Hey all. Just inquiring how hard it is to install your own brake pads? I've been quoted $77 front and $77 back just to install. I'm thinking that's a bit steep :S Worth doing it myself?

Prices quoted are about standard, They are not hard to do you just need to push the pistons back in the calipers making sure not to over flow the fluid in the master cylinder, remove old pads, fit the new pads then once fitted take if for a drive and bed the pads in. should take around 20min per wheel.

Dead easy to do. The hardest or trickiest bit is pushing the pistons back into the calipers to make room for the new thicker pads.
Easiest way I've found is with a G-clamp and one of the old pads.
Just place the old pad over the piston (pad face against the piston), stick the G-clamp on and wind away.
And as cracka says, watch the fluid level in the master cylinder, if the old pads are really thin and you're replacing all four it would be a good idea to remove a bit of the fluid first (use a syringe) and then top up with new fluid once the new pads are on. Also think about replacing all the old fluid with new, if the pads need replacing then there's a good chance the fluid is due to be replaced as well.

Instead of sucking the brake fluid out by syringe, i would just drain the fluid out by loosening the bleed screw. top up the brake fluid to full level once you have fitted all the brake pad in.

Dead easy to do. The hardest or trickiest bit is pushing the pistons back into the calipers to make room for the new thicker pads.
Easiest way I've found is with a G-clamp and one of the old pads.

G-clamps do work but they're no match a proper caliper piston tool.
https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQXVRmROakRqC7XiZlez2shdtSS7ltJr tsERN7BTqlX7Mp0pZUA

Your local auto parts store will have them for about $10-$15 for a cheap set which is just fine.

Instead of sucking the brake fluid out by syringe, i would just drain the fluid out by loosening the bleed screw. top up the brake fluid to full level once you have fitted all the brake pad in.

This.

Fluid near the calipers tends to be in worse condition than fluid in the resevoir due to exposure to high temps and moisture. Pushing the piston in without releasing the nipple will simply force all that crappy brake fluid up into the resevoir. Its best to change the brake fluid and bleed the whole lot when changing pads anyway.

This.

Fluid near the calipers tends to be in worse condition than fluid in the resevoir due to exposure to high temps and moisture. Pushing the piston in without releasing the nipple will simply force all that crappy brake fluid up into the resevoir. Its best to change the brake fluid and bleed the whole lot when changing pads anyway.

I've always done both just to save time - use a suction gun\vacuum bulb to get the old fluid out of the reservoir (if possible), top off the reservoir with new fluid, bleed it at the calipers and then top it up again with fresh fluid. Just makes the job quicker especially if you're doing it by yourself.

But to the OP regarding the brake pad change. If you've never done it before or if you're not confident doing it by yourself, get someone to help you out. Its not something you want to get wrong.

Remember you need to machine the rotors as well, putting on new pads to old glazed rotors is like having a shower and putting on your old undies....from a week ago

Rotors may look ok but unless people have see what state a rotor is when placed on the lathe they have no idea of how warped and how bad the surface can be.

If you need to and your old rotors measure up ok, I can do exchange rotors for $25 per end machined. So you drop off your old rotors and pick up new, or you are welcome to drop in and have them machined for $25 per set as well while you wait, takes about an hour to do all of them if they are not too bad

Yeah I had them looked at today and apparently my 2 front rotors are completely warped and shot to hell. :S They quoted me $150 per rotor to replace. :(

I can also supply used set, already machined and they will cost you $75 for the pair. Still unless you put your rotors on a lathe you can not tell if warped, I think you may have just been lead along a little inless they have tried to machine them there is really no way to tell other than secure them on the car and measure with a dial guage

It was during my 90k service so not sure if that involves them checking the rotors? 2nd hand set sounds good!

So I just got my brake pads and front rotors installed today but now that I drive the car the braking response feels like crap! I bought the 'QFM HPX' front and rear brake pads and 'RDA front rotors'. When I apply pressure to the brake on my car it does nothing. I have to push my foot down fairly far for it to start to brake. Is this usual because the pads and rotors are new? Or is the install dodgy?

Josh mate sounds like you've got air in the lines.

You need to bleed the lines fully. Be sure to use the right fluid.

Not overly hard to do. Best to do with a mate, however can be done on your own - usse a "One-man bleed kit" from Supercheap auto for $16.

Then follow this guy's advice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5O_pbC8R2E

I got a mechanic to do it :S does that mean dodgy job?

It means he didn't do a complete job but a quickie.

He's just replaced the pads, and didn't flush/bleed the fluid. You're meant to do that after replacing the pads.

The process of replacing the pads, includes pushing back on the piston to allow space for the thick news pads to fit in between the caliper and rotor, and the cap off the master cyclinder was probably removed and pushing back meant air got into the lines.

