Tutorial: LS400 Front Brake Pads plus BONUS What Not to Do to Maintain Your Car

I had somewhat of a frustrating 40 minutes figuring out how to change out the front brake pads on my 1995 Lexus LS400 (UCF20) so I thought I would save people some time. The first 40 minutes was spent trying to get the caliper to come down until I realized those bolts are impossible to get off for a reason.

All you need to change the pads on this car is literally a screwdriver and maybe pliers. I guess I couldn't believe how easy this job is. I was just looking in the wrong place.

Have a nice look. I want you to try to figure out how to change these pads from the picture. I know I pretty much gave it away.

On each side, there's two pins, a spring loaded cross-shaped piece, and also another spring that goes into the pins when they are in place. On the passenger side, there is also a sensor that is also held by this spring-like piece. I think you can see the wire from the sensor going through it in that picture. Here are the steps.

1. Remove the spring piece from the back of the two metal pins that run through the brake pads (they keep the brake pads in place and run right through a hole in the pads themselves). On the passenger side, be careful to not damage the wire running to one brake pad. You just carefully pull that out but don't pull on the wire. The spring-like piece comes out easily - just pull the center off the caliper and pull it out of the two holes in the metal pins.

2. Carefully pull out the bottom pin first. You can tap on it from the back to get it to come out a little bit and from there you can get it out with a screwdriver and pliers. These metal pins - again, the two long metal pieces running across both brake pads - also hold down a spring-loaded cross-shaped piece. When you pull the bottom pin out, this piece is gonna come flying out so be safe and pull the pin out slowly while keeping your face away from that area. It's just gonna fly out and hit the wheel well before landing on the floor.

3. Take out this cross-shaped piece along with the upper pin. Again I remind you - take some time to learn how everything goes together or refer to the picture above when putting everything back together. You do it in reverse. Now the pads will be free.

4. Next you have to push the pistons in the caliper all the way down so your new pads will fit. Have your hood open and watch the level of your brake fluid. Take the cap off. When you press a caliper piston in, the brake fluid will come up in the reservoir. Siphon some off if you see that it's gonna run over. An easy way is to use rolled up paper towels to soak up the fluid and pull it out (dispose properly please).

You will use the old brake pads to push the caliper pistons in. This car has two pistons for each pad on the front. I didn't have much success with a C-clamp but a flathead screwdriver worked perfect. You have to get it in between the rotor and brake pad and that will give you enough leverage to push both pistons down by pulling back on the screwdriver, using a prying motion to force the pad along with the piston down. It's okay to push off of the rotor with your screwdriver, don't worry. Use good force but know that the calipers move down slowly so if they're moving, maintain force. If your rotors and pads are both new, you need to make sure to push the calipers in all the way because there's little space. Also, just a tip, pry the brake pad in different locations so you're giving both pistons equal force to push them down, if that makes sense.

I'm trying to explain this in detail because I couldn't find a detailed explanation on the net.

5. You want to do one pad at a time so once you push the caliper pistons down on one side, take out the old pad and put the new one in the same way. Like I said, space will be limited - just enough to get it in so you will have to play with it. Once you get it between both calipers and the rotor, you can tap it with your pliers to get it in. Tap the top, then bottom, top, etc.

6. Do the same thing on the other side and get your pad in.

7. Now you need to put the springs and pins back together. If you are working on the passenger side, you also need to stick the sensor in that little hole. Start by putting the top pin all the way in.

Set the cross-shaped piece in place, one side going under the top pin. Press the bottom part of this spring piece to get it flush with the pads as you put in the bottom pin. The bottom pin will hold it in place.

The last thing you need to do is put the other spring back in the holes in the metal pins. The holes have to be lined up right - take note of the general direction when you're taking the spring out. You can pull the pins out a little and turn them with pliers to get it right.

Start from the top by inserting the spring in the hole in the top pin. If you're on the passenger side, put the sensor wire in aswell before you put the other end of the spring into the hole in the bottom pin. Then you simply push down and forward to get the center part locked in place behind the caliper.

8. You have to pump your brakes. Go ahead and inspect your work to make sure everything looks right. Important: Put the cap back on the brake fluid reservoir now. Get in the car and press the brake all the way down, let it go, press it all the way down again, let it go, and do this a few more times. The pedal will likely feel loose at first and stiffen as you pump the brakes. You're good to do the other side now so start from step 1 after you put the wheel back on.

