Tools for Changing Front Brake Pads

Series Summary

Brakes are a relatively simple mechanism in your car's operation, but oh so crucial to your personal safety. And they do require require regular maintenance. The steel plates that equipped with friction material to ensure proper stopping power for your vehicle are commonly known as brake pads. Drum and disc brakes convert kinetic energy in order to make the brake and the rotor "stick", causing a decrease in acceleration. Sometimes a car owner will want to install brake pads that surpass the factory standard to acclimate a car to different climates or capabilities. In these situations, it is important to understand not only how brake pads work, but what temperature they function at and how to install them properly.

In this free video clip series, our expert will demonstrate brake pad installation, including instructions locating caliper bolts, removing the tires for disc brake changes, as well as rotor, caliper and brake pad cleaning techniques. Save yourself time and money by watching these videos and doing it yourself. Our expert won't let you down!

Video Transcript

"MARK BLOCKER: Hello, I'm Mark Blocker. Today, we're going to be showing you how to replace the brake pads on your vehicle. The car we're going to work with is an '89 model Honda or Acura Integra LS and we'll start off with the tools needed to do the job. Okay, for tools needed for the job, just a basic tool set. This just consists of some half-inch and 3-inch drive sockets in both standard and metric and a minor selection of wrenches, just generally utility tools. We're also going to need a lug wrench to remove the tire. You're going to need a jack, whether it be the vehicle's jack that came with the car to use or an aftermarket floor model jack. We're also going to need some cleaner, some brake cleaner to clean the parts with, a pan to contain the chemicals, maybe a small hand brush and some anti-seize lubricant, some type of protection for your hands; whether it be a set of mechanics type of gloves that you'll wear and keep or the disposable, lightweight latex or a disposable type of gloves like that in nature. You're also going to need a jack stand or something to put underneath the vehicle. Since we're going to have it jacked up and the wheel removed for us to work on it, you have to put something under the vehicle to contain the load. So, that in case the jack fails, the car is not going to fall to the ground, possibly injure you and--or damage your vehicle. If you don't have jack stands, large wood blocks will work. If nothing else, you can use a spare tire from the vehicle and slide that underneath the car as a safety but you have to have something underneath there to contain the car in case the jack fails. That's about all we'll need for tools for this job. Please watch our next segment on safety."