How is the level of fluid currently? Is it reasonably high?

:S Just checked my brake fluid and it's still at max level.

Core haza, exact same thing happened to me with new rda slotted front and machined oem rear rotors and bendix pads...when cold i have to press hard as hell to stop smashing into the rear wall outside my garage in the mornings! But after ive used them a few times all seems okay- better in fact than stock...i was thinking it could be due to the pads being a high temp pad but am still waiting to chat to the mechanic who replaced them for me (do bendix do a high temp track pad or something? Ive seen ceramic pads but not sure if he would have put these on my street driven car)...also has a totally dif squeal no..lower frequency...and esp when cold...he bedded them in okay as he took me for a spin while doing this..it got a little smokey but he said all normal when bedding in...i am wondering if thats just the way it is or if it will be different if i bleed the system...

Your brakes should work no matter how early in the morning it is...if you havent changed brake fluid the in the car yet, a bleed or replacement of the fluid is a good idea... But if you had to bleed them coz you have air in the lines, the air is still there when its hot.. So that doesnt sound like the problem..

He got the brakes to smoke when bedding them in? :|

Is he stupid?

1) slamming on the brakes when brand new is a really bad idea. These brand new rotors and pads have never experienced extreme friction and temperatures before, meaning the rotors are far more susceptible to warping than well used ones.

2) the pads take time to make a decent facing against the rotor. A good bedding-in procedure ensures that this happens otherwise you will be left with crappy pedal feel.

3) i suspect he didnt clean the new rotor before putting it on. They usually have an anti-corrosion layer on the keep them from corroding. If you leave this on when fitted to the car, the poor new rotor has to burn through this to reach the proper steel face of the rotor

I got a mechanic to do it :S does that mean dodgy job?

I would go back to that mechanic and ask him to do a proper bleeding till there's no air bubble trap in there, that's really some dodgy work done...

So I just got my brake pads and front rotors installed today but now that I drive the car the braking response feels like crap! I bought the 'QFM HPX' front and rear brake pads and 'RDA front rotors'. When I apply pressure to the brake on my car it does nothing. I have to push my foot down fairly far for it to start to brake. Is this usual because the pads and rotors are new? Or is the install dodgy?

Yes, big scare first time you push the brake pedal. Experienced the same.
Give everything 100 km to settle in, should come good. Drive carefully in the meantime.

He got the brakes to smoke when bedding them in? :|

Is he stupid?

1) slamming on the brakes when brand new is a really bad idea. These brand new rotors and pads have never experienced extreme friction and temperatures before, meaning the rotors are far more susceptible to warping than well used ones.

2) the pads take time to make a decent facing against the rotor. A good bedding-in procedure ensures that this happens otherwise you will be left with crappy pedal feel.

3) i suspect he didnt clean the new rotor before putting it on. They usually have an anti-corrosion layer on the keep them from corroding. If you leave this on when fitted to the car, the poor new rotor has to burn through this to reach the proper steel face of the rotor

Yeah mate i dunno...i have read that u need to do several high deceleration stops to bed in brakes, to get them to a hi enough temp to allow brake pad material to create a surface on the rotor...this requires getting them to a high enough temp by repeated braking...he never came to a complete stop as he said to do this would cause warping of rotors, but they did get hot enough to start smoking...i am no mechanic so i will defer to others' experience here...

But in saying all of that, there is no denying they feel great when warm, but hardly bite at all when cold...weird i know but i know im not imagining this bit...

Anyway i think it could either be the type of pad...maybe theyre more of a track type pad as opposed to a street pad, or i will need to bleed the system again. I will get detailc of the type of pad they are and also look at a bleed and see what the cause of this is...

He got the brakes to smoke when bedding them in? :|

Is he stupid?

1) slamming on the brakes when brand new is a really bad idea. These brand new rotors and pads have never experienced extreme friction and temperatures before, meaning the rotors are far more susceptible to warping than well used ones.

2) the pads take time to make a decent facing against the rotor. A good bedding-in procedure ensures that this happens otherwise you will be left with crappy pedal feel.

3) i suspect he didnt clean the new rotor before putting it on. They usually have an anti-corrosion layer on the keep them from corroding. If you leave this on when fitted to the car, the poor new rotor has to burn through this to reach the proper steel face of the rotor

My money is on this.

When I installed new DBA 4000 slotted front rotors and HPX QFM pads a few months ago the first thing I did was scrub the rotors with meths to remove the protective coating.
IIRC the box even came with instructions to do this.

It means he didn't do a complete job but a quickie.

He's just replaced the pads, and didn't flush/bleed the fluid. You're meant to do that after replacing the pads.

The process of replacing the pads, includes pushing back on the piston to allow space for the thick news pads to fit in between the caliper and rotor, and the cap off the master cyclinder was probably removed and pushing back meant air got into the lines.

