Fastener Sizes And Torque Ratings:/ nm= newton metres/ ft or ln/lb/= foot or inch pounds kg/m= /kilogram per metre
Caliper Bracket To Axle Bolts 17mm nm 38 to 52
Caliper Outside Pin Bolts 14mm nm: 22 to 31
Hand Brake Cable Bracket Bolt 14mm nm: 27 to 36
Brake Hose Banjo Bolt 12mm nm 17 to 20
A.B.S Sensor Bolt 12mm nm 18 to 24
Bleeder Bolt 10mm nm 7 to 9
Firstly, lets get this out in the open right away. I am not a torque natzie. This listing, as to the best accuracy i can concur, is simply for those of you who like to tighten your fasteners as close to factory specs as you can. Most fasteners can be done up with your ratchet.
You get a feel, sort of like a surgical scalpal, when the fastener is starting to bite. .You feel it in your hand, once getting harder to do up.. Consider the fastener torqued.If your worried still about over torquing, you can always use a smaller ratchet. With that out of the way, lets get rolling,
One of the first jobs you will be challenged with when your an apprentice is either an oil change, or replacing brake pads.I thought this would be a good place to start
Skill Level:/ Easy to moderate.
Hazards/: Brake pads could be made of a hazardous substamce…Brake fluid is dangerous and corrosive. Avoid spills on paintwork Could cause blindness.Wear safety glasses and a dust mask.
The 2000- 2003 Nissan Maxima rear brakes and front, has a 4 disc, single piston brake pad rotor set up, with A.B.S (Anti Lock Braking system) The idea of the a.b.s is so when you hit the anchors hard, if its raining, and the road is slippery, you wont go into an uncontrollable spin, making the car a lot safer to drive., with much less chance of running into the back of someone.
The hand brake is designed on a spring system, with a spiral bolt in the centre, and is self adjusting as the pads wear.. The brake pads have a squeal sensor, which is a piece of steel sticking to the side, as to warn you the pads are down to theyre limit, say 5mm or under. Its time to start wrenching Without further ado, lets inspect our brakes, and replace our brake pads
1:/ Park your Max in the garage, keeping the transmission in Park. For extra safety, place chocks around the front wheels . If using your factory jack, you will see along the side back edge a lip which is the only place you can place it.. If using a floor jack, place this in the middle of the back axle.
You will see the . back beam, two cross beams, perfect for positioning your jack stand. The only problem is, you will have to remove the wheel first, depending on your jack stand height. Another place you can put them is under the sill, or there is a hole with an indentation right near the sill, perfect spot for putting your jack standds, still keeping the car very safe., keep the jack in place until you are done for that little bit of assurance., but still have the jack stands for the main support, .
2:/ This is the most important step of all. Remove the negative battery terminal. The main reason for this is you are disturbing the braking system. You need to avoid every chance of the air bag deploying Putting the car to sleep , you are eliminating this.from happening.
2:/ When removing your back wheel, loosen the wheel lug nuts on the ground first, then raise, loosen all wheel nuts. When pulling the wheel away from the studs, grab it with both hands,,, dont let the wheel drag on the stud threads
While the wheel is off, give it a good clean behind, as well as front The grime is very built up behind the wheel. You may need special wheel cleaner,or degreaser, let it soak for a bit, then scrub it off. You may need to do this a few times.
3:/ :With the wheel removed, check the brake fluid level and condition, and give the brake system a thorough inspection before undoing anything. What you are looking for are damp spots. Check around the brake hose joins, the caliper area, namely around the dust boot, and where the brake hose comes in.. See if there are damp spots on the axle also.
Once satisfied, ,give the entire brake caliper area a good hit with some brake cleaner, being careful of rubber components., or just use hot soapy water with a scrubbing brush. Have your drip pan ready for any mess.
4:/ Once cleaned and dried out, release the hand brake,then remove the hand brake cable. To do this,, remove the bracket attached to the caliper, push the mechanism foward, moving the cable out a bit The lever should comfotably slip over the toggle.
6:/ Grab your hose clamp, or i like to use a pair of needle nose vice grips with fuel tube,A good size to use is about 6 to 7 mm tube inside diameter, it can be either fuel or power steering. Its about 15 mm outside diameter. This tube slips nicely over the vice grips jaws..
Clamp gently Theres no need to clemp tight., You wont damage the brake hose .Clamp where is comfortable, so the vice grips arent in the way, but not too close to the joins. ,
Next, remove the brake hose banjo bolt.. You will find 2 small copper washers each side of the bolt.. If these washers seem flat or pitted, and scored to the naked eye, they may need replacement You can reuse them , but clean and dry them first.There should be no brake fluid coming out of the brake hose… If so, clamp tighter.