Once you're done with the other side, take your car for a test drive. Again, don't forget to put the cap back on the reservoir before you pump your brakes. If the brakes stiffen up, everything should be fine but you still want to take a short drive to make sure everything is working properly.

I just did the pads on my car and the difference is huge. For some reason, the previous owner had changed the rotor out but not the pads so those were both new when I was done. Turns out the old pads had been rubbing on the rotor (I guess?) because my front tires spin freely now whereas before, it took some force. You can imagine it helped performance. I thought the car was smooth before... Now it's a freakin' cloud.

Onto the bonus! I want to tell you how to NOT maintain your car.

That window works, he just leaves it rain or shine. (Or shite)

Here's a Mustang GT worth probably $600. Would you want to buy it? It drives. But that's about it. I just moved - hence the lack of articles - and I thought this story would end up a lot different. This is my new roommate's car.

Initially I thought I would be able to write some tutorials on a Mustang GT but this guy wants no help. Oh well. I was checking his fluids and the coolant is a dense brown color. The water is completely saturated with rust. His ball joint or something (again, he doesn't want me to look) is messed up so his wheel wiggles left to right and the alignment is WAY off.

It made me realize how rugged Mustangs are. He starts it up by blowing into a device that measures his blood alcohol level and peels out. Meanwhile there's a misfire and who knows what else.

Here's a list of rules to follow if you don't want to TRASH your car.

1. Don't drive intoxicated. This is numero uno (that's Spanish for number one) because you would think it's obvious. Not to some people. This guy has already caught a DUI when someone T-boned him (he says it's their fault... sure buddy) so he has a blower in his car. It's a $3,000 device that makes you take a breathalyzer test before you can start the car. There's only one problem... It doesn't detect Xanax. I will say no more.

2. Don't drive with tires that are showing inch-wide wires. Or give your buddy some gas money at least one time in two weeks. Then he might drive you. Listen people, if you see wire coming out of your tire, it's overdue for a new tire. Don't complain if it pops.

3. Don't drive with a major issue even if it still runs. He couldn't explain to me what the actual problem is but he said he's missing four bolts and his front driver side tire wobbles left to right all day long. To go along with the tip above, if your buddy offers to fix it then maybe you should let him do that. If not then don't complain about driving your car that way.

Do I need to say this again? If you jacked his car up, you can move just one wheel side to side... It wobbles... Would you drive like that?

4. Check your fluids. His coolant is brown with rust and no, you can't see through it. No power steering fluid. Oil hasn't been changed. Dang, I could accept this from a 14 year old and that's it.

5. Maintain the damn thing! 200k miles with no spark plug change?

6. (Bonus) Don't trash it. It's not a trash can and I appreciate you not using my car as such aswell.

This is really sad because the car has potential and I wish I could mess with it but it put a bad taste in my mouth. Not driving it again. However, I definitely recommend this generation of Mustang! I think you can get a GT pretty cheap.

I feel like I wouldn't be doing justice to the car to leave this little bonus like this. Look, the Mustang GT is a great car but I wanted to show what happens when you don't fix things. When you buy things you shouldn't buy instead of fixing what you need. You can always get that other stuff later. Your car isn't just an awesome part of your life if you have the one you want but it's also your lifeline. You need it to get to work and survive so treat it good and it will treat you well.

Cars aren't hard to maintain. It just takes a little bit of time and sometimes things come up that are expensive but I wouldn't cut corners. Having a car that you know will start every time lowers your stress significantly.

Still Cheap: First Gen Toyota MR2

If you have ever wanted the first generation MR2 and want to get it for less than three grand, you need to do it now. This awesome mid-engine roadster is bound to go up in price soon as it has been sitting below three grand for a couple years now, at least in the US.

This is a very desirable sports car that is only going to appreciate in value. Lord knows that I looked for one before I bought my Saab 900 turbo and I probably should have kept looking.

The first gen MR2 isn't really fast in its stock, naturally aspirated version. It produces a whopping 112hp from the 4AGE motor sitting in the back. However it is a very balanced car (owing that to it's mid-engine design) that handles very well. Couple that with the fact that you can swap out the engine for some more powerful ones or get the supercharged one and you have a true enthusiast car. Some V6s even fit in the back and although that will definitely raise your investment, it's something you can always do in the future.