How is the level of fluid currently? Is it reasonably high?

Oh really???? you are meant to flush and replace fluid with new pads, please please for the love of all things decent be sure what you are typing before you make others go off and think that they are being ripped every time they do something to their cars, getting a little sick and tired of reading this constant bad advice.

While if the fluid is dirty it is a good idea to flush the system rarely will ANY workshop do this. For example, when someone comes into my shop for new pads if the fluid is dirty I will suggest it but can not make it be done. Is upto the customer if they want to do this

The OP, who fitted the brakes, again if the car comes into my shop and I fit the brakes, I will take the car for a drive to initially bed in the pads and ensure that the brakes are ok. Seems like your mechanic did not bother to test drive after or simply did not care. You do not "have" to bleed, flush or change brake fluid. $150 per rotor for new RDA is also a joke but either way there is clearly something not right if your brakes are spongy as the HPX are a great pad and I use them all the time with no issues at all.

Your brakes should work no matter how early in the morning it is...
Actually I've heard a few people over the years say that the Bendix Ultimates need a few stops into them before they start working properly.

Actually I've heard a few people over the years say that the Bendix Ultimates need a few stops into them before they start working properly.

Yep my ceramic pads I used to run could barely stop me rolling backwards down the driveway in the morning. First application & a bit of heat though they were fine.

Yep my ceramic pads I used to run could barely stop me rolling backwards down the driveway in the morning. First application & a bit of heat though they were fine.

Ok thats kinda reassuring to hear. Did u stick with the ceramic pads or get rid of them cos of the no bite when cold issue? Cos i totally have the same hard to stop if reversing when cold thing. My worry is if doing a long drive on the highway and potential need to stop in a rush after they go cold ..tho i guess they could heat up pretty quick if tryin to stop urgently while doin 110 or 100 kph...

Hey OP here. The mechanic never took the car for a drive :S gonna take it to my normal mechanic today and just get him to drive it n see what he says. Ended up getting the RDA rotors for $102 for both :D also got the brake pads from mitsfix! cheers ;D

Took it to my regular mechanic today and they found air in the brake fluid so they flushed it out and all is good with my brakes now :P They feel great!

I bought some RDA Extreme's for the front of my TF, haven't fitted them yet as I have to get a new bleed nipple so I can do a proper job of it, and also have time to do it (I queried about the bleed nipples in another thread).

Anyways, inside there is a set of instructions for bedding them in:

Increase speed to 40km/h, put brakes on lightly reducing to 20km/h
Increase speed to 60km/h, put brakes on lightly reducing to 40km/h
Increase speed to 80km/h, put brakes on lightly reducing to 60km/h
Drive for a while at 60km/h letting brakes cool slightly
Apply brakes lightly at 60km/h reducing to 40km/h
Drive for a while at 40km/h letting brakes cool
Apply brakes lightly at 40km/h reducing speed to 20km/h
Increase speed slowly to 60km/h
Apply brakes lightly at 60km/h reducing speed to 40km/h
Increase speed to 60km/h, drive for a little while then apply brakes, reducing speed to 40km/h
Repeat previous step 2 times
Drive for 2-3 minutes without braking to cool brake components before parking

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but what fluid will my ride use? 04 magna es tl wagon. Cheers

Anyways, inside there is a set of instructions for bedding them in:

Increase speed to 40km/h, put brakes on lightly reducing to 20km/h
Increase speed to 60km/h, put brakes on lightly reducing to 40km/h
Increase speed to 80km/h, put brakes on lightly reducing to 60km/h
Drive for a while at 60km/h letting brakes cool slightly
Apply brakes lightly at 60km/h reducing to 40km/h
Drive for a while at 40km/h letting brakes cool
Apply brakes lightly at 40km/h reducing speed to 20km/h
Increase speed slowly to 60km/h
Apply brakes lightly at 60km/h reducing speed to 40km/h
Increase speed to 60km/h, drive for a little while then apply brakes, reducing speed to 40km/h
Repeat previous step 2 times
Drive for 2-3 minutes without braking to cool brake components before parking


Saves me having to type the same. lol Found the same instructions in my two boxes of RDA pads.
Pads these days need a bit of bedding in, apparently. Must be the non-asbestos mix they use.
If you do all corners of the car, do one axle first, bed those in, then do the other. I've got new RDA pads on the back of my TJ, but the fronts will wait for another 1,000 km before I do the fronts. Too scary doing them all at once.


Sorry to dig up an old thread, but what fluid will my ride use? 04 magna es tl wagon. Cheers

Brake fluid. In a plastic bottle. DOT 4.

http://media.supercheapauto.com.au/sca/images/100250.jpg