How do you change brake pads on a 1995 Toyota Camry?

Answer 1

feel the back of the brake calipers for 2 large bolt heads, (roughly 17millimeter?) they thread in from the center of the car towards the back of the wheels. it helps to turn the steering wheel in the direction of the side being replaced. after the caliper has been removed off of the brake rotor, use a large pair of channel locks or a c- clamp to apply slow, steady pressure to the (old) brake pad still in the caliper. this will push the brake piston back into the caliper enough to put in new brake pads, and fit them over a new (thicker) rotor. ====== I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to change the brake pads on my 95 Camry SE with ABS, starting with the original advice above. Before I started, I read a generic article on changing brake pads found at:

http://www.automedia.com/Replacing_Brake_Pads/ccr20050701bp/2 Start by removing the rear tires to expose the rotors and calipers. Following the instructions above, I located the two bolts mentioned (14mm, I think) and removed them, remembering that they are facing you and so you turn the wrench clockwise to loosen them. I then hung the calipers from a coat hanger wire to keep from pulling on the flexible brake line. I pushed the old pads towards the center of the calipers where the rotor had been and they came out of the spring clips holding them. There are two ways of getting the caliper free. Above is the harder way. As with the front brakes it's pretty much the same in the back, as far as loosening the caliper. There is one bolt on the bottom left of the caliper, on the inside. Use a 12mm ratchet to get this guy free. After doing this, the caliper is able to swing up.

Depending on the brand of brakes you buy the new ones might or might not come with metal shims. I shopped at AutoZone and the Duralast Gold brakes come with new metal shims. They give better 'chirp' and squeal protection. It's really important to use the special brake grease, since it won't melt and run when the pads get hot. Grease or oil on the new pads is a no-no, and it's hard to avoid getting a little on the pad, so get a can of Brake Cleaner (not any other type) and use it to wash off the new pads just before you install them. Because the old pads are much thinner than the new pads, the piston that pushes on the pads must be moved back to it's original position where it doesn't protrude from the housing. I used a big C-clamp(big mouth pliers) to squeeze between the back of the housing and the piston, using a piece of sheet metal over the hollow piston end so tightening the clamp pushes it back. I have heard that this can push brake fluid up and out of the tank up under the hood, so if it's full before starting, you need to remove some of the fluid. To do this a Turkey Baster comes in handy or just a few paper towels rolled up to wick up the excess fluid from the well. Don't reuse what you remove -- and don't use an old, unsealed can of brake fluid either, since moisture can get in and cause spongy brakes and corrosion (I'm told). Installing the new pads (with the anti-squeal shields on the side of the pad that doesn't touch the rotor) looks easy. Just slide one end of the inside pad into the place where the spring clips will hold the end in place, and then slide the other end in. Note that you are doing this from the "center" of the caliper where the rotor would be, and it's really hard to squeeze the clips in so you can put the brake pad ends in their slots. The pads tilt and you can't really get a hold of them to move them about. Swing up the caliper enough so you can insert the new pads from the outside, keeping the anti-squeal shims on the outside of the pad that won't contact the rotor. It's pretty easy to put in the outside pad, and it will stop when it touches the rotor. Since you can't see the inside pad, you have to feel around to find the spring clips and blindly push the ends of the pad past the springclips until the inner pad is also pressing against the rotor. Now, all you have to do is swing down the calipers .. oops, they won't go down because they were adjusted for the old pads that are thinner. Look at the calipers and see that there are some rubber "boots" that cover the end of the swinging caliper where the 12mm bolt goes. I used a C-clamp to gently move the boot-covered part towards the inside of the car until it had enough clearance to slip the caliper down over the new shoes and into position for replacing the 12mm bolt. All that remains is to re-tighten the bolt to the spec. If you happen to have a torque wrench handy the spec on this bolt is probably somewhere around 14-17 lbs./ft. If you don't have a torque wrench, don't worry, a few turns of the ratchet until 'tight' will do.

Now, just in case some oil and grease got on the pads, wash both inner and outer pads where they contact the rotor with Brake Cleaner, flushing out dirt and oil. Clean the rotor on both sides, and flush the pads a second time. Let the brake cleaner evaporate (in well ventilated area) and then you can pump the brake pedal a few times to push the caliper piston against the pads. A couple of things I found useful include doing one wheel at a time, so that you can look at the other wheel as a guide on how things fit together. Brakes are really DIRTY, and that black stuff gets all over your hands, so get some cheap gloves like the hospital nurses use, and it will make hand cleaning trivial. Finally, the first wheel I changed pads on took about 4 hours to figure out that it's really hard to do it the way mentioned at the top. It took me only about 20 minutes on the other rear wheel where I removed the 12mm bolt, pivoted the caliper up, pressed the piston back flush with the housing, snapped in the two new pads, compressed the booted bolt-hole so the calipers could be pivoted back in place so I could reinstall the 12mm bolt. Cleaning and checking finished the job easily. (Disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic, although I have rebuilt a VW engine and a Chevy 286 V8 in the past and they lasted at least 100k miles, and I do regular maintenance on my cars. I'm an engineer and I spend a lot of time thinking out a problem rather than pounding and hammering trying to make something fit, so maybe the first poster's approach is the one used by professional mechanics. I think I have described the process in a way that will help you change your brake pads, but there are no warranties and your mileage may vary! Corrections and suggestions to this article are appreciated -- after all we build things by standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.)