Best brake repair spreading tools according to redditors
We found 23 Reddit comments discussing the best brake repair spreading tools. We ranked the 9 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 23 Reddit comments discussing the best brake repair spreading tools. We ranked the 9 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0122Q83T4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This is the kit I use every single day. Has every single adapter and both forward and reverse thread inserts. $20 to never have this problem again. Sold my Bluepoint kit for this because this one was better.
They make some tools that can speed up the process such as this. If you do brakes all the time it might be worth it, but meh.
STOP! WHOA! You have me very concerned.
The correct tool. Always. If you can't go buy a very nice socket wrench set for $25, you shouldn't be messing with your car.
He's also going to need a good jack, and some jack stands, and know how to properly use and place them.
If you're replacing brake pads, you have to do both sides.
You have to know if your rotors need to be replaced. I bet they do. If you're asking 'do I need the right tool?', chances are that you're down to bare metal and your rotors are pitted and destroyed. You must replace them.
I'm assuming that he's replacing disc brakes. He's going to want to buy this also:
www.amazon.com/Lisle-24400-Disc-Brake-Spreader/dp/B0002SQU9K/
You can get one for the same price or less anywhere that sells auto parts. Another one of those stupid $5 tools that makes a world of difference.
He's also going to need a rubber mallet most likely, and a set of good wrenches. You're going to want to bleed the brakes after the new pads are installed. I'd say that's almost always a 3/8" wrench, but I mostly work on classics.
I'm worried. A man that doesn't understand that he needs the right tools for the job is probably not the man for the job - and brakes are the most important part of a car.
It's not the kind of thing to say 'Hey, I'll take a whack at it!' without knowing what you're doing. You can't just watch a 5 minute Youtube video and take a stab at it. Think very seriously about that.
Brakes that fail could be fatal. Or, you could get lucky and it's just catastrophic damage to your car and nobody got hurt.
If he wants to learn to do it himself, that's great, but don't do it the first time without someone that really knows what they're doing at least supervising.
Basically those 2 knobs on the end slot into holes, then using the handle you turn the object, in this case the calipers piston.
Using that for brake calipers usually won’t work as you also need to apply pressure against the piston at the same time.
The proper tool for calipers looks like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0122Q83T4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7N1PCbZVG39WR
Although maybe your car would work fine with a spanner wrench
I think what you are looking for is a "Spreader."
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ25DHN
I like to spray them liberally flooding the surface then wipe with a disposable rag. Just as I'd prepping for paint.
number the next one)
While changing the fluid Is a good idea. I would suggest not getting into it as a first brake job kind of thing. You will add the chances.of having a frozen or broken bleeder. Also you could get air into the system. While these are not end of the world events it may be a can of worms you don't want to get into. Plus its not really something that is much easier to do while your changing the pads. It could be done later with out a ton more effort.
The c clamp would be used to push the piston back in the bore to.make room for the new thicker pads and rotors. Disk brakes unlike drum brakes don't have return springs they just squeeze and then don't squeeze. They actually drag ever so slightly most the time. You can sometimes hear them while wheels are off ground and you spin the wheel.
A safer way is to use a tool made for pushing the piston back in. You don't need a fancy one that will turn in the piston unless your working on rears that have the parking brake integrated with the caliper.
Lisle 24400 Disc Brake Pad Spreader https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002SQU9K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_LLiozbAWG3WFJ
Hope this helps. sorry can't watch video at the moment.
Do you mean a set like this?
Is a caliper set like this decent? Spending 4x on the jack quickly pushed me towards the upper end of my budget. If it's not an okay replacement I can just spring an extra $20 for the Harbor Freight one.
8MILELAKE Brake Caliper Wind Back Tool 22pc professional disc brake caliper tool set
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0122Q83T4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_l9wKBb9WM723H
It's a brake job, nothing special about it. If you've got the monoblock calipers (which on a C7 I believe that was the only option) then you'll need a special spreader to recess the caliper pistons (like this: https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-29100-Quick-Quad-Spreader/dp/B005GLQCKA?th=1&psc=1) and other than that it's out with the old in with the new.
Lisle 29100 Quick Quad Pad Spreader https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GLQCKA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_YpyuDb84A6F6N
Lisle has a few options line this that work very very well.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0122Q83T4
$20 version
You might want one of these to make the brake pad job easier:
https://www.amazon.com/Capri-Tools-21006-Brake-Spreader/dp/B00KCT1XMI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1469743249&sr=8-4&keywords=brake+caliper+spreader
But yeah, rotors especially are easy. When I replaced mine, some of them were sort of "fused" onto the hubs, but in my case, it was just a matter of screwing a bolt into a threaded hole in the old rotors (the hole is designed for popping them off).
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24300-Speedy-Brake-Spreader/dp/B0009OR8V6
I have NEVER looked back.
If you have a Gen2 (2005-2015) its a 19mm for lug nuts (or lugnut wrench under rear seat), 14mm for caliper bolts (think the nut on slide pin is 17mm that you might need to hold onto with a wrench if the slide pin spins), 19mm for caliper bracket bolts.
