How do you change the brakes on a PT Cruiser?

Answer 1

Start by putting the car on the jack stands and removing the wheels. Spread some paper on the floor under each brake caliper, then hit the calipers and rotors with a big dose of brake cleaner. Be careful to work where there is plenty of ventilation and try not to breath in the brake cleaner fumes!

Remove the Pads

The center section of the caliper holds the pads in place and is connected to the outer section of the caliper with just two bolts called guide pin bolts. Remove these bolts and lift the center of the caliper up and off the brake pads. (You may need to hit them with a little PB Blaster or WD-40 to help loosen them).

Remove the Caliper

Here's where you need to take note of how the old pads fit in place. The pad towards the inside of the car has a metal tab that sticks out about half an inch. The pad on the outside is smooth.

After you remove the old pads, unbolt the caliper mounting bracket by removing the two 18mm bolts holding it in place. Hang the caliper from the strut springs with the bungee cord to keep the caliper from hanging by the brake line.

Re-Seat the Piston

As your old brake pads wore down, the brake caliper piston was pushed further out to make up the difference, so in order for the new pads to fit the piston has to be forced back into the caliper. Use the C-clamp and an old brake pad to push the piston back into place.

A note about re-seating the piston. If you've been a good doobie and filled the brake fluid reservoir as your brakes wore down, you'll need to siphon some fluid back out or it will overflow as you push the piston back in place. The rest of us slackers can just skip this step.

Apply Brake Lube

Put brake lube on the insides of the caliper, where the back of the pads make contact with the inside of the caliper and the piston.

Remove the Rotor

With the caliper off the front axle the rotor can be removed. It should just pull right off. A stubborn rotor can be removed with a few raps with a rubber mallet.

Re-Assemble

Now you can place the new rotor on, mount the caliper and brake pads. When replacing the caliper, note that the end of the guide pin mount has two flat spots. This piece is easily turned, and one of the flat spots has to be aligned with the flat section of the inner caliper. If the caliper won't slide completely in place this is most likely the reason.

Caliper and Rotor Installed

With the caliper back on all that's left to do is re-mount the wheel take the car off the jacks.