Replacing Front Brake Pads

Are those front brakes needing some TLC? This HOW-TO shows how to replace the front brake pads.

Materials

  • New brake pads
  • Pint of brake fluid (DOT 3)
  • Nissan brake hardware kit (new springs and shims, optional)
  • 14mm wrench/socket
  • 17mm open-end wrench
  • 10mm wrench/socket
  • Lug wrench
  • Jack and jackstand(s)
  • Can of brake cleaner
  • Hi-temp disc brake caliper grease
  • Brake anti-squeal grease/compound (small packets are all you need)
  • Large C-clamp or brake piston return tool

Procedure

  1. Jack up and secure the front end with jackstands.
  2. Remove the wheel.
  3. Inspect both sides of rotor for uneven wear, grooves, etc. and determine if it needs resurfacing before proceeding.
  4. Remove the lower slider pin bolt.
  5. Swing caliper open around other slider pin.
  6. Pop out old pads.
  7. Remove other slider pin bolt and place caliper securely on top of the upper control arm.
  8. Pull slider pins out of the caliper body, they will "pop" out with their rubber boots.
  9. Remove rubber boots from slider pins. The pin with the rubber sleeve goes on the bottom. Wipe old grease from pins and inside of boots. Apply fresh hi-temp brake caliper grease, and place boots back on pins.
  10. Reinstall pins on caliper body, working out any air trapped within the hole, then secure the boots back to the caliper body to seal.
  11. Optional: Remove old pad retainer springs and replace with new ones from Nissan brake hardware kit. They should be good for at least 2 sets of pads and you can probably get away with never swapping them, but FYI.
  12. Re-attach caliper using only the top slider pin bolt - 20 ft-lbs.
  13. Place a basin of some sort under caliper to catch brake fluid.
  14. Remove rubber cap from the caliper bleeder valve and open valve <1 turn. Sending old dirty fluid back up the lines can mess up the ABS hardware.
  15. Use old pad to bridge both caliper pistons at once and press pistons back into caliper using a large C-clamp or inexpensive tool made for just this task. A couple of ounces of brake fluid will come out of the bleeder.
  16. Close bleeder valve snugly, only 5 ft-lbs, and replace rubber cap.
  17. Spray caliper etc. down with brake cleaner, allow to dry.
  18. Apply a thin coat of anti-squeal grease/compound to back of new pads.
  19. Remove old shims from the old pads, or use new shims from the hardware kit and put them on the backs of the new pads.
  20. Apply more anti-sqeal to backs of shims.
  21. Insert pads into caliper body. Put the one with the squeal tab on the inside of the right caliper. OEM replacement pads have only 1 pad with a squeal tab, don't know why, but the inside right pad is well-known to wear fastest for some reason so use it there.
  22. Close caliper and replace the other slider pin bolt - 20 ft-lbs.
  23. Replace wheel. (duh)
  24. After doing both sides, open brake fluid reservior and top off the fluid to "max" with fresh fluid. DO NOT touch the brake pedal yet.
  25. Start engine and check fluid level. Add to "max" if it has dropped.
  26. Depress brake pedal 2-3 times, it will have NO pressure, and check fluid level again, add if necessary.
  27. Continue to depress pedal repeatedly until pressure is restored.
  28. Check fluid level once more and add if necessary. Replace reservior cap.
  29. Drive vehicle and perform a series of several moderately quick stops from 30 MPH about 1 minute apart to bed in the pads properly.
  30. That's all folks!