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.
No comments:
Post a Comment