Anybody know of any good step by step guides to changing rear brake pads and rotors? I want to attempt the rear brakes, I have changed the front brakes a few times but never the rear. Any good ideas?
I found this site that has some great stuff on it, just not rear brakes!
Thanks for any help.
The rears are basically the same as the fronts as far as disassembly of the caliper and torque member (caliper bracket). The most important difference between the front and the rears is that you screw (clockwise) the rear caliper pistons to retract them as opposed to just compressring them in (as you would do for the fronts).
I have found that the rear caliper pistons tend to seize, depending on when your rear brakes were last serviced, you may find that the pistons don't want to rotate easily, and therefore you may not be able to retract them enough to clear the new pads. If you end up in that situation, the only solution is to replace the entire caliper.
The one other tip for the rears, is that you will find that the rear inside pad backing plate has a nub on it. You will also notice that the rear caliper piston has a cross-shaped groove on it. You need to make sure the piston is rotated such that when you place the caliper over the pads, the nub on the pad falls into the piston notch.
The other part of the rear caliper that is different from the front is that the e-brake cable is attached to the rear. If you don't plan on removing the caliper from the car, then it is of no consequence, except that you should make sure that the cable itself is not binding - pull/release the e-brake a few times and make sure the caliper holds/releases as you would expect.
Hope that helps,
Nirav
96 Max GLE, 135kBuy special (!) brake-grease and squeeze under piston, rails, handbrake -dust shields...
Fluid change every2-3yrs.
Lube boosts brakes possibly 5%
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