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How To: Rear brakes

23K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  johnc 
#1 ·
Tools needed;
Jack
13mm deep well or extension
Flat head
c-clamp
Parts needed;
New rear brake shoes ($25)


Follow all safety steps when jacking up one rear tire at a time.


There are two rear mounted 13mm bolts that hold the brake caliper in place.




Remove bolts two long 13mm bolts.


Remove caliper and rest on top rotor. Some prying with flat head or larger may be needed.



There is a spring on the outer brake shoe that needs to be depressed in order to remove outer shoe. Outer shoe needs to be removed first. Some more prying might be needed.

 
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#2 ·
Then pull inner shoe away from caliper then remove.



The new shoes are wider than the old and the caliper needs to be decompressed to allow for new shoes. I used a C-clamp, but if your want to give yourself a hernia, you can try decompressing by hand.



Place new shoes in the revers order.


When returning caliper the mounting bolts may be in the way preventing proper seating of caliper. Simply push or pull sliding hardware away from rotor. Set the bottom side in first and then push the top into place. You should hear/feel the caliper snap in place, being held in by spring.


Remount the two long 13mm mounting bolts, then the tire goes back on and your done.

Took 15 min each side. This can be done by most anyone who has a simple set of hand tools and a jack. Hope this helps someone save a few $$ from having a shop/dealer do it. Obviously this is for just a simple shoe change, if rotor is damaged more work needs to be done or professional help may be needed.
 
#16 · (Edited)
One tip, if you force the piston back in with a C-Clamp on only one side of the piston, its possible to tilt and jam the piston (maybe even damage it, its a phenolic/composite piston, much softer than steel) with the uneven force.

I take an old pad and place it over the piston and then apply the C-Clamp on the pad where the center of the piston is, to apply the force evenly. Or I push the piston back in before removing the pad, i.e. placing the C-Clamp on the pad in the position that is in the center of the piston to apply the force evenly. Then remove the pad from the piston after it has been pushed back in (I have yet to have the force of removing the pad pull the piston back out, even though you will have to pull against the piston to remove the pad).

Another tip, and I admit I sometimes don't do it because of the mess, but you can crack the bleeder screw before forcing the piston back into the caliper. The idea being, you force the old fluid out of the bleeder screw instead of back flowing it against the seals into the master cylinder, which might force dirt and debri back through the system or damage the seals in the system (although NOT likely, and if it does, that means the seals were on their way out anyway). Then top off the brake reservour with fresh brake fluid, instead of the old fluid being force back up to the reservour through the Master Cylinder and seals. But the downside is, if you're NOT careful, you can get air into the brakes and will have to bleed the brakes after finishing the job. So its a 6 of one a half dozen of another proposition. BUT, bleeding brakes is cheaper than replacing Master Cylinders, and fresh brake fluid will keep your brakes working longer and more trouble free.
 
#3 ·
*There is only 1 of 1 threads.
 
#5 ·
^ Great point! I'm just a regular guy trying save money on labor. I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks!
 
#6 ·
Good write up. Make sure you don't overtorque the caliper bolts like I did when I changed my brakes over the weekend because they will break pretty easy and you'll create more work for yourself. Apparently the $15 torque wrench from menards isn't all that accurate.
 
#7 ·
A few observations/questions.

The removed pads appear to be, at best 25%.....maybe 35% worn.
A lot of service life remains.....at least, again, that is how it appears.
So, if I'm correct, what was your motivation.....warped rotor, better braking?
If the angle is making them appear better than they are, my apologies.

cqbennett,
Were you using a foot lb. torque wrench?
For anyone reading, once the spec drops below 10 ft.lb., use a inch pound wrench.
A ft.lb. wrench is rather inaccurate at the low side and very easy, as you found out, to overtorque.
Fortunatly, the bolt broke before the threads pulled out of the mount.

Thanks for taking the time to create a good DIY writeup, ER!

Rob
 
#8 ·
^ loud metal on metal sound. I thought they look like they had more life in them, but all the metal on metal sound is gone.
 
#15 ·
I still had a good 10%-20% of life left on my rear pads when they started to squeek like crazy, a new set of quality pads cured the problem immediately. The chirp tab still had some distance before touching the rotor (the tab that scraps the rotor to warn its time to change the pads). Judging from the posts I've seen, this is common on the Commander, the rear pads start making noise near the end of their life and to some (myself included) that is worth doing a pad change early.


Yes and No, Yes it should in perfect world, No we don't live in a perfect world. Its NOT uncommon for heat/corrosion to seize a rotor to the hub and make it difficult to remove from the hub. In addition, on the Commander the parking/emergency brake is a drum in hat, meaning there is a tiny drum brake inside raised hat portion of that rotor. So just like removing drums off rear drums brakes, the drum should slide right off but often doesn't. Of course the parking/emergency brake has to be off, or the shoes will hold the rear rotor on. The rear shoes of the drum-in-hat brake might have worn a ridge in the drum portion, that will interfer with pulling the rotor off. If that happens you have to use the adjusters to back off the shoes. As well, if you're NOT careful you can tilt and wedge the drum portion of the rotor and wedge the shoes into the drum resisting taking the rotor off. If that happens, again you shoud be able to push the rotor back on and unwedge the shoes, and use the adjuster to back off the shoes.
 
#13 ·
Couple years later, your post is still helping out. First time I've done brakes on my 07, and was frustrated when I couldn't get the caliper off. This post helped reassure me that I wasn't going to destroy anything. Put on Wagner ThermoQuiet pads, so far so good.

Cheers-

Blu
 
#17 ·
Cheapo compressor tool

Found this at Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/disc-brake-pad-piston-compressor-68973.html
If you get it before you need one, be sure you know where you put it. I have lost tools which I bought "just in case", and had to buy another, at full price.

My rear brakes started squealing, with lots of material left (thinnest one was .190").
There are 2 kinds of disc brakes; those that squeal, and those that are about to.
 
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