{ "formatVersion": 1, "title": "Front Brake Pads & Rotors", "description": "Full front brake service on a typical car or light truck with floating (sliding) calipers: pads, rotors, hardware, slide pin service and a proper bed-in. Every torque figure in this job is vehicle-specific and is looked up rather than assumed.", "category": "brakes", "subcategory": "Front axle", "difficulty": "intermediate", "tags": ["brakes", "safety-critical", "pads", "rotors", "weekend job"], "language": "en", "estimatedMinutes": 200, "estimatedCost": 190.0, "currency": "USD", "author": { "name": "Trackara", "bio": "Official Trackara blueprint template", "url": "https://trackara.app/blueprints" }, "vehicleCompatibility": [ { "make": "Any", "notes": "Written for the floating/sliding caliper found on the front of the overwhelming majority of passenger cars and light trucks. Fixed multi-piston calipers differ: the caliper body stays bolted to the knuckle and the pads come out through the top. Lug nut, caliper bolt and bracket bolt torques are NOT stated here because they vary widely. Get them for your vehicle before you start." } ], "requiredTools": [ "Floor jack", "Jack stands (2)", "Wheel chocks", "Breaker bar", "Socket set including a deep socket for the lug nuts", "Torque wrench", "C-clamp or caliper piston compressor", "Wire brush", "Bungee cord or mechanic's wire", "Turkey baster or fluid syringe", "Nitrile gloves", "Safety glasses" ], "parts": [ { "name": "Front brake pad set", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "partNumber": null, "estimatedCost": 60.0, "notes": "One set covers both front wheels. Look up the number for YOUR exact year, model and trim. Brake part numbers change with brake package and even mid-year, so do not reuse a number from a similar car. Write the number you actually fit in here for next time." }, { "name": "Front brake rotors", "kind": "required", "quantity": 2, "partNumber": null, "estimatedCost": 90.0, "notes": "Replace in pairs, never one side only. If you intend to reuse the old rotors instead, measure their thickness against the discard/minimum figure that is cast or stamped into the rotor hat, and check them for runout." }, { "name": "Caliper hardware / abutment clip kit", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 15.0, "notes": "The stainless clips the pad ears slide on. Old ones corrode, which is what makes pads bind and wear unevenly. Usually included with a decent pad set. Check the box before buying separately." }, { "name": "Silicone caliper slide pin grease", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 7.0, "notes": "Must be rubber-safe silicone or a purpose-made synthetic caliper grease. Ordinary lithium or petroleum-based grease swells and destroys the slide pin boots." }, { "name": "Brake cleaner", "kind": "consumable", "quantity": 2, "estimatedCost": 10.0 }, { "name": "Brake fluid", "kind": "optional", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 9.0, "notes": "Only needed if you crack the bleeders to push the pistons back, or if the fluid is due. It must match the DOT rating marked on your master cylinder reservoir cap. Use a sealed bottle. Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air." }, { "name": "Caliper bracket bolts", "kind": "optional", "quantity": 4, "estimatedCost": 20.0, "notes": "Some manufacturers specify their caliper bracket bolts as single-use torque-to-yield fasteners. Check whether yours are before reusing them." }, { "name": "Anti-seize for the hub face", "kind": "consumable", "quantity": 1, "estimatedCost": 6.0, "notes": "A very thin film on the hub face only, so the next rotor comes off. Keep it entirely off the friction surfaces, the wheel studs and the seat of the lug nuts." } ], "steps": [ { "stepNumber": 1, "title": "Look up your torque specs and confirm your parts", "description": "Before the car goes in the air, write down four figures for your vehicle: lug nut torque, caliper guide/slide bolt torque, caliper bracket-to-knuckle bolt torque, and the rotor minimum thickness. Confirm the pad set and rotors you bought are for your exact trim and brake package.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Brakes are the one system where 'that feels about right' is not good enough. An undertorqued caliper bracket bolt can back out." ], "tips": [ "Take a photo of the assembled brake before you touch anything. It is the cheapest reassembly reference there is." ], "checklist": [ "Lug nut torque written down", "Caliper guide bolt torque written down", "Caliper bracket bolt torque written down", "Rotor minimum thickness noted", "Parts confirmed against the vehicle" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 2, "title": "Break the lug nuts loose, then lift and secure", "description": "With the wheels still on the ground and the parking brake set, crack each lug nut about a quarter turn. Chock the rear wheels, lift at the designated jacking point, and set jack stands under the rated lift points. Push the car hard at a corner to confirm it is stable before going near it.", "estimatedMinutes": 15, "tools": ["Breaker bar", "Floor jack", "Jack stands (2)", "Wheel chocks"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Never work under a vehicle supported only by a jack.", "Do not use the parking brake as your only restraint on a rear-wheel job; on many cars the parking brake acts on the same wheels you are about to take apart." ], "tips": [ "Loosening lugs on the ground stops the wheel spinning and stops you rocking the car on the stands." ], "checklist": ["Lugs cracked loose on the ground", "Rear wheels chocked", "Stands seated and load-tested"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 3, "title": "Remove the wheel and inspect what you find", "description": "Take the wheel off and set it under the sill as a backup. Look at the old pads: even wear side to side, a lip on the rotor, any scoring, any fluid weeping past the piston dust boot, and the condition of the flexible brake hose.