I am going to replace front brake pads on a 2004 toyota camry for the first time. Can I get some help with:

1. Will the old pads come out without having to "dig into the caliper" to compress the piston?
2. What hardware will I have to replace?
3. What parts should get lubed?
4. What torques are needed with respect to the calipers?

Thanks!

 

The AutoZone website has specific year/model repair info in the sites vehicle repair guide section.

Have never done the job on this car but it appears to be no different then any other disk brake car.

There are 2 bolts that hold the disk brake cylinder assy on (25 ft-lbs). The slider pins can be removed and greased. The upper and lower pins are different, keep track of their location.

Lube the pins, boots and exposed part of the piston with something like synthetic disc brake grease.

Lube both sides of the inner anti-squeal shim with something like Permatex Disk Brake Quiet grease (each pad has two shims).

These lube products are not the same.

The manual states to replace the slider pin boots and lower slider pin bushing but doubt anyone does this.

If the pads have worn down, the piston has moved out and will need to be pushed back. Suggest opening the bleeder port to allow fluid to escape when pushing the piston back rather then being forced back into the brake system.

The brake system has various anti-squeal shims, pad wear indicators and pad support plates that can fall of or need to be removed. Suggest you do one side of the car at a time to allow reference and keep track of how the various parts are mounted before removing.

Suggest you use Toyota pads as these will fit up with the various shims, clips, etc and are of good quality.

 

Thanks! A certified mechanic told me it is not necessary to open bleeder when retracting the caliper piston. I don't want to get into the situation of having to bleed the system on my first brake job if I don't have to. What do you think?
Thanks again!