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HOW TO – CHANGE THE FRONT DISCS / PADS

Preparation makes doing the job a lot easier. Get your tools handy and everything you need
to hand so you’re not messing about looking for tools during the job.

Insanity-74

Main tools you will require

Jack Pliers
Axel stands Copper or rubber hammer
Wheel brace Copper ease
Socket set 10 - 16mm inclusive Grease (lithium is best)
Torque wrench - of benefit but not essential Coat hanger (to act as a hook)
Ratchet Slotted screwdriver
Mole grips

Again, this is another job that is easier than you first may think. There is quite a wide selection of discs
and pads available for the GT-Four. My personal choice was for some TRD Fast Road Pads and TRD
Front Grooved Discs and standard rear discs. This was a toss up between price and quality. Having tried
a couple of other options in the past, the only pads I would avoid would be EBC Greenstuff as they were
horrible and could barely pass as brake pads at all.

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Will start off with the front, as these will be the most commonly changed Items.

First off, jack up the front of the car and support it on axel stands. A good place to locate the axel stands
is on the sub-frame as using axel stands on the jacking points can cause them some damage.

Next remove the wheel in the usual way; you will be left with this view.

Obviously this is the view of my brake set up after the work is already done but you get the idea.

Now you’re ready to remove the brake pads.

To do this, remove the big cross-shaped
spring clip, making note of which way round
it goes (the bump should go at the bottom of
the calliper). Next, remove the two locating
pins that secure the pads in place, they are
held in place by a ‘W’ shaped spring clip on
the back of the brake calliper. Remove this
and store it somewhere safe. Then extract
the locating pins: I used some mole grips to
twist the pin to break its seal of
rust/corrosion etc. that had built up.

I then used a thin drift to knock the pins out from the back. When they are about an inch out you can use
a set of pliers to pull them the rest of the way. Clean the pins up and lube them with copper ease or
replace with new pins. WARNING: don’t get copper ease or any lube onto the disc surface or the face of
the pads.

You should now be able to remove the pads – they may require a little knock with a hammer. Now that

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the pads are clear, I used this opportunity to paint the callipers using very high temp paint. If you are just
changing the pads then you should fit the new ones now. If you are changing the discs too then read on.

Here are the bits you have removed so far:

To remove the disc you will have to remove the calliper. It is held in place by 2x 14mm bolts if I
remember correctly – they are located just below the shock absorber. You may need an extension bar to
get them undone as mine had seized on and were a pain to undo. Once the callipers are off, use a bent
coat hanger to hold them nearby as you don’t want to stress the brake pipes. The disc should pretty
much fall off although a slight tap from a copper hammer helps things along a bit.

Now fit the new discs, taking care to make a note of any slots, as slotted discs are directional. Refit the
calliper. Tighten up the bolts. Locate the new pads in the right place: some pads have a left and right
side. (A generous smearing of Copper Ease on the back of the pad helps prevent brake squeal but be
VERY careful not to get any on the face of the pad.)

Re-insert the locating pins and secure in place with the ‘W’ shaped spring clip. Next attach the cross
shaped spring to the calliper, again making sure that the ‘bump’ goes towards the bottom of the calliper.
You’re now done, bar putting the wheel back on. Both the front discs of course are the same. Removing
the rear calliper/pads is almost exactly the same process, but the disc is a different matter It is slightly
harder to remove because within the rear disc assembly is the handbrake set up which operates brake
shoes onto an inner drum.

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