allenzach

I will be doing the brakes (replacing pads and rotors) on my friends 2007 GS350 2WD. I've done about a dozen brake jobs on a variety of vehicles including Fordw Taurus, Chevy Malibu, Nissan Altima and Maxima, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry and Ford Explorer Sport Trac.

All of them were routine except the Sport Trac which required removal of the axle nut to get to the rotor and a repack of the bearing as the hub is integral to the rotor.

"Routine" is:

Remove wheel
Remove Pads
Remove Caliper
Slide rotor off hub
Install new rotor
push piston back into caliper
Install caliper
Install brake pads
Install wheel

Anything else I need to know aobut the GS350 that I wouldn't otherwise?

Thanks in advance.

BinaryJay

I think if you push the piston back in the caliper on these cars and force fluid backwards it causes some error codes. Perhaps disconnecting the battery first might avoid the car freaking out about this. I'm kind of foggy on it, I just recall reading this before.

allenzach

Good to watch for. Will disconnecting the battery cause any other issues? Security? Radio problems? My Honda needed a password to make the radio work after battery failure.

Comments?

stvincent

iTrader: (5)

^ i think you might have to reset all the windows, which you can search on this forum.. other than that maybe radio stations?

BinaryJay

You need to reprogram all of the windows by rolling down all the way down and then back up at each door.

Then you need to reprogram the moonroof one touch operation by holding the open (or is it tilt?) button until it opens fully, tilts up, tilts down and closes fully.

If the car has the parking sensors, then there is also some procedure outlined where you may need to recalibrate the wheel center by driving the car straight for a certain distance though I haven't never actually had to go out of my way and use the car differently than normal to get this accomplished.

Car also loses the interior lighting preferences (such as to turn the interior lights on when the door is opened or not). I think it resets the auto dimming feature on the rearview mirror but I keep forgetting to look at that on mine.

That's pretty much it apart from the usual suspects of the clock. Tank average fuel economy seems to get reset as well but the radio and phone settings seem to stay even after leaving the battery disconnected for over an hour in my experience.

allenzach

...and can anyone confirm whether or not pushing the caliper piston back will cause errors in the first place?

You guys rock, incidentally.

GS350Lexus

iTrader: (5)

Allen pushing piston does not cause any errors, i have done this on my car twice front and back without a single problem.

allenzach

Sweet. So just a normal everyday brake job.

Now, here comes the fun. Suggestions on what type of rotors and pads to get? The car is a stock GS350 without modification. It's driven by a regular married guy in his mid-40's. He drives a little like his mother.

Brands to look at? Brands to avoid? Best places to get the stuff?

GS350Lexus

iTrader: (5)

Rotors I would suggest by his driving habbits OEM lexus, brake pads avoid would be lexus brake pads, I can suggest Akebono pro act brake pads from tirerack.com.

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

correct. i did front brakes on my car and had no problems when i pushed the pistons back in.

MadDawg350

I just did a complete brake job on my GS, front and rear (pads, rotors, hardware) over New Years. It is an EXTREMELY easy job to do. My suggestion would be to get 2, M8x20 (1.125 pitch) bolts just in case the rotors are stuck on the hubs. Also, take a clothes hanger and bend it so that it can be used to hang the calipers off the springs while changing out the rotors. Lastly, make sure that you get all greasy so your friend thinks that it was a really tough job to do so he buys you lots of beer in appreciation. I used OEM rotors and EBC's "Redstuff" brake pads. I highly recommend the pads but be forewarned, the pads initially produced a lot of dust, but have since minimized now that the pads and rotors are bedded in.

skim07

brake pad change will not and should not throw cel or codes. worst is the overflow from the reservoir. I usally wrap a thick bath towel around the reservoir bottle after taking off the cap. that should absord any spillage from fluids being pushed out of the calipers.

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

why even bother putting them back in? they arent really needed.

MadDawg350

Huh????

The rotors have drilled/tapped holes on the rotor hat. These holes are purposely there (when the described bolts are screwed in) to help "break" the rotor away from the hub if the rotor, lets say is rusted on tight. Once the rotor is released, the bolts can be taken off and saved for the next brake job. Having these bolts saved the day for me on one of my rear rotors which was rusted on super tight that not even a 3lb hammer could break loose.

allenzach

I know what you mean about the bolts. I had to use bolts to remove a set of hard rusted rotors once. I found at Lowe's a some M8-1.25x 20. is that what you mean?

Link
http://www.lowes.com/pd_213984-37672...les_dollar%7C1

and thanks, MadDawg. (one would think your name should be MadHokie instead)