5:/ Loosen the bleeding screw on top of the caliper., but dont take it out completely. Preferably, use a flare nut spanner,or a six point socket, but if not, a normal spanner is suffice.This screw may be stubborn to move. Dont make my mistake,. and keep cranking on it until it brakes off inside the caliper .Use penetrating oil, let soak, turning slowly counter clockwise then clockwise, then counter clockwise again, , until it loosens.
Have a tube placed on the bleeder nipple leading into your drip pan for any mess.
7:/:Your nearly there. Next, remove the caliper pin bolts. These are the smaller bolts on the outside of the brake caliper.The caliper might be stubborn to remove, if sitting in the one spot for a long time.. A pry bar is your best friend here. Place it in between the bracket and caliper.,lifting one side, then the other, then the middle. It should pop right out. Lift the brake caliper straight up and out. Place on your worktable
Lets now remove our caliper bracket. Remove the brake pads .,pushing them over to the edge of the pad retainer clip then up on a slight tilt. This takes patience and practice.To make things a little easier, put two wheel nuts on the stud threads. to keep the rotor straight. You may need spacer washers behind them. Undo larger bolts, lifting bracket straight out You may need a minature extension bar for leverage.. Now comes the rotor. Wear your dust mask, there may be debri behind there.
Look closely at the rotor after removing the lug nuts..If theres grooves on the rotor,or usualy a lip on the edge, you may need to have them machined.if thickness allows, Check the thickness yourself with a pair of vernial calipers.Theres a great little mechanic i go to that is open Saturdays, but there should be a good place nearby, if your like me, and like to get as much mileage out of the rotors as you can, Machining is an option.,
If the thickness is below specifications, you will need new rotors
13:/Once the bracket is on your worktable, twist and pull out the rubber boots,holding in the slide pins. If these boots seem stubborn, you will need to twist and pull them, breaking the seal..Once slide pins are out, remove rubber boots,dry with a rag, Inspect for scoring ,Do one pin at a time, so the boots go back correctly.for reverence when installing the new boots.
You wil see pad retainer clups on eah side These clips keep the brake pads in place..They should pull out,. If stuck, pry a screwdriver under the flap piece in the centre.. It should pop right out. Dunk the bracket, and all clips including the centre rattle spring in the caliper, it should pull out easily, into a container of methylated spirits .Let soak for a while Just dry the slide pins with a rag. One of these has a little rubber boot and will exxpand if dunked.
Lets now remove the piston arrangement.Before you wind the piston out, you need to lubricate the rubber boot outer groove with some rubber grease.. Dont use WD 40 or motor oil. These are a petroleum lubricant, , and will damage rubber boots and seals. Make sure the rubber boot is not stuck, and able to move , as you wind out your piston. Its very easy to tear these boots.
Use a small flathead screwdriver covered with electrical tape. Cover with a little rubber grease, or preferably, a wooden pick,lifting up the edge of the boot, going round the inside, lubricating the outer groove.
7:/ The piston may be hard to turn at first. Use the auto parts store tool. It should fit in there if the pads are down.. Once the seal is broken, turn again counter clockwise with your tool until theers no more room..You will feel the piston going past the inner o ring, and it should pop right out. Finish taking it out with your pointy nosed pliers
8:/ Gently pull out the dust boot. It might be a little stuck inside the groove, as its been sitting in there a long time.. Hit with some brake fluid, maybe go round the inner groove again with somne rubber grease. Try not to just pull on it. It might tear..Next you will see an inner o ring. Tooth picks or a sharpened tooth brush with the pointy end shaved down will work very nicely..
Once these rubber parts are out, inspect inside the cylinderr bore for any scratches, dents, chips, following by getting your old toothbrush,or a small wire brush . Dip in some brake fluid, and scrub the grooves. There may be surface rust. Give inside the bore a good clean with a rag, finishing with a little brake clean , but place on the rag first. Dont spray it straight down the bore. If its still dirty, dip your toothbrush in some brake fluid. GIve the bore a good scrub.
9:/ Dry with your rag.. Clean the o ring and boot with a rag.,inspect and feel for softness or damage I like to keep these in case of a rainy day. .moving on to the piston itself.As you look down the piston , you will notice the spindle, a circlip, and twospacer washers. i found a normal pair of circlip pliers you buy, simply wont fit inside the cylinder .. I made a pair of circlip pliers by sharpening down an extended pair of pointy nosed vice grips .