To add, you need something to compress the caliper pistons back in to fit the new pads. Variety of options, use the old brake pad and large pair of plyers or C-clamp, or you can buy a specialty tool (break pad spreader a cheap one like this works fine).
Also you will need brake clean to remove oil coating on new rotors and brake lubricant (assuming your new pads don't come with some) to regrease the slide pins.
A breaker bar or pipe can be useful to break lose the caliper bracket bolts in particular. Also you might need a hammer if the rotor is rust fused to the hub (anti-seize is useful in reassembly if you want to avoid this next time).
Lastly, bungie cords are a great cheap option to hold the caliper as you replace the rotors and pads to make sure it doesn't fall and put tension on brake line.
this was painful to watch.
you see those two threaded holes in the rotor right by the studs?
those are there so you can remove the rotor without hammering the wheel bearings.
just pop two bolts in them & tighten, once threaded into the rotor far enough, they will bottom out on the hub face & push it right off. even the most stuck rotor will come off without much fuss.
also, please, buy a pad spreader.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GLQCKA/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_As6OCbSGW2E32
Okay so it's not a scissor jack, but it works wonders on 4 pot calipers
LINK
I don't even use that one any more. I usually use this one which is hiding in the bottom drawer because of its size.
Yep you can do it all in car. Just did it.
Don't even have to remove the core support and bumper. I removed it during reassembly and would HIGHLY recommend pulling the core support and bumper. It's not much more work and it helps a ton.
Engine pull is absolutely not required though.
Pull the two bolts in the oil pan first so you don't forget.
Also this tool is absolutely worth every penny to pry the timing cover apart without damaging it
https://www.amazon.com/OTC-7034-Disc-Brake-Spreader/dp/B0002SQUHW
You can slip that in between the two casting tabs on the engine and it will pop it right off without damaging it or screwing with the seal.
Any questions let me know. Job is quite labor intensive the first time it took me around 50 hours taking my time . But once you do it a few times it can be done in about four hours.
Plan a 3 day weekend at least.
An updated if anyone is looking at this in the future.
KOE5960 was sold out but it is comprised of KOE5959 and KOE5961 which is what I bought and turned out to be cheaper for the single piston rear, dual piston front. I also bought a piston pushing toolkit which worked really well for the threaded rear and push front.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0122Q83T4/ref=pe_3034960_233709270_TE_item_image
The rotors were stuck pretty good but a bfh did the trick to loosen it. Just came back from bedding in the brakes and no more squeaking. The inner edge of the front rotors was rusting and causing the pad to wear unevenly on the bottom and squeak for the first few minutes of driving.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002SQU9K/ref=mp_s_a_2?qid=1343822201&sr=8-2
You want that tool. Nice and cheap but it will spread you caliper out. A prying tool can be a flat head screw driver. Sometimes the caliper us reluctant and needs prying. Only use a hammer on parts that you already have a replacement for.
I'd pick one of these up if you don't have one. There's a similar tool you can rent/borrow from Autozone or a large enough C clamp will also work.
https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24400-Disc-Brake-Spreader/dp/B0002SQU9K
You may want to pick up one or a few cans of brake cleaner. A piece of plastic tubing from the hardware store and an empty plastic bottle can be used for bleeding the brakes. Try not to spill brake fluid and/or clean it off well since it can remove paint.
Very easy to do a rotor and pad job yourself. Does require a couple of tools though. Even with the tools you'll be saving a bunch of money.
Changed the front brakes on my sister's civic for less than $150 dollars for the parts.
Besides sockets and a ratchet, you'll want to either get a C-clamp or a a brake caliper tool: https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24400-Disc-Brake-Spreader/dp/B0002SQU9K
Also some brake lubricant: https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-24129-Silicone-Extreme-Lubricant/dp/B01L1LV9F6/ref=sr_1_11?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1496554333&sr=1-11&keywords=brake+lube
And sometimes its tough to take the rotor screws off, for that you will need an impact driver: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002O16UPM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Since your car is pretty new, you might not need the impact driver unless your rotors are rusty.
I used this rotor + pad set for the car : https://www.amazon.com/Power-Stop-K1043-Evolution-Drilled/dp/B005FKMOWM
I've put powerstop rotors and pads on 4 cars now and they have worked quiet well. Some people were saying that the drilled rotors are prone to cracks, but that won't happen for a daily drive car on the street. Other rotor and pad options:
https://www.amazon.com/Wagner-BD125669E-Premium-Coated-Brake/dp/B00HJJDSZO
https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-17D914C-Professional-Ceramic-Front/dp/B000IYY7PW
Rears will be different than the ones I posted, so check and see what will fit. Amazon makes it pretty easy, just enter your car and it'll tell you what fits.
Since you have watched videos on the change, I don't think you need me to tell you how to do it.
You might look up a youtube video of doing it on your car. This as an example. Usually all you need to do it is a jack (which your car comes with), a few socket wrenches, and maybe a brake pad spreader. It's usually quick and is one of the easiest jobs on a car as it doesn't even require going underneath, so you can do it yourself for a fraction of the price even if you have to buy some tools.