How to change brakes on a Toyota Tacoma

change brakes on a Toyota Tacoma

Changing the front brakes is probably one of the easiest things to do on most cars. I would almost say changing oil is harder, but that depends on the car, but on a Tacoma as you will see, changing out the brake pads is something most semi-handy people can do in an hour in their driveway.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

things you'll need:

• 17mm Socket (1/2 drive preferred)
• 21mm Socket (1/2 drive preferred)
• 1/2 inch Ratchet or breaker bar
• Flat head screw driver
• Pliers of some sort
• C-Clamp
• New Brake Pads

1. • 1
     

     Gather all your tools and parts

   • 2

     Put the parking brake on and put the car into gear if it is a manual transmission or into park if it is automatic. Chock the wheels with a brick on both sides of one of the rear wheels for good measure.

   • 3
     

     Jack the car up and use the 21mm socket to remove the lugs. Turning the lug nuts a 1/4 turn while the wheel is still on the ground can help when loosening really tight bolts.

   • 4
     

     Get your 17mm socket and look behind the caliper for the two 17mm bolts. There are a few other bolts back there, but just remove the 17mm ones. Once they are removed pull on the caliper and support the caliper on something (I used some firewood) instead of letting it dangle from the brake hose.

   • 5
     

     The picture in this step show the parts we will be manipulating in changing the brakes. A= the ends of the brake pad retention clip B= the center of the brake pad retention clip C= the brake pad retaining rods D= Caliper pistons E= Brake pads F= Anti squeal plate. Refer to this image for the next several steps

   • 6

     Remove the retention clip by lifting up the ends and getting them free, then use the screw driver to push the center part of the clip in. Once it is free put it to the side.

   • 7
     

     With the pin out you now can remove the rods that hold the brakes in. Take note of where the low brake indicators are as well as the anti-squeal plate and put them back in the same way. (The indicators are pointed out in the photo).

   • 8
     

     With all the pieces removed, the next step is to compress the caliper pistons. I used a small C-clamp, but feel free to use whatever works best for you.

   • 9
     

     Install the pieces shown in step 5, of course replacing the old pads with the new. When installing the pins you might need to twist them with a pair of pliers to get the small hole to line up with the retention clip.

   • 10

     Slide the caliper back onto the rotor and install and tighten the two bolts. Spray the rotors with Brake Clean (Brake Kleen) to clean off any grease or brake dust (optional). Install wheel, let down the truck from the jack and remove the wheel chocks.

   • 11

     Pump up the brakes before you put her in gear and take her for a test drive. Drive slowly at first and hit the brakes, then get a bit fast and hard brake. Then take a ride and get yourself something nice with all the money you saved!