How to Replace Brake Pads- Rear Disc Brakes

[scotto330]

What about the hand brake line? where does it attach?

[kammi6586]

Hi there

I have a 2005 Mazda 3 and i am having a problem with the brakes. The problem is that when on move, i can hear the sound of pad 's warning metal grinding against the rotos. the pads are very new and i am not sure what is going on there. can you help me with that?did my mechanic cut corners?

[esage88]

GOOD VIEDO



[dojmike]

When pushing the cylinder back it, I always open the bleeder so the old fluid from the wheel cylinder is discarded and I do not push the old fluid back into the system. I think it is safer to just let the old fluid out the bleeder than to take the chance of pushing crud back into the master cylinder. Then I always bleed the entire system with fresh fluid.

[jdubdoubleu]

What about bleeding the break line when replacing the pads? Do I have to do that or can i just replace the pads without bleeding?

[profleetautorepair]

@jdubdoubleu You can replace pads without bleeding brakes. I would not recommend anyone without professional experience to remove a brake hose, release a bleeder valve or bleed brakes. At the very least have someone who has done it a few times before help you. If you get it wrong best case scenario you smash up your vehicle. Remove the brake master cylinder cap and press the piston back with a C clamp. If it does not go back caliper is bad, replace it, then you will have to bleed brakes.

[1966stevey]

think i'll just let the mechanic do it....

[SilkyTP]

An excellent and thorough video. I wonder what he was spraying on the brake pads though at around 7:25 - it didn't look like the same can of brake cleen.

[profleetautorepair]

They call it brake pad spray or anti rattle spray. Personally I think it is a waste of time however i have always used it because I want to eliminate any chance of brake squeals or squeaks on customer vehicles. I prefer the orange pastier stuff. The theory here is when braking the brake pads can and will move ever so slightly in the caliper mount. This spray or paste hardens and is supposed to help absorb some of the vibration or movement that would lead to noise.

[ashoreschoolcom]

Sam you just saved me about $400 bucks - thanks for the clear walk through of the entire process. It took about 3 hours to replace rear pads and rotor on a 2004 Envoy, including watching this video and a trip for lock tight. All in was $209 with tax.

[profleetautorepair]

Your welcome , I am glad my experiences can help someone else. Many people have asked me why would you make a video that shows someone how to do something you get paid to do? My response is these type of people are going to try to do it themselves anyways so why not help them to it the right way so nobody gets hurt or make a situation worse than it already is.

[raikkonen85]

shouldnt you put some copper grease or anti squeel on the back of thwe pads?

[profleetautorepair]

Yes we always do, however as I stated above I don't really believe it works as good as some people think. We use it anyways, kind of in a preventative measure.

[Stylefree83]

@ryanlester1980 when you depressed the caliper piston. you usually should have a helper for this at the hood with a bottle of brake fluid while you crack the bleeder valve on the caliper, with a hose on the valve going to a bottle that has a little brake fluid in it and the hose should submerge in the fluid. as you bleed it out by depressing the piston your helper slowly refills the master cylinder. e.g. soft pedal means air in the lines.

[profleetautorepair]

I do not recommend this method to a DIY guy. Never open a bleeder valve on the brake system unless you are replacing parts that require you to do so. Very few individuals doing brakes for the first few times can correctly bleed a brake system resulting in a very spongey pedal or worse crashing the vehicle afterwards. You also have to contend with rust and corrosion. Only someone with experience should attempt this.

[profleetautorepair]

@Stylefree83 Many newer vehicles can be very difficult to bleed requiring expensive computer equipment and more time than you will want to spend resulting in vehicle being towed to a reluctant repair shop that will charge you more that you probably spent on all the brake parts combined!

All you have to do is remove the top off the master cylinder and carefully push the piston back with a c clamp. If it does not go back there is a reason for it. Possible bad caliper or brake hose.

[ranacherian]

rust usually do the work of a lock tight here in cny

[profleetautorepair]

@ranacherian Same here in Michigan, LOL, However due to the extreme amount of heat and vibration when braking the bolts will loosen up and turn out resulting in a very dangerous situation and damage to the brakes system. We also torque the bolts down. I know these seems over kill but you would not believe how many times I have seen caliper bolts brake off because they were over tightened. Someday you will more than likely have to do this again and it will be nice if the bolts come apart.

[davidzzz94]

how to tell if you need a special tool to push the piston back in?

