Post by **Covar** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:11 pm

one thing to note. if you have one wheel that needs new brake pads you have 4 that need new brake pads. always replace all the wheels so that you keep even brakes on your car.

Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?

Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?

Re: Does anyone here know how to put brakes on a car?