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["Socket set including a deep socket for the lug nuts"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Do not blow brake dust out with compressed air. Wet it down with brake cleaner instead and wear safety glasses." ], "tips": [ "Inner pad much thinner than the outer, or one wheel much thinner than the other, means a sticking slide pin or piston. Fix the cause now or the new pads will do the same thing.", "A cracked, bulged or wet flexible hose means stop and replace the hose before going further." ], "checklist": ["Wheel off and placed under the sill", "Pad wear compared side to side", "Hose and dust boot inspected"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 4, "title": "Check the brake fluid reservoir before pushing any piston back", "description": "The reservoir is currently holding the fluid displaced by worn pads. Pushing the pistons back sends it all uphill. Open the cap, and if the level is at or near maximum, draw some out with a turkey baster or syringe into a waste container first.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": ["Turkey baster or fluid syringe", "Nitrile gloves"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Brake fluid strips paint on contact. Keep it off bodywork, and rinse any spill with lots of water immediately.", "Never return removed fluid to the reservoir. It is contaminated the moment it leaves." ], "tips": [ "The cleanest method is to crack the caliper bleeder open while you compress the piston, so old fluid goes out of the bleeder rather than back up through the ABS unit. You then need to bleed that caliper afterwards." ], "checklist": ["Reservoir cap off", "Level lowered if it was near max"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 5, "title": "Unbolt the caliper and hang it out of the way", "description": "Remove the two guide/slide bolts that hold the caliper body to its bracket and lift the caliper off the pads. Support it from a suspension component with a bungee cord or wire.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["Socket set including a deep socket for the lug nuts", "Bungee cord or mechanic's wire"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Never let the caliper hang on the flexible brake hose. The hose is not a structural part and internal damage from hanging on it is invisible from the outside." ], "tips": [ "Guide bolts often need the slide pin held with a wrench while you turn the bolt.", "If a rubber slide pin boot is torn, replace it now. A torn boot lets water in, the pin seizes, and the pads wear unevenly." ], "checklist": ["Caliper off", "Caliper supported, not hanging on the hose"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 6, "title": "Remove the old pads, bracket, and rotor", "description": "Slide the old pads out of the bracket, noting which way round the wear sensor and any shims sat. Unbolt the caliper bracket from the knuckle. Remove any small retaining screw in the rotor hat, then pull the rotor off the hub.", "estimatedMinutes": 15, "tools": ["Socket set including a deep socket for the lug nuts", "Breaker bar"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Bracket bolts are usually very tight and often thread-locked. Use a six-point socket and a breaker bar, not a ratchet, or you will round them off." ], "tips": [ "A rust-welded rotor usually releases if you thread two bolts into the two threaded jacking holes in the hat and tighten them evenly. If there are no jacking holes, penetrating oil and firm hits on the hat with a dead-blow hammer will do it. Never hit the friction surface.", "Keep the old pads until the job is finished and tested. They are your reference for orientation." ], "checklist": ["Pad orientation photographed or noted", "Bracket off", "Rotor off"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 7, "title": "Clean the hub face", "description": "Wire-brush the hub face back to bare metal. Any rust scale or debris left between the hub and the new rotor holds the rotor at a slight angle, which reads at the pedal as a pulsation that looks exactly like a warped rotor.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["Wire brush", "Brake cleaner", "Safety glasses"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Safety glasses. Wire brushing rust into your eye ends the job." ], "tips": [ "This is the most commonly skipped step in a brake job and the most common cause of a 'warped rotor' complaint two weeks later.", "A thin smear of anti-seize on the hub face only makes the next rotor removal much easier. Keep it off the studs and off the friction surfaces." ], "checklist": ["Hub face clean and bright", "No debris on the mating surface"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 8, "title": "Compress the caliper piston", "description": "Push the piston back into its bore squarely, using a C-clamp against an old pad so you spread the load across the whole piston face, or a purpose-made compressor tool. Go slowly and keep watching the fluid reservoir.", "estimatedMinutes": 10, "tools": ["C-clamp or caliper piston compressor", "Nitrile gloves"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Do not push a bare C-clamp foot against the piston face. It cocks the piston in the bore and tears the dust boot.", "If the piston will not move with reasonable pressure, the caliper is seized. Replace or rebuild it rather than forcing it. A seized caliper will cook the new pads." ], "tips": [ "Some rear calipers with an integrated parking brake must be SCREWED in with a cube/wind-back tool rather than pushed. Forcing one of those straight in destroys it. This blueprint is written for the front, but check before you assume.", "Watch the reservoir the whole time. If it rises toward the top, stop and draw more fluid out." ], "checklist": ["Piston fully retracted", "Dust boot