I have the new pads and rotors to fit the front. Before I get started are there any tips or tricks to doing this job? Remove calipers and put new pads on and rotor installation. Seems like it's straight forward but I've been there before on other cars and something always gets tricky. How about depressing the caliper piston to get the new pads to go over the new rotors? Any tricks there?
Get some Disc brake lube, anti-seize, or high temperature wheel bearing grease (listed in the order of preference - I'll refer to whatever you decide to use as "lube"), brake cleaner, and some anti-squeal spray. I prefer the spray to the gooey stuff because it is neater, but the gooey stuff also works.
Assuming that the ES has the same type calipers as the Camry, remove the caliper and torque plate and make sure that the replacement pads are the same size and shape as the ones currently installed on the car. If they are, spray the anti-squeal on the back of the pads and let them dry until they are tacky. Apply a little lube on the rotor where it fits over the hub to make it easier to replace later and replace the rotor and torque plate, and depress the caliper piston with a C-clamp. Clean up the caliper slide bolt and apply the lube to the bolt shank. Make sure that the tube that the slide bolt passes through moves freely to the limits of the rubber boots that hold them in place. If they do not move in and out, carefully peel the rubber boot off and clean up the outer diameter of the tube and apply some lube and re-assemble. Put everything back together, with the pad with the wear indicator (bent piece of metal sticking out from the back of the pad) on the inboard side of the rotor.
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