When changing brake pads on a car, make sure the car is jacked up, remove the bolts on the caliper and remove the brake pads. Replace brake pads in a car with help from an auto mechanic in this free video on car maintenance and repairs. Expert: Tom Brintzenhofe Bio: Tom Brintzenhofe has been a mechanic for the past 17 years. Filmmaker: Reel Media LLC
How to Replace Brake Pads
There aren't many things as dangerous as a car with inefficient brakes, you know this.
Regularly changing brake pads is really important.
Your safety while driving depends on several factors but regarding brakes it all depends on equipment: saving few bucks on brake pads isn't worth!
There's no need to go to the mechanic to replace your brake pads, you can easily do it yourself.
If it's the first time you do it allow it some hours, it's not difficult but it will require some time if you're not experienced.
Attention: after driving the car brake pads and brake discs are hot.
Avoid any possible risk working in a safe area.
Make sure your car will not move at all, set the handbrake and park in a plain area.
Loosen the lug nuts before jacking the car up.
Jack the car up so you can remove the wheel as if replacing the wheel. (Use two jack stands for your safety)
Remove the caliper bolts and make it slide away from the disc: brake pads are the black parts that were near the disc surface.
Remove them from the caliper: there are several kinds of calipers so you have to see how it works in your car but you should easily do it: it's just a matter of bolts or clips.
Take the occasion to check brake rotors condition, rotors must be the more smooth possible and must not have any asperities. If it's damaged you'll have to get a new one. Discs can also be reconditioned but it's not recommended.
Now, with the new thicker pads you need to push the caliper piston back to its original position in order to create enough space for the new pads, you might need an adjustable spanner or a C-Clamp.
Apply brake pad grease on the part that won't be in contact with the rotor and put them inside the caliper.
Reassemble everything as it was and proceed with the other side and the rear axle if your car has four disc brakes.
You're done, go out for a test and drive slow. Pay attention, the brake pedal might be softer and braking spaces longer. In few days the new pads should reach their final position and any noise should disappear.
Make sure you reassemble everything carefully.
A Women’s Point of View: Tips For Organizing Your Car Part II
by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps Office ManagerIn Part I we looked at the car’s ceiling and seats using adhesive Velcro. Let's venture into the rest of the car to see how Velcro can be useful in other ways.
For owners of vans, you have this delicious space between the two front seats. I've found that it's the perfect place for those plastic, stackable drawers that can face either toward the front or the back seat. Measure carefully, allowing for the seat belts and the armrests. Make sure the bottom is flat so the Velcro will stick well to the floor. For all cars that have trunks; soft-sided suitcases, baskets, car organization carriers and even toolboxes are great.
To keep them from sliding every time you turn a corner, slap on the ole Velcro and they will stay nicely in place and not roll around like bowling pins. Make sure they have flat bottoms without feet or rollers. Stick some Velcro onto you sunglasses case and stick it to the ceiling between the sunvisors.
Need more hooks? Buy those self-sticking hooks that you can remove by pulling down on the tape and attach to the smooth surfaces of the car for grocery bags, purses, the kids backpacks and other assorted things with handles to keep them in place when turning corners. Do not attach these hooks to leather, it will tear with use. For those small items like paper clips, change, stamps, cell phone headset, etc., use the ashtray. For those cupholders that have the rubber lining that keeps the cup in place are great, but the rubber comes out with the cup, a drop or two of Gorilla Glue will keep the rubber in the cupholder. And every car needs one of those pads you set on the dash to hold cell phones, change, pens, etc.
Remember, never, ever stick the sticky side of Velcro onto the car. It will ruin the finish. Always put the sticky side on the storage item.
Stop by Cars For Keeps anytime and we will help brainstorm any car problem you may have, large or small.
Safe driving!
A Woman's Point of View: Tips for Organizing Your Car, Part I
by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps Office ManagerThe magic word here is Velcro. The black Velcro with the sticky side and the grabbing side, and the wide width. This is how to organize your car for yourself and your family. For the driver to have everything within reach. The ceiling of your car is this soft felt material that works like the smooth side of Velcro. It is also an untapped space to use for storage.
Flat CD storage holders can be found at Walmart, Target, etc. They hold 8 to 12 CD’s. Put the sticky side of the Velcro on the CD holder and slap it onto the ceiling of your car. I have mine over the sunvisor. You can put some over the back seat area for the kids, too.
Ceiling Velcro also makes it easy to store a flat document holder in which to keep you car registration, insurance papers, etc. directly over your head. Now you won't have to rummage through the glove compartment, which is free to hold heavy or bulky items such as an umbrella, trouble light/seatbelt cutter and windshield glass breaker. Use another flat document holder for a pen, a pad of Post-A-Notes, letters to be mailed, bank deposit slips or grocery lists.Get a trash bag with Velcro straps and wrap around the base of the front seat headrest to hold things like kids games, snacks, personal DVD players, MP3 players, books or even trash. It's is easily accessible for anyone sitting in the back seats.
I have many more suggestions on how to organize your car, so this will be a two part blog - look for Tips for Organizing Your Car Part II next Friday.
A word of caution: always put the sticky side of the Velcro onto the storage item. Never, Ever put the sticky side onto the material of the car. It will pull the material away from the cars ceiling and tear it every time you get into the storage item.
To be continued…..
Cars for Keeps Mechanics: Men Can Multitask Too!
by Colette, Cars for Keeps Office Manager
Any woman, whether she works outside the home or not, is an expert at multi-tasking. We wear many hats every day. Wife, mommy, housekeeper, cleaning lady, laundress, chauffer, appointment setter/keeper, gardner, cook, nurse, lover, psychiatrist, teacher, disciplinarian and on and on. Add to that if we work outside the home.
Yes, we are experts at multi-tasking and we take it all in stride. One pat on the back coming up. But, to give the men their due, they are pretty good at it too. As a woman working at Cars For Keeps, I have observed the men I work with multi-tasking every day. For two days a while back, I watched Michael, our head mechanic, work on four cars at the same time. We were short a mechanic and everyone pitched in to keep everything running smoothly and on time. Michael was going from one car to the next car to the next car as the parts came in. We seriously considered putting him in skates. He never complained and kept his humor going, but by the end of those couple of days, he was dragging.
Our service manager, Dennis, multi-tasks 11 hours a day, five days a week. He manages the mechanics' time, helps them solve technical problems, finds and purchases the best parts at the best price for the job, deals with vendors, confers at management and marketing meetings, helps every customer meet their needs, makes technical, financial and time management decisions almost every minute, answers phone calls, makes phone calls, supervises care of the grounds around the building, handles all emergencies with efficiency, keeps up with computer information every company runs on and sometimes he even eats lunch. In the four years that I have worked with Dennis I have never seen him “lose his cool”.
So here are gold stars and fireworks and ‘good job’ kudos for all the men who work faithfully, nobly and steadfastly in their jobs. It is heroic!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
