dale386

So I bought my 93 GS300 a few months ago. Previous owner changed my brake pads but left warped rotors - I get a ton of shaking when I brake and it's driving me nuts. I'm going to start by replacing my front pads and rotors -- myself. I've never changed brakes before, but I've done other work on my car and brakes look like a straightforward enough job.

My question is about the caliper pistion. I know that it has to be pushed back to make room for new pads, but I'm not sure if my car has one of the pistons that needs to be "screwed" back in with a special tool or if it's one that can just be squeezed in with with a c-clamp or big set of pliers. Does anyone know off hand?

Less important questions: are there any "weird" things specific to changing brakes on this car? Also, I plan on using the "emergency" jack out of my trunk and a jack stand for the job. Good enough?

Thanks for the help!

buchum

iTrader: (1)

It's pretty straight forward. I've used a c-clamp and a block of wood to evenly push back the piston when doing brake jobs to other vehicles. But since then I've invested in one of these. http://www.harborfreight.com/disc-br...sor-34304.html. it's cheap and you can pick one up from like autozone or harbor freight.

You should be fine with the car's jack and jack-stands. i usually have 2 jackstand (both side) and I'll throw my wheel underneath the car for added insurance.

I also have the pdf manual for our GS300. If you need it let me know. I'll email you what I've found online. It's good to familiarize yourself first before you start on it if this is your first brake job.

I recommend a breaker bar depending on how tuff you are or if you have access to power tools :P And to also soak the bolts with pb-blaster a day ahead. Mine felt like it was welded on there, it's probably because it's a Utah vehicle with all the hours of salt on the road. I replaced all new rotors, calipers, pads, brake lines on all 4 sides 2 weeks ago and it wasn't too bad.

dale386

Thanks for the tips! I'll PM you with my email address.

buchum

iTrader: (1)

No problem, and I replied to your pm as well.

Jussjoshin

Just thought I would add. Make sure you take off the cap for the master cylinder before you compress the piston. Otherwise you risk damaging your master cylinder. Don't open the bleeders unless you're gonna change the calipers. The fluid will push back into the master and it will save you the hustle of bleeding the brakes. Hmmm... Don't let the caliper hang by the brake line. Makes sure you sand rust off of the hub before putting on the new rotor and make sure you brake clean off the cosmoline on the new rotors before installing. After all is installed make sure to burnish the rotors correctly or you will have brake noise in the future. Ride the brakes for a few seconds while driving then let them cool down. Do that 3-4 times. Oh and make sure to clean and re lube the caliper slides and all hardware that will move. Good luck ^.^

dale386

I bought these Wager Thermo Quiet brake pads. (Despite my fantasies of being a highway racecar driver, I really didn't need to go crazy with performance parts.) These come with "IMI Sound Insulators" built in -- looks like a shim attached to the pad. When I replace my pads, do I still use the Lexus pad shims that are already in my calipers on top of these, or are the pads alone enough?

Thanks again for the help.

Jussjoshin

Use the shims that came with the pads if they are "glued" to the new pads. Otherwise chuck them and re use the factory shims.