Front brakes

[Northwoods]

So the 2008 Sienna (according to the tire shop) needs new front brakes.  Not a shock if it does.  We bought it with 105k or so on the odo, and SWMBO's put about 30k on it since.  Given the tires and whatnot I'd guess the place we bought it from either didn't do the brakes, or if they did they used the cheapest crap they could get.  I seem to recall pad thickness look OK, but not brand new when I checked it, so I suspect the former.

Anyway, for that application, what are the good value pads and rotors?  Tire shop claimed the rotors were shot, and they may be.  I'll probably order a set anyway.  I can either return them or hold them for the next brake job if the existing ones are turnable.  Or put the new ones on regardless and hold the old ones for the next time and get them turned whenever I feel like it.

I've done brakes before, with a mentor helping.  So I'm not a total newbie at the work.  But are there any special tools I need?  I should have a C-clamp to compress the piston.  If not (or the kids left it out in the rain) I'll get a new one.  I have the basics of open end wrenches and sockets.  I don't recall needing more than that last time, but it was a couple years ago.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Some cars don't need clamp. You turn piston it goes back in .

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[zahc]

How easy it will be depends how rusty your truck is. If you live in the north, you might be doing brake lines too.

You need an Allen-type socket for a 1/2 drive ratchet or breaker bar to get the caliper off. Anti-seize (thin coat only) for the caliper bolts and bearing surfaces.

I buy reman'd calipers and don't bother pushing pistons. For American cars like that, they will be cheap. The ones for my 92 blazer were less than $15 each. I get parts from O'Reilly but inspect carefully before buying to make sure the rotors are equivalent thickness and construction. Your car is going on 10 years old so consider buying new hoses if you plan to keep it a while.

Google it; I bet there's a dozen how-to videos on that vintage Chevy brakes. YouTube is the best thing that happened to home mechanics.

[Northwoods]

Sienna is Toyota, not Chevy.

[dogmush]

From a quick glance at Rock Auto they look like pretty basic single piston calipers.  I'd squeeze them with one of the old pads and a C-clamp.  To Harbor Freight!!

The only "tricky" thing is it looks like the calipers screw into the slide pins with these dinky little screws.  The slide pins, obviously, float. So you'll need to hold the slide pin hex with a wrench, and turn the dinky screw.  That could go bad if it's all rusted up.  Soak down those screws with penetrating oil and let it sit for a couple hours first.

[Brad Johnson]

C clamp for collapsing caliper pistons. For everyday driving, most parts store middle-of-the-road pads will do fine. Ditto rotors if yours are too thin to be turned.

Brad

[lupinus]

Disk brakes are normally pretty straight forward and most folks can manage them. Hit up YouTube for your model to see if there's any unusual finicky bits and go to town.


Sent from my iPhone. Freaking autocorrect.

[zahc]

I read "Sierra". Old eyes+small screen.

[KD5NRH]

Anyway, for that application, what are the good value pads and rotors?  Tire shop claimed the rotors were shot, and they may be.  I'll probably order a set anyway.  I can either return them or hold them for the next brake job if the existing ones are turnable.  Or put the new ones on regardless and hold the old ones for the next time and get them turned whenever I feel like it.

If you have time (about a week or more, unless you spring for expedited shipping, which defeats the purpose on a part O'Reilly can have tomorrow) check and see how cheaply PartsGeek.com has them.  It's worth having a spare set of good rotors so you can always have a new-or-freshly-turned set on hand when it comes time to do the brakes again.  I painted the non-brake-track metal of each set with high-temp paint in different colors  (black and something that matches or complement the bodywork if you can see the rotor hub through the wheels, or whatever) so I could keep up with which was which and not mix old and new on the car together.  As a bonus, a good paint makes them clean up easier, and thus makes leaks stand out.  (Also a good reason to paint anything you're replacing anywhere else on the car, plus if you get in a habit of it, maybe changing colors annually, you can tell at a glance what you've replaced.)

As for the C clamp, 90% of the cars I've done, a big set of channel locks from the pawn shop were a lot faster and easier.  The few that I couldn't get compressed that way, I replaced the calipers.  Might have to squeeze a bit and then adjust, lather rinse repeat to keep it pushing fairly straight so it doesn't scuff anything up too badly.

[zxcvbob]

Front brakes are easy.  Every one seems to use a different caliper bolt wrench, but you can buy one of those cheap enough at O'Reilley's, etc.  And some kind of big clamp to compress the piston.  If the pads are wearing funny (like only the inside pad, and the outside one almost looks new) you might need a new caliper.

I never replace disks on a truck unless they are warped.  I don't care if they have grooves and ridges.

[Tuco]

Sienna is Toyota, not Chevy.

Sienna, Sierra...  Whatever it takes.

[robear]

A quick google search brought me to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuL6Lb3a8dU

I haven't watched it so I can't vouch for it's quality,

[Northwoods]

Finished the brake job today.  There's always something that goes wrong, even with a simple job.  Got the drivers side done last night but had to stop there to go pick up Thing 1 early from summer camp (fever, not behavior).  Got the other side done this morning.  Was trying to get the lug nuts off so I could get that wheel off and on the last one, just before getting the nut all the way off, the stud sheared right off.  

Took 2 parts stores to get replacements, and I had to figure out how to get a T-30 driver bit between behind the hub to remove the heat shield so I could remove the studs and put the new ones in.  Figured even though just 1 broke they were all going to get replaced.  Only way I could get it work was to use a crescent wrench to turn the bit.  Thankfully once broken loose the screws came out easily.

Next time I have to screw with the drivers side front wheel I'll probably plan to just replace those lug studs and nuts just on principle.

[lupinus]

Of course something has to go wrong.


Sent from my iPhone. Freaking autocorrect.