intact", "Reservoir did not overflow"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 9, "title": "Fit new hardware, service the slide pins, install the rotor", "description": "Clean the bracket abutments and fit the new stainless clips. Pull each slide pin, wipe it, and re-grease it with silicone caliper grease so it slides with light finger pressure. Wipe the new rotor's friction surfaces with brake cleaner to remove the shipping oil, then fit it to the hub and hold it with the retaining screw or one lug nut.", "estimatedMinutes": 15, "tools": ["Wire brush", "Brake cleaner", "Nitrile gloves"], "parts": [ { "name": "Caliper hardware / abutment clip kit", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1 }, { "name": "Front brake rotors", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "notes": "One per side." }, { "name": "Silicone caliper slide pin grease", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1 } ], "warnings": [ "New rotors are shipped with a protective oil coating. It must be cleaned off completely or the pads will glaze on the first stop." ], "tips": [ "A slide pin that needs force to move is the number one cause of repeat uneven pad wear. It should slide smoothly by hand.", "Grease the pins and the pad ears where they contact the clips. No grease anywhere near the friction surface." ], "checklist": [ "New abutment clips fitted", "Both slide pins clean, greased and moving freely", "Rotor shipping oil removed", "Rotor seated flat on a clean hub" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 10, "title": "Install the pads and torque the caliper down", "description": "Bolt the bracket back to the knuckle and torque it to the spec from step 1. Fit the pads the same way round the old ones came out, with the wear sensor on the correct side. Swing the caliper over the pads and torque the guide bolts to spec.", "estimatedMinutes": 15, "tools": ["Socket set including a deep socket for the lug nuts", "Torque wrench"], "parts": [ { "name": "Front brake pad set", "kind": "required", "quantity": 1, "notes": "Half the set per side." } ], "warnings": [ "Torque both the bracket bolts and the guide bolts to the documented figures. This is the point where guessing has consequences.", "If the manufacturer specifies single-use bracket bolts, fit new ones." ], "tips": [ "If the caliper will not go over the new pads, the piston is not fully retracted. Go back to step 8 rather than levering it on.", "Pads with a directional arrow or a 'top' marking are common. Check before you press them in." ], "checklist": [ "Bracket bolts torqued to spec", "Pads correctly oriented, wear sensor on the right side", "Guide bolts torqued to spec", "Caliper sits square with no binding" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 11, "title": "Repeat on the other side, then refit the wheels", "description": "Do the opposite front corner exactly the same way. Refit both wheels, run the lug nuts down by hand in a star pattern, lower the vehicle until the tyres just take the weight, and torque the lugs to spec in a star pattern.", "estimatedMinutes": 60, "tools": ["Torque wrench", "Socket set including a deep socket for the lug nuts", "Floor jack"], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Never torque lug nuts with the wheel off the ground and spinning, and never use an impact gun to final-tighten them.", "Never replace pads on one side only. Both front corners get the same parts at the same time." ], "tips": [ "Star pattern, in at least two passes, so the wheel pulls up square against the hub." ], "checklist": ["Second side complete", "Both wheels on", "Lugs torqued in a star pattern"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 12, "title": "Pump the pedal firm BEFORE you move the vehicle", "description": "With the engine off, press the brake pedal repeatedly until it goes hard and high. The first few strokes will sink to the floor because the pistons are fully retracted and there is a gap to take up. Then top the reservoir back to the max line and refit the cap.", "estimatedMinutes": 5, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Driving off without doing this means no brakes on the first press. This step is not optional and it is where people get hurt.", "If the pedal never firms up, do not drive the vehicle. You have air in the system or a leak." ], "tips": [ "Do this before starting the engine, so you feel the mechanical take-up clearly." ], "checklist": ["Pedal firm and high", "Reservoir topped to max", "Cap refitted"], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null }, { "stepNumber": 13, "title": "Bed the pads in, then re-check everything", "description": "Follow the bedding procedure supplied with your pads. The manufacturer's instructions are the authority, and they vary by friction compound. The general shape is a series of moderate slowing stops from a modest speed to transfer an even layer of friction material onto the rotor, then a cool-down drive without sitting on the brake. Afterwards, check the wheels for anything loose and re-check the fluid level.", "estimatedMinutes": 20, "tools": [], "parts": [], "warnings": [ "Do the first test stops somewhere empty at low speed. Confirm the vehicle actually stops straight before you take it into traffic.", "Do not hold the vehicle stationary on the brake pedal with hot new pads. It prints pad material onto the rotor and creates a permanent judder." ], "tips": [ "New brakes often feel slightly different for the first hundred miles. A pulsation that appears immediately, though, usually means a dirty hub face, not a bad rotor.", "Re-check lug nut torque after 50 to 100 miles. Wheels settle." ], "checklist": [ "Bedding procedure from the pad box followed", "Vehicle stops straight", "No noise, no pull, no vibration", "Fluid level correct", "Lug torque re-checked after the first drive" ], "imageUrls": [], "videoUrl": null } ], "coverImageUrl": null }