Last Friday, I replaced the front brakes. They weren't fully worn out, but there was a bit of pulsating going on, and they had more than enough miles on them. Today, being that the rain kept me from doing much outdoor work, the rear brakes had to follow suit.
One pain-in-the-ass things about rear brakes: The Tool. Rear brake pistons usually have to be twisted as they are retracting. Hence, the main reason for the existence of Autozone...free tool rentals.
At first glance, the rear brakes should be a piece of cake. Looks are sometimes deceiving.
First, the rear pads, in my experience, almost always leave a lip at the top of the rotor. Some not-so-gentle tapping of the caliper is required to bang the pads past that lip. And who thought it was a good idea to have Torx bolts to "secure" the rotor to the hub?
The old pads. Those vertical scars are from "tapping" the caliper and banging them past the lip on the rotor. The pads fell out of the caliper. Nothing on Earth is as dirty as an old pair of brake pads.
Time and rust take their toll. And I did not tap the rotor off of the hub. Once I removed the dumb Torx bolts, I had to whack the old rotor with a hammer to get it off. I don't like using hammers, but by-god I will.
I LOL'd on this one. See that little wear line on the new pad on the left? The old pad was way, way past that. The longest part of the whole process? Seating the new pads into the impossibly small opening that is given to you in the caliper. I scratched my head more than a few times during this, even though I have done rear brakes quite a few times.
All new rotors and pads, all the way around. My total investment was $96 in parts, 3.5 hours of labor, and a little skin from my left index finger. The auto shop wanted more, in the realm of $400. I think I came out on top.
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