seanl

I am changing the rear pads on my '97 LS400 this weekend, looking for someone with a shop manual that shows the caliper and e-brake configuration. Does the piston need to be rotated to retract back into the caliper housing?

I have worked on many brake systems including several Mustangs, a Viper, and Acuras. I have already changed out my front pads no problem, but I am not familar with the rear caliper config on my LS400. Anyone out there 'been there done that' on this car?

Thanks in advance.

whitels

I've done it on the 96 LS which should be the same as the 97. There's nothing to it- when you see it you'll know what to do. Of course, you would need to retract the brake pistons back to fit in the new pads. The one thing to be careful about is when you put back the disc- make sure that the rubber dust seal on the disc brake rotor hub goes in alignment with the parking brake adjusting hole. If it's not in alignment, the rubber seal will lean against the axle plate and therefore cause the rotor to be not flat against the mounting surface.

If you've done the fronts, you can do the back.

DevilDog

PM me your e-mail. I'll send you the pic in pdf form.

DD

seanl

Thanks for the info....does the piston get retracted by rotating clockwise or counterclockwise?

DevilDog

No, just press inward

seanl

Can I still get that pic?

Thanks!

DevilDog

SURE! I'll send it thursday.

DD

seanl

just finished changing my rear pads....very simple process, took a few hours, but I worked very slowly and didn't rush since it was my first time touching the Lex rear brakes.

At 74K miles, I am guessing that these were the original pads still. There was still a few mm of pad material left, but they were looking mighty thin compared to the replacement pads.

I reused the two backing plate/shims, but thoroughly cleaned them and applied a liberal coating of anti-squeal grease.

I then bled both calipers, ran about 1/2 (big) bottle of Castol LMA through each caliper.

Since the rotors looked fine, I didn't even bother having them turned. I'll probably just replace all 4 rotors next time around.

One thing I did notice that I did not like was the condition of the caliper piston's dust seals/boots. When the piston was full retracted the dust boots were looking a bit sloppy, they could probably stand to be replaced, does anyone know if Toyota/Lexus sells a 'rebuild' kit for these calipers?

Thanks everyone.

Regards,

DevilDog

Lexus does sell a caliper overhaul kit. It will come with the rubber boot you refered to. Plus all seals, rubber covers, washers, and lube.