Keep the jaws together, turning slowly on the grinding bench until you have a nice point.Pliers are designed to pull in,which makes a very efficient tool for this purpose.You can buy cheap pliers, so avoid brands like Stanley or Sidchrome. auto parts stores sell theyre own brand, as wll good tool shops, even the local thrift store could be a good choice. at a good price.. they will work just fine
10:’/ Once the cylinder spindle is out , check inside the cylinder for scouring or scratches. Give a good clean, with a lint free rag,Rubber grease the bottom o ring, put back together. When installing the circlip, push down with a screwdriver on the other side, to apply even pressure, pushing until you hear a distinctive click. YOu will know when the circlip has seated. Pull on the spindle to make sure its properly installed.
To make life a little easier, use a clamp with a drift, piece of steel, socket, anything suitable, and clamp down not too hard..
11:/ Give the rest of the calper a good clean, but dont dunk it. Give it a good scrub.. Use a brush if filthy.Now its time to put the piston back in to the cylinder bore. Use a new o ring and dust boot kit. When installing, push until the o ring seats in the second groove further in. Grease with a good layer of rubber grease , Place the boot over the cylinde half way down,flat groove out, now comes the tricky part.
You need to seat the boot in the first inner groove. hearing it pop in to place Run yor fimnger around the boot. You will feel its seated. ,then push the cylinder foward, this will take a little force, starting to wind clockwise with your pointy nosed pliers, so the spindle grabs the spiral bolt. finishing with your store bought tool. . This takes practice, but i know you can do it Once started, place rubber grease under the boot to avoid twisting again..Once the piston winds most of the way, grease the outer groove, the boot will automatically sit down into the outer groove.Wind in until it bottoms out, sitting the cylinder so the indentation is straight up and down.,
Back over to the car again.Pull out the a.b.s sensor, and hit the shield with some brake clean, dry off, Clean thourougly. Just clean the sensor with a dry rag. Dont use chemicals. .Replace the sensor.If there are rust spots on the edges of the rotor, lightly sand. Clean dry, Before the rotor goes back on, put a very thin coat of high temp grease in between the rotor holes Multi purpose, or moly grease is ideal.
Grab 2 stud nuts. Bolt on to the hub, keeping the rotor straightTrust me, it makes installing the caliper bracket easier..Next comes the bracket. Hit the bolts with a little anri seize. , Once bolted, grease you slide pin bolts, not too much with rubber grease. Please do not use normal grease. One of the slide pins has a rubber boot, and expanded and seized,.dont make the same mistake i did. Use .rubber grease Use enough grease until the slide pins feel bouncy.Push down until the boots sit n the groove.
The slide pin with the rubber boot will go on the bottom of the bracket.
Place a little brake grease on the contact points of each brake pad only.. Get the pads ready for installing. If the pads come with new shims, by all means use them, placing a thin layer of moly grease behind each shim, but only lightly coat them
Same deal, place the pads in on a slight angle.pushing inwards. The brake pad with the squeal sensor goes on the inside, facing on the bottom. of the caliper bracket.
Next, its time to install the caliper.There are two flat spots onj the caliper slide pins, and the caliper brtacket. Make sure these line up, so insrtalling the caliper slide flat spot sits pins up and down in line with the bracket grooves. . These bolts and slide pins may not line up properly atf irst. As you bring the calipser down, you will feel the grooves fall into place.
Squeese the pads a bit, as you bring the caliper down. The igroove on the cylinder should fall into the indentation on the brake pads.
When installing the caliper slide pin bolts, hit with a litle anti seixe, feeling until the bolts and pins line up. Dont start bolting in until you can run the bolts by hand. Dont force anything. Always run by hand first.
Torque to specs, then its time to start bleeding the brakes.With this in mind, go for a dot 4 brake fluid. Choose a different colour, as this will make it easier to see when fresh brake fluid is coming htrough the clear tube on the bleeder screw. When brake bleeding from the back of the car, always bleed the farthest tube going to the abs control module firsat.
Of course, if you are doind one caliper at a time, which ever one yu do will do fine. Place clear tube over the bleeder screw, put some multi purpose grease over the tube and bleeder to seal from air.This works a charm. Open the bleeder screw, not too much. Pump the brake pedal, not letting it hit the floor. If its hard to pump, loosen the bleeder some omore.
Once you start seeing the fluid change colour, with no air bubbles in the tube, you are done.
This is a big job. This also has been a big post. Cleaning the cylinder, replacing with new o rings is standard practice if your caliper looks like its seen better days. If you enjoy a challenge, there will be a complete calipe overhaul in another post
I hope the outcome of this post was clear and heklpful. If you have any questions, or feel the information could be improved upon, please leave your comments below. Thankyou for reading and may your repair go smothly.. All the best
Doug.
Repair Your Own C
