Figured I'd put this out there for anyone who was interested in changing the front brakes on their own but weren't feeling very comfortable. I have a 2007 M35x but this should be the same for all M's. This should give you the general idea though.
*Disclaimer* - I am not liable for anything you do to your car. This is just a basic walkthrough.
I took the pics with my HTC EVO 4G LTE from Sprint. End of shameless plug lol.
Front Brakes
Task: Change The Front Brakes
Time: Took me about 15-20 minutes per side...first time may take a bit longer as you learn the process.
Tools/Supplies Needed:
Process:
1) Put your car securely up on jack stands. In my case, I have a lift, so it's much easier.
2) Take off the tire. You will see this:
3) Now remove all four bolts as shown in the picture. This will allow you to remove the caliper and brake pad bracket, giving easy access to do some cleanup while we're working in here.
4) Once the caliper is free, use some wire (or something else) to secure it against the strut like so:
You should now be left with this:
5) Before you can install new pads, you need to push in the brake cylinder of the calipers. There are two of them. I used a c-clamp and a piece of wood my dad had laying around.
6) At this point, you should be ready to put everything back together...but I suggest doing the following steps as well to make sure everything is good and STAYS good in the future.
7) Pull out the 'pins' from the pad bracket. Add some anti-seize to the pins on top of the grease that's already there. This is totally safe and I have been doing this on all my cars since day one.
8) Take all of the bolts you unscrewed and go at them with the wirebrush to loosen any dirt/rust. Then, once that is done, put a small amount of anti-seize on those as well. Once you're done with that, hit the rest of the area with a wire brush including your lug nuts, the center bolt, etc. and then finish it off with some brake cleaner to get it all clean. I went a step further and spray painted all the pieces (the caliper, brake bracket, and center of the rotor area).
9) Install the rotor, followed by the brake pad bracket first.
10) Now install the pads.
11) Now install the caliper over top of the pads. It should fit easily. Put it all back together and you should end up with this:
12) Before driving the car, make sure to bleed your brakes. The order is as follows:
1) Rear Passenger
2) Rear Driver
3) Front Passenger
4) Front Driver
(you have to go from the farthest wheel in regards to the master brake cylinder and work your way closer)
Use this guide: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-bleed-your-brakes.html
13) All set.
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Rear Brakes
Task: Change The Rear Brakes
Time: Took me about 15-20 minutes per side...first time may take a bit longer as you learn the process.
Tools/Supplies Needed:
Process:
Place holder for rear brakes. Ran into some issues with the rear bolts stripping so I decided to 'sleep on it' and tackle the back tomorrow.
1) Put your car securely up on jack stands. In my case, I have a lift, so it's much easier.
2) Take off the tire. You will see this:
3) Now remove all four bolts as shown in the picture. This will allow you to remove the caliper and brake pad bracket, giving easy access to do some cleanup while we're working in here.
4) You should now be able to take apart the caliper from the brake pad bracket and should be left with this. You can put the caliper like this to keep it from hanging from the brake line:
5) Before you can install new pads, you need to push in the brake cylinder of the calipers. I used a c-clamp and a piece of wood my dad had laying around.
6) At this point, you should be ready to put everything back together...but I suggest doing the following steps as well to make sure everything is good and STAYS good in the future.
7) Pull out the 'pins' from the pad bracket. Add some anti-seize to the pins on top of the grease that's already there. This is totally safe and I have been doing this on all my cars since day one.
(front caliper pins shown from when I was doing the fronts)
8) Take all of the bolts you unscrewed and go at them with the wirebrush to loosen any dirt/rust. Then, once that is done, put a small amount of anti-seize on those as well. Once you're done with that, hit the rest of the area with a wire brush including your lug nuts, the center bolt, etc. and then finish it off with some brake cleaner to get it all clean. I went a step further and spray painted all the pieces (the caliper, brake bracket, and center of the rotor area).
You should have a nice clean setup like this:
9) Install the rotor, followed by the brake pad bracket first.
10) Now install the pads.
11) Now install the caliper over top of the pads. It should fit easily. Put it all back together and you should end up with this:
12) Before driving the car, make sure to bleed your brakes. The order is as follows:
1) Rear Passenger
2) Rear Driver
3) Front Passenger
4) Front Driver
(you have to go from the farthest wheel in regards to the master brake cylinder and work your way closer)
Use this guide: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-bleed-your-brakes.html
13) All set.
*Disclaimer* - I am not liable for anything you do to your car. This is just a basic walkthrough.
I took the pics with my HTC EVO 4G LTE from Sprint. End of shameless plug lol.
Front Brakes
Task: Change The Front Brakes
Time: Took me about 15-20 minutes per side...first time may take a bit longer as you learn the process.