This roadster, the first generation being from 1984 to 1989, is fun to drive and reliable. And it's mid engine! Did I mention that? And it usually comes in red. Has anyone noticed that? Why is that? Did Toyota make 90% of their production vehicles red? I digress.

I should add that when I say this car is reliable, well it is, but it's also old so you will be better off if you have some skills as a mechanic. It's just a problem with old cars. Gaskets and other plastic and rubber components get dry-rot over that 20+ year period so the car might develop vacuum leaks, leaks in general, and sensors will start going out. It will mostly be small things which are cheap to repair if you do it yourself. Look for a car with the timing belt done if it's high mileage unless you don't mind changing it out yourself.

The simple truth is that this car is high on the list of desirable cars on pretty much any car enthusiast's list. It has a huge aftermarket, can be kept reliable or made a rocket, and right now it's cheap. It's mid-engine, something that is rare to see to this day in anything other than exotic cars. These are qualities that make the MR2 a fine automobile and are also starting to have an effect on the price. These cars will probably be selling for ten grand in good condition in less than ten years. I can pretty much guarantee you that.

The supercharged version sells for a little more but you can still find a high mileage example for a good price (under our $3,000 budget). Those come with a respectable 145hp considering the car weighs 2,200lbs. They also have more potential and some cars are making 300hp with some investment. In that package, that's a huge amount of power.

Because this is a car from the 80s, you should probably not buy this car if you don't know how to work on cars or are willing to learn like I mentioned before. You can take it to a mechanic every time something comes up but that's going to kill your money. If you are a GOOD mechanic, you can turn this car into a rocket.

That V6 I mentioned comes from the Toyota Camry if I'm not mistaken and makes something like 190hp stock. I'm going off of memory here so I might be wrong. There's one thing this car offers that is hard to come around - the relative ease of swapping different engines into it. Couple that with the mid-engine design and you have something with tons of potential.

I hope it is obvious by now why this car is already going up in price. If you have ever wanted to and are in the market for a sports car, you should definitely consider the first-gen Toyota MR2. It's not only a great car but right now it is an investment opportunity. Of course, you're not going to become rich from it but you should make a healthy six grand profit if you kept it for ten years. I pulled those figures out of my a** but to be honest, I really think this car will hit that price in that time period.

What's interesting is that you can almost get a second-gen MR2 with that money. Some are going for 3-4k. Will the first gen actually become more valuable? That would be interesting to see.

Dear readers, thank you for supporting Driving for Broke by reading the articles. We appreciate you very much, make no money from this, but we encourage you to bookmark this website and come back. We simply want to inspire and teach people what they are actually capable of when they put their minds to something positive like cars. Take it easy, this is Rokas signing off for now.

PS. I should be fixing my hood today and I think I found a way to change the hood hinge without removing the fender. How much time does that save?! I also have to rig a new latch until I fix the radiator support which I have already come up with and I will also be installing hood pins. In other news about my car, I am in the process of re-doing the floor in the back and I am extremely excited to show it to you guys along with a tutorial for both of these things I mentioned.

Temporary "hood latch." (One of two ideas for the latch I have to rig, not counting the hood pins which will be the main thing holding the hood down.)

Tutorial: ACV Delete to Stop Power Steering Leak

This is a very common problem on LS400s that can be confusing if you don't know what it is. You see, on startup in the morning your car will produce blue smoke possibly leading you to think that your engine is burning oil. It can also produce a rough idle and will even kill your alternator given enough time. If not fixed, the Air Control Valve that is a part of the power steering system will slowly leak fluid onto your alternator, eventually killing it.

Fortunately, it is pretty easy to fix although how the system works was definitely confusing to me when I first started working on cars (and this car). What the ACV actually is, is a hollow bolt-like piece with a plastic attachment containing two nozzles. It has a valve inside. It inevitably starts leaking eventually because of the high pressure. Two hoses connect to these nozzles. One goes from the intake to the ACV and the other goes from the ACV to a small intake port in the front of the engine at the top. I believe what this system does is raise your idle by about 200rpm if you turn the wheel idling. Honestly it's useless.

The SC400 and, I believe, a few Toyota trucks have the same power steering pump without an ACV. Instead, it's just plugged which is exactly what you need to do to permanently stop this problem. Everyone who I have talked to that replaced the ACV only had to plug it later when it failed again.

