How to replace a rotor and car brake pad


How to replace a rotor and car brake pad

What is the essential thing in your car? Without any doubt, it can be anything, like suspension or engine, but when talking about driving performance and safety, we want to highlight car brake parts.

Is it possible to accurately replace the brake pads and rotors by myself? You don't usually replace the rotors, you get them turned, which mills off the top few mm's if the rotor to get them flat again. You need a special machine to do that. You need to measure the rotor before making the decision to either turn/mill or replace it.

Where to begin? At first, you should determine the problem, particularly whether you have to change pads and rotors at the front, rear, or both. An experienced ear can tell on the road which will need to be replaced. If you can’t tell from the sound, you’ll need to investigate visually. Usually, this means raising the appropriate end of the car and removing the wheel. You can usually get a good enough look in the caliper to see how worn the car brake pads are and certainly get a good look at the rotor’s condition.

Car brake pad replacement

You will be pleasantly surprised to find that you can change your disc brake pads for a car quickly, easily, and without specialized tools. Doing it yourself also will save you a lot of money. But even if you're not interested in doing this yourself, knowing what's involved makes it easier to understand what your mechanic may someday tell you. Despite purchasing only genuine brake pads for cars, we strongly recommend using only original services.

You need to change brake pads for car when they get too thin, especially if they begin to make a persistent metallic squeaking or grinding noise when you press the brake pedal. But noise alone isn't always the best indicator, so it's best to anticipate when this will happen by periodically inspecting the thickness of the brake pads for car.

Rotor replacement

Rotor replacement
  1. Unbolt the top of the caliper clamshell. The bolt heads are usually on the backside of the caliper.
  2. Remove the caliper from the top of the rotor caliper. Once the top bolts are loose, this second step usually necessitates some kind of pry tool.
  3. Open the top of the caliper and slide the brake pads out of the brake assembly.
  4. Unbolt the first bolt in the caliper/knuckle combination by removing the top bolt using a breaker bar
  5. Once the second bolt is removed, be careful to hold on to the caliper. Set the caliper aside.
  6. With the wheel nuts already off the brake assembly, the rotor should be free to remove from the axle hub.
  7. Replace the original rotor with a new unit, then reverse the entire process until all components are secure.

How to replace a rotor and car brake pad FAQ

How to replace a rotor and car brake pad FAQ
  • How much should it cost to replace brake pads and rotors?

Even although the price is various enough and depends on the specifics of your car, you should expect a brake job of replacing brake pads and rotors to cost $250-$400 per axle on average.

  • Should you replace all four brake pads at once?

But, when changing brake pads, should you do all four at once? Well, first, you absolutely should replace both front or rear brake pads at the same time. Unless something's wrong, one should be wearing out at about the same rate as the other.

  • What are the symptoms of bad rotors?
  1. VIBRATION. When rotors are warped or very worn, the contact between them and the car brake pad can be imperfect.
  2. NOISE. Worn brakes are noisy, and persistent squealing or squeaking is a sure sign of problems.
  3. VISIBLE DAMAGE.
  4. STOPPING DISTANCE.
  • How long will new car brake parts last on bad rotors?

Using data provided by Federal Highway Administration statistics on how many miles people drive annually, typical brake pads will last between 3 and 7 years. Brake rotors last roughly 70,000 miles, but they need to be inspected for uneven wear.