Of all the components present in a car, its brakes play a pivotal role. Car brakes are not only significant when it comes to driving but also form a very basic part of its operations. A person who is enthusiastic about cars always takes care of its brakes. This not only keeps the car brakes in a better and efficient condition but also helps to avoid any mishaps that can be caused due to the failure of brakes in a car.
Every kind of brake in a vehicle has a certain lifespan. With the regular use of vehicles, its brakes tend to become less effective and efficient over time. Proper care of your car’s brakes must be taken in such cases. The negligence on your part regarding brakes can probably result in brake failure too. So if you are noticing any kind of problem that is associated with the brakes of your vehicle, you should look forward to changing the car brakes. A prime indication of the worn-out condition of your brakes is that, while pressing the brake pedal, a screeching high pitched sound gets produced. This article will provide you a piece of detailed information about the changing of brakes of your car.
How to change your car brakes? – Do it Yourself
If your brakes are also producing a high pitched screeching sound or your dashboard is signaling the worsening condition of brakes with the indicator light, you should opt for changing the brakes of your car by following these steps.
- Cooling down
The first step that requires to be followed while changing the brakes is to allow the breaking mechanism’s components to completely cool down. It includes the rotor, the calipers as well as the pads. You must ensure that they are properly cooled down before you start proceeding with the process of changing brakes.
- Clean up
The next step involves cleaning up the moving parts of the vehicle using a cleaner. You must also remove the brake fluid that is present in the master cylinder. You can do this by using a siphoning device.
- Loosening the nuts
You must then loosen up all the lug nuts. You can do this by using a lifting jack. Simply raise your vehicle and place a jack underneath it so that the vehicle remains locked in a place. To access the brake assembly, you should remove the lug nuts from your vehicle’s wheel.
- Taking out the brake calipers
After you have loosened the lug nuts, you must loosen the bolts and carefully detach the brake calipers. To clean the brake caliper, you can use a cleaning lube. If the brake caliper is broken or damaged, you should look forward to replacing it with a new set.
- Removing the brake pads
To remove the brake pads that are attached to the rotor, you must use a C-clamp between the pad and the rotor exterior assembly. Then you should tighten it to retract the piston and thereby removing the braking pad. You should opt to replace the braking pad altogether if it looks thinner and worn out. If this is not the case, you must simply get the breaking pad cleaned and should apply a lubricant as well. You must also dispose of the older retaining clips that are used primarily to keep the pads in place and replace those clips with newer ones.
- Examining rotors
After following the above-mentioned steps, the rotors of the brakes will be completely exposed in front of you. You must ensure that those rotors do not have any kinks or scratches. If such is the case, you must choose to replace them.
- Applying grease
Once you are sure about what components are completely worn out and need to be replaced, you should make sure that all those components are placed accurately on their specified places. You should also make the use of graphite-based grease to the ends of your brake pads. Applying graphite-based grease on the ends of your brake pads ensures that the grease does not come in proximity to the rotor. It also helps in avoiding the possibility of grease to accumulate on the surface of the brakes pad as it may prove to be dangerous. After that, you must again fix up all the nuts, bolts, and pins and ensure that there is no wear and tear on their part. If you find the nuts, bolts, and pins in a worn-out condition you must opt to replace them with newer ones
- Injecting brake fluid
The final step involves injecting brake fluid and then replacing up the tires. You must ensure that the lug nuts are properly tightened on both sides of the car.
Once you follow these steps properly, you must take your vehicle to a small and slow test drive first just to ensure that your brakes are working well. Once you are sure about the safety and efficiency of your brakes you can go forward to enjoy your ride well.
Conclusion
We expect that this article would have surely provided you with the basic steps that you can use to change your car brakes all by yourself. Let us know about any of your queries and we will be providing you with solutions as soon as possible. Thanks for reading.
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