Changing front brake pads on 1998 Toyota tacoma?

Answer 1

There are two 4" pins and one spring clamp on each caliper that has to be removed. Try not to damage these parts. The pins pull out once you release the clamp. The clamp is attached to the caliper and fits into the ends of the pins. Open the top of the brake fluid cylinder and extract some of the fluid, about 2 top fulls. (You will need to replace it; use fresh fluid). First take off the clamp and then you can pry out the pins. Use a can of Brake Parts Cleaner to help loosen the pins and to loosen the pads themselves. You will need a tool to pry between the pads and the caliper to release the brakes so that you will be able to pull the pads out. This could be a muscle job but you must be delicate. I used several different tools to push and pull out the pads. Install the new pads just as the old pads were taken out. There is a particular pad for the inner and outer side; don't mix them up. Be sure to use the Brake Parts Cleaner to clean the caliper parts once you remove the old pads. About a 30 minute job for a mechanic. Could be 2 or more hours for a novice. The hard part is prying out the old pads assuming there are no other problems.