Above is a picture of the ACV next to an M14-1.50 drain bolt which is exactly what you can use to plug the hole the ACV goes into. Below is a picture of where it is on your vehicle taken from below. It is under the PS pump and above the alternator.

To add to your confusion, this picture is tilted to the right (I think). I have no idea how that happened and I do apologize but I guarantee you that you can find it. Look for the two hoses. You're going to take these off first leaving the ACV simply bolted into the block as in the picture above.

It comes off with a 17mm box wrench. The reason you need a wrench is because you have very little room to work with but just take it slow and you will be fine. Two things to keep in mind here. First, watch out for the metal refrigerant (?) lines in the area. You don't want to break one while turning the wrench.

Second, push the wrench on the bolt part of the ACV as far as you can before you untighten it. The reason I mention this is because I accidently stripped two edges by not doing so and if I wasn't able to find another angle for the wrench, I would have been SOL. You're going to need a lot of force to loosen it but you can do it with your hands. Find a good position (you have the car jacked up obviously) for leverage but I don't recommend pushing off of anything except maybe the sway bar.

When you take the ACV out, power steering fluid is gonna come leaking out so be ready. Cover the alternator with a plastic bag because it WILL get leaked on a little bit. I should have mentioned that you should have the cap off your pump.

Go ahead and take the ACV out. Remember, lefty loosie righty tighty. Now you have a couple options. Most people plug the ACV itself by breaking off the plastic parts, taking out the valve, and tapping a bolt into it. If you do this, leave a few millimeters of room in the hollow part on the side that is going back into the block. If possible, it's best to weld this but I'm 99% sure it will be fine if you put the bolt in along with something like JB Weld to completely liquid proof it. Most people take this route because the original part obviously fits. If you do this, I recommend getting an extra ACV from the junkyard as a precaution. I was lucky in that when I went to the yard, the car they had there had an already-plugged ACV. I was good to go. Here is what it looked like.

In this case, someone screwed a bolt into it - tapping it - and cut the head off. They left a little bit of room in the hole on the side going into the block. You can cut the round part off if you want it to look better but it serves no real purpose.

There is, however, an easier option. To be honest, I didn't need to go to the junkyard at all and it probably would've looked nicer BUT the original part is the original part. Anyway, the easier option is an M14x1.5 drain bolt like I mentioned before. I compared the two threads (you can see for yourself) and they are identical. The drain bolt is also short (whatever you use, don't tighten it so much that it goes in too deep - when it starts getting tight, tighten it and leave it) and comes with a rubber gasket.

Now you also have to plug the two intake holes that the hoses originally went to. You don't need the hoses anymore but it's always good to save parts unless they're bad.

The above picture shows the 'coming from' nozzle. Again I apologize because in this picture there is a hose on top of it, but what I did to plug it is simply use a hose that I cut and stuck a bolt into. The bolt screwed in so it worked perfect and I used the original clamp. If you can't see it, look below the 'L', there is a clamp holding an L-shaped piece of hose that is plugged with a bolt.

You can use whatever works.

Case in point - the 'going to' nozzle which has long ago been broken on my fine vehicle. Ignore the tape too - it's temporary for a couple-millimeter sized crack in the rubber. I plugged this hole in the intake with some sort of grooved plastic thing that had a smaller hole into which I stuck some metal thing. Like I said, plug these holes however you can because you don't need them anymore. Some like to screw a bolt into this part. It's plastic so it shouldn't break.

I recommend once you're done that you disconnect the negative battery terminal for ten seconds and put it back on before you start the car up. You want to reset your ECU so it reads the new way the air flows.

In my case, the change was huge. I noticed I had lost some power which came back after I did this procedure. In my case, the 'going to' hose wasn't connected to anything, creating a vacuum leak.

Another thing it did was mess up the idle and throw up a 0170 code. My check engine light went away after I plugged my ACV. My car also doesn't create a huge puff of smoke every time I start it in the morning meaning it's not sucking ATF into the engine. I don't think that will damage your engine but I prefer to keep that out of the engine. The leak stopped aswell and considering I was filling up the reservoir every TWO DAYS, I'm glad for it. And so is my new alternator. In short, delete your damn ACV system! Thanks for reading.