Tools/Supplies Needed:
- 14MM Socket/Wrench
- 7/8 Socket/Wrench
- Rotor(s) and Pad(s) - most people on the M forums recommend getting the BrakeMotive EBay kit. Search EBay for 'BrakeMotive M35 (or M45)'.
- Brake Fluid - You will need this when you do the bleeding of the brakes)
- Optional - Wire
- Optional - Anti-Seize
- Optional - Wire Brush
- Optional - Brake Cleaner
Process:
1) Put your car securely up on jack stands. In my case, I have a lift, so it's much easier.
2) Take off the tire. You will see this:
3) Now remove all four bolts as shown in the picture. This will allow you to remove the caliper and brake pad bracket, giving easy access to do some cleanup while we're working in here.
4) Once the caliper is free, use some wire (or something else) to secure it against the strut like so:
You should now be left with this:
5) Before you can install new pads, you need to push in the brake cylinder of the calipers. There are two of them. I used a c-clamp and a piece of wood my dad had laying around.
6) At this point, you should be ready to put everything back together...but I suggest doing the following steps as well to make sure everything is good and STAYS good in the future.
7) Pull out the 'pins' from the pad bracket. Add some anti-seize to the pins on top of the grease that's already there. This is totally safe and I have been doing this on all my cars since day one.
8) Take all of the bolts you unscrewed and go at them with the wirebrush to loosen any dirt/rust. Then, once that is done, put a small amount of anti-seize on those as well. Once you're done with that, hit the rest of the area with a wire brush including your lug nuts, the center bolt, etc. and then finish it off with some brake cleaner to get it all clean. I went a step further and spray painted all the pieces (the caliper, brake bracket, and center of the rotor area).
9) Install the rotor, followed by the brake pad bracket first.
10) Now install the pads.
11) Now install the caliper over top of the pads. It should fit easily. Put it all back together and you should end up with this:
12) Before driving the car, make sure to bleed your brakes. The order is as follows:
1) Rear Passenger
2) Rear Driver
3) Front Passenger
4) Front Driver
(you have to go from the farthest wheel in regards to the master brake cylinder and work your way closer)
Use this guide: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-bleed-your-brakes.html
13) All set.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rear Brakes
Task: Change The Rear Brakes
Time: Took me about 15-20 minutes per side...first time may take a bit longer as you learn the process.
Tools/Supplies Needed:
- 14MM Socket/Wrench
- 19MM Socket/Wrench
- Rotor(s) and Pad(s) - most people on the M forums recommend getting the BrakeMotive EBay kit. Search EBay for 'BrakeMotive M35 (or M45)'.
- Optional - Wire
- Optional - Anti-Seize
- Optional - Wire Brush
- Optional - Brake Cleaner
Process:
Place holder for rear brakes. Ran into some issues with the rear bolts stripping so I decided to 'sleep on it' and tackle the back tomorrow.
1) Put your car securely up on jack stands. In my case, I have a lift, so it's much easier.
2) Take off the tire. You will see this:
3) Now remove all four bolts as shown in the picture. This will allow you to remove the caliper and brake pad bracket, giving easy access to do some cleanup while we're working in here.
4) You should now be able to take apart the caliper from the brake pad bracket and should be left with this. You can put the caliper like this to keep it from hanging from the brake line:
5) Before you can install new pads, you need to push in the brake cylinder of the calipers. I used a c-clamp and a piece of wood my dad had laying around.
6) At this point, you should be ready to put everything back together...but I suggest doing the following steps as well to make sure everything is good and STAYS good in the future.
7) Pull out the 'pins' from the pad bracket. Add some anti-seize to the pins on top of the grease that's already there. This is totally safe and I have been doing this on all my cars since day one.
(front caliper pins shown from when I was doing the fronts)
8) Take all of the bolts you unscrewed and go at them with the wirebrush to loosen any dirt/rust. Then, once that is done, put a small amount of anti-seize on those as well. Once you're done with that, hit the rest of the area with a wire brush including your lug nuts, the center bolt, etc. and then finish it off with some brake cleaner to get it all clean. I went a step further and spray painted all the pieces (the caliper, brake bracket, and center of the rotor area).
You should have a nice clean setup like this:
9) Install the rotor, followed by the brake pad bracket first.
10) Now install the pads.
11) Now install the caliper over top of the pads. It should fit easily. Put it all back together and you should end up with this:
12) Before driving the car, make sure to bleed your brakes. The order is as follows:
1) Rear Passenger
2) Rear Driver
3) Front Passenger
4) Front Driver
(you have to go from the farthest wheel in regards to the master brake cylinder and work your way closer)
Use this guide: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-bleed-your-brakes.html
13) All set.
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