How To: Change Your Brake Pads

As a self-proclaimed DIY kinda guy, there's one thing I'm embarrassed to admit  I've never done: changed my own brake pads.  Illogical, sure.  But I've always thought of the brakes on a car as being a bit too important for a relative noobie like myself to dig into without risking massive consequences.  But in the never-ending quest to get my 900 SPG up to snuff, I finally realized I had to bite the bullet and do something about the brakes.

The pads weren't totally worn out, sure.  But the brakes on my 900 were nowhere near up to par with the power it puts out; you can accelerate hard, but then you've got to really plan ahead with your braking.  Part of this is due to the car's lack of ABS, and part of it is due to brake pads that are God-knows-how-old, from God-knows-where.  So I went on down to my local FLAPS (Friendly Local Auto-Parts Store, as it shall henceforth be named) and picked up what I needed to fix this pedal-in-the-middle deficiency.

The pads on the car when I got them were of an organic compound of some sort - soft, spongy, no brake dust (which is a bad thing), and easily overheated.  I picked up a set of basic replacement ceramic compound pads, plus a can of BraKleen brake solvent - really all you need for a brake pad job.  Total cost to me: less than $50.  I mean, if the pads suck, I'm only out some chump change, and I know that EBC makes some various compounds for the 900 I can try out if I so desire.  As always, I consulted my trusty Robert Bentley Official Service Manual (which I simply call The Saab Bible) and started off.  Here's how you do it.  And, noobies - don't be afraid of brake pads!  Even on an old car, this stuff is seriously easy!

Step One: Prepare.

The best thing you can do to make your job easier is to get everything ready before hand.  For this job, I needed the following tools and supplies:

• Floor Jack
• Jack Stand
• Large Sliding Pliers
• Breaker Bar + 18mm socket (lug nuts)
• 13mm Socket
• 16mm Box-End Wrench
• 4mm Hex Key
• 7mm Hex Key
• Flat Screwdriver
• Leverage (I used the jack handle)
• Brake Solvent
• Synthetic Grease
• Corrosion Solvent (Liquid Wrench)
• Brake Pads

First off, jack up the corner of the car you're working on, and place a jack stand under the car - never work on a car with just a jack, unless you like being dead.  Remove the wheel and access the brake hardware.  It'll look something like this:

Step Two: disassemble calipers and remove pads.

The next step is to take the caliper apart to access the brake pads.  First, grab your large pliers and compress the brake piston back into the housing.  Be careful not to damage the rubber gasket around the piston - why replace parts that aren't broken?

After you've compressed the piston back into the housing, unscrew the lower guide pin bolt and slide the guide pin out of the housing.  The caliper pops up, and you can then slide it outward (towards the wheel well) to access the brake pads.

Step Three: Clean and Reassemble.

Now pull out those old, crusty brake pads and throw them in the trash.  Spray down all the moving parts as well as the caliper and carrier with brake solvent to get all the crud off them, and insert new brake pads.  You may have to break the pliers back out to compress the piston again so they'll fit, but it's pretty straight forward.  When you're done, it should look something like this:

After that, swing the caliper back down making sure the springs contact both sides of the caliper, and screw the bolt back into the guide pin.  Pump the brake a few times to push the piston back out to the pads, and you're good to go!  I was thinking this was going to be difficult, but it's actually easy enough you could bring a set of grabby metallic pads to the track with you and swap them before hot laps in about 10 minutes.  Sadly the rears aren't such a joy...

With the rears, it's a similar procedure.  Jack the corner up and support with a jackstand, then remove the wheel.  You'll see this hot mess:

Go around to the back side of the caliper to dis-engage the parking brake cable.  Realize you left the parking brake on, go into the car and put it down, then come back and slide it off it's slot.

Now the fun begins.  While you're still around back, take the small nut off that covers the piston adjustment screw.  Unlike the fronts, you don't compress it with pliers - you've gotta unscrew that sucker with a 4mm hex key.

Then pull the dust caps off both of the guide pins (the black parts that are behind the end of the park brake cable and to the right of the bleeder nipple), then try to loosen the guide pins with the 7mm hex key.  This won't work, of course, so apply some corrosion solvent (I'm a big fan of Liquid Wrench), go grab a beer, and wait ten minutes.  Come back later and they're still stuck, so apply some force to the situation.  I used the jack handle from the floor jack for an additional 3 feet of leverage - be very careful to not snap the bolt off in the caliper, or you'll hate your life.

After you've cussed, skinned a knuckle, cussed more, and finally gotten the pins out, go back around to the front and pry the retainer spring off the pad carrier with a straight screw driver.

With this out of the way, pull the caliper apart and take those nasty brake pads out.  Yechhh.  Spray down everything with brake solvent, insert new brake pads, and put it all back together.  These pads are a strange design- the inside pad actually inserts into the piston itself pretty securely, and the outside just slots into place.

After it's all back together, use the 4mm Hex Key to adjust the piston all the way in, then turn it out a quarter-turn at a time until the brake disc will turn freely.  Then re-install the dust caps and the piston adjustment cover screw, pump the brakes a few time, and reinstall the wheels.

Then you've got to bed the pads - pretty simple.  Drive around your neighborhood, accelerating then slowing down sharply, to get the pads to mate with the surface of the rotor.  Then you're done!  Up next: parking brake adjustment as well as brake bleeding and fluid replacement.  Stay tuned, and keep the shiny side up!