Subie Brakes (at 55k, and 7.5 years)

My last post got such a response, I had to take pictures while replacing the brake pads on the Subie. In fact, it's something that I don't do very often, yet take some pride in.

Replacing brake pads is a bit of a big deal, well because brakes. Its super simple and I think I've done it at least three times now since my brother first showed me how in the early 90's on My Honda Accord. I'd already seen him do each of his Lancia Beta's during the 80's, and I think my Dad did them as needed on his cars.

This is the box the new pads came in. I read on the source of all true and correct information, the internet, that the Autozone CMax pads were good.

 If you are seriously interested in doing this, get a Haynes manual for the car and follow real directions. This is just show-and-tell.

Start out by jacking the car up and taking off the wheel.  The bolts sticking out to the right hold the wheel. The big shiny disk is the brake disk. If it's not shiny and clean, but scratched, its a problem and the disk rotor needs replaced. I've never seen it done, but I don't think it's a huge deal either. The chunk of metal on the left is the caliper.

There's a pair of screws that hold the caliper in place. Loosen the top one. Remove the lower one. Then the caliper can pivot up on the upper one out of the way reveal thing brake pads. You can also see the inside of the caliper's pistons. those are the round things, one of which has a clamp on it (below). I used a piece of string to hold the caliper up. It wraps around the suspension parts. In the picture below you can see the edge of the disk. It has vents going down the middle. Older, smaller cars didn't have this ( like a '79 Ford Fiesta we used to have) ...the vents; they had the disk. The pads are one either side. Secondly, I have a c-clamp squishing the calipers cylinders back in so that the new, thick pads will fit.

Here (below) I've taken the pads out. They are on the ground below the disk. To the right is the old one with a flat piece of metal that comes apart with it called a shim. You save that part, clean it and put it together with the new pad and some goo.

Here I have put the new pads (see how much thicker they are) together with the shims and some red goo back in place.

And the caliper back down. I haven't cut the string away yet.

No picture of putting the wheel back on. $55 for the pads (and these are the good kind. I think the cheaper ones can be had for $30). Total time, including chatting with the neighbor about the oil leak in his new-to-him '91 Volvo 240, was over an hour