1995 Oldsmobile cutlass supreme brakes

Answer 1

A repair manual is a must. Check your local autoparts or library for a detailed explanation. Brakes keep people alive so if you're unsure, take it somewhere for safety's sake. Mine has disc brakes front and rear. The rear pads are more difficult to replace in my opinion so I will describe this in more detail. I would not buy the best grade for the rears since they only do 25 percent of the work. I would opt for the best I can afford for the front, however. The calipers have to be removed since they straddle the brake rotors and house the brake pads. Mine are held on by 18mm bolts. The calipers need to be suspended by tying them up to something solid to ease pressure on the rubber brake line once the calipers are removed. A coat hangar works well. Put a lug nut back on to keep the rotor rigid. The old pads may just fall out on the rears. Examine the rotor- run a fingernail over the braking surfaces. It should be fairly smoothe. If your car's brake pads were severely worn and making a screeching sound, the rotor may have to be replaced (in pairs). This is easily done and they are not expensive. If you are installing a new rotor, clean it to remove any oils, including fingerprints. Now, the caliper's piston must be completely pushed back into the caliper to make room for the new pads so they can fit over the rotor. I use a 6" C clamp and an old brake pad to protect the piston. I also remove the brake master cylinder cap to allow the fluid to rise. Screw the clamp and push the piston until it cannot go further. Try to keep the axis of the C clamp screw straight on the piston. Now, using some long needlenose pliers or something similar screw the piston clockwise into the housing. Once this is completed, the piston needs to be rotated so the indentions in the piston align with the nipples on the back of the brake pad. They fit into each other. The pad with the metal tang goess on the outside half. I strongly recommend a service manual or a qualified service technician for brake work. Don't rely on this.