[strong646]

@davidzzz94

with some rear pistons they need to be twisted whilst they are pushed in to be successfull. usually the piston would have a groove which the tool would grip to twist it.

[profleetautorepair]

@davidzzz94 If they have notches in them or do not push back easily with a c clamp you will need the special brake tool. Or just ask your local parts store that you bought your parts from. HOPEFULLY NOT AUTOZONE, MURRYS OR ANY OTHER DISCOUNT PARTS STORE. If you work on your own vehicle regularly you will soon learn the importance of quality parts people and the parts they sell, enough said on this!

[dogcatmouse23]

Disc Brakes Rear need Changing on my VW New Beatle 2004 turbocharged 1.8 - I don't drive much and one back pad is bad and is throwing brake dust. I just want to only chang back disc Brakes quickly to get me for another 1000 miles and not sure what I am doing when I chang this in the snow.

[JAMESPTOOLE]

Thank you so much for this video. I just completed replacing the rear brakes on my '04 Honda Element. I ran into just about every problem that I could think of but I did everything in your video and it turned out perfectly. I found out that you can't remove the rotors if the parking break is on (Oops). I highly recommend this video.

[profleetautorepair]

@JAMESPTOOLE Your very welcome, I don't mind it when the do it yourselfers have to work on their own vehicles because I think it gives them an understanding and appreciation for what we have to do 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. I am happy to see my experiences can help someone else.

[whole27]

@profleetautorepair you said that you usually just get new rotors everytime you replace them but i would think that would be more expensive than just removing the rotors yourself and taking them to an auto parts store to have them resurfaced, right? New rotors cost about 30-35 bucks each!? I read that your factory rotors should last about 3 brake pad changes or about 90,000 miles? What are your thoughts on resurfacing rotors? Good or bad and why?

[whole27]

@JAMESPTOOLE Don't you need to remove some of the brake fluid before you push back the piston?? What is the special tool called that most vehicles need to push back the piston?

[MageryGuy]

@whole27 You only need to remove break fluid if new fluid has been added to "top off" the master cylinder. If you don't when you compress the caliper piston, you'll push extra fluid all over the master cylinder entry. If there has never been any fluid added. You should be fine.

[0466rymaspencer]

Hi, what did you spray on the brake pads. I know brake cleaner went on the rotor but what on the pads?

[0466rymaspencer]

Thank you for the video!!! I was just wondering if I should automatically change the rotors on my 2006 jeep. This will be the first brake job for the vehicle and the front rotors are very, very smooth. The rear rotors have a very slight groove where the brake pad is wearing into the rotor. should I change the rotors?

Thanks

[profleetautorepair]

@0466rymaspencer I always change the rotors with pads. For so many reasons I may not have the space here to go into! for one they are so cheap now i don't know why you wouldn't. #2 Very high chance they will squeak and squeal if you don't #3 The thinner they get the hotter they get which will lead to pulsation and more noise #4 the brakes will not stop as well and will feel spongey, feeling like your on ice and vehicle does not grab and stop like it should. I hope I have made my point. :)

[0466rymaspencer]

@profleetautorepair thank you for the reply-it really helps! I was just thinking that the rotors on my jeep must be heavy duty rotors because they cost $86.25 each. If they could be turned and get another cycle of pads through, it might be money wise to do so. But, it sounds like I would be increasing the odds for more aggravation by doing it this way. I will use your expertise and do it the right way the first time:) Thank you again-I appreciate it. Chet

[metalmaniac622]

no emergency brake cable?

[CommonM1stak3]

@metalmaniac622 You only have a parking brake cable on integral parking brakes that use the caliper to apply the parking brake. Thats when you also need a special tool in some cases to screw the piston back into the caliper. But if the Parking brake is seized due to rust etc. then you will have to rebuild or replace the caliper.

[CommonM1stak3]

@CommonM1stak3 1 more thing, the parking brake in this case is like a drum brake and sits inside of the hub of the rotor.

[profleetautorepair]

@CommonM1stak3 Yes and many time when you replace the brake rotor you will have to pry the rotors off which will result in damaging or displacing the parking brake shoes. The result will be a constant rubbing noise or a noise that increases with speed. Due to rust the new rotors may rub on the backing plate or shoes. Always clean off all the rust at all cost and spin the rotor with the tire only installed on it to make sure there is no rubbing noises. If you don't you will have to disassemble.

[camshahed]

An excellent presentation. Thank you very much.

[lsxer]

Great information.