Replacing brake pads on WRX 4 pots

[RankFrank]

I went searching and came up with the wrong info, went down the wrong path a bit (loosened a 14mm bolt or two on my 4 pot caliper), and broke a retention wire.

So, yeah, swapping pads on 4pots is hella easy if you don't do what I did:

first things first - park somewhere level and chock some wheels.

jack up a corner and take a wheel off.

now, leave the caliper block alone - you can remove the pads without disassembling anything, which is pretty cool - do dropping your caliper and ripping a line

There is a thin wire clip running along the edge of the caliper on the inside side of the block - it has a tab that goes in through the center of the block (on the outside, still). push the tab out of the hole and lift the clip off the block -

you can now tap the two pegs that hold the pads out from the back - use a small (4oz or so) hammer - shouldn't take much. The retaining springy thing that is in the middle of the block (above the actual rotor) will flip out - this is easy to put in at the end, so just hang onto it.

Now, you can replace the pads. Do one at a time - disassembly/reassembly is the same as I've seen for every other subaru pad described; there are two clips that go around the pad and backing plate, one on each side. It can be a bit confusing figuring out which way things should go together, so use the other pad as a reference.

when you have one pad out, uncap the brake fluid reservoir and compress the piston until you can stick the new pad in. check the fluid level frequently. You can use the old pad as a back to compress the brake pistons - I used channel locks here.

Doing the other side shouldn't affect much (fluid level again) - I expect that your compressing the pistons will first take up any slack with the other pad.

once your pads are back in, push the pins through the holes you pulled them from, making sure that the small hoeles in the end are about 45 degrees up and towards the caliper center so reinserting the clip is easy.

I found that I could reinsert the clip by first using it to rotate the pins a bit so they were porerly aligned, then inserting into both pins at once. I then put the tab through the hole it goes in.

last piece for the caliper: take the springy thing with the c shaped end towards the bottom and put it around the bottom pin so the C is towards the rotor, then rotate the spring up towards the other pin. This allows some fine tuning of pad positioning - the spring should easily go in the middle, with the wings pressing down on the pads. When you contact the top pin, push a bit and it should clip into place. Replace the brake fluid cap.

put your wheel back on and unjack the car. Start it up and pump the brakes until the pedal is firm and repeat for the other side.

once both are done, retorque your front wheels, unchock the back ones and smoke test - roll the car slowly, then stop. If the brakes fail, use the parking brake; since these isntructions should not hit the brake fluid much at all, this is unlikely. check anyway.

once you've confirmed the brakes work period, bed them so you don't get brake squeal.


now for my list of sins:

I removed one 14mm bolt from the caliper. I also loosened another; I retorqued it when I realized my mistake, but after the test drive, I found drips in my inner wheel and there was a sweet smell in the engine bay. I retorqued the bolts again (one was a little loose), but I'll probably see the mechanic if it does anything suspicious tomorrow morning.

I broke a retaining clip on the 4 pots. I really have to fix this ASAP - the pins can work loose and that's all sorts of bad.

I dropped my brake fluid cap. From what I found, running with the cap missing is ok if you seal the reservoir - I used saran wrap and a ziptie. Will fix tomorrow.

The second wheel was far faster and less eventful - I expect switching front braks is a lunchtime activity once you do it a couple times.

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[phantasm]

Originally Posted by RankFrank

I went searching and came up with the wrong info, went down the wrong path a bit (loosened a 14mm bolt or two on my 4 pot caliper), and broke a retention wire.

So, yeah, swapping pads on 4pots is hella easy if you don't do what I did:

first things first - park somewhere level and chock some wheels.

jack up a corner and take a wheel off.

now, leave the caliper block alone - you can remove the pads without disassembling anything, which is pretty cool - do dropping your caliper and ripping a line

There is a thin wire clip running along the edge of the caliper on the inside side of the block - it has a tab that goes in through the center of the block (on the outside, still). push the tab out of the hole and lift the clip off the block -

you can now tap the two pegs that hold the pads out from the back - use a small (4oz or so) hammer - shouldn't take much. The retaining springy thing that is in the middle of the block (above the actual rotor) will flip out - this is easy to put in at the end, so just hang onto it.

Now, you can replace the pads. Do one at a time - disassembly/reassembly is the same as I've seen for every other subaru pad described; there are two clips that go around the pad and backing plate, one on each side. It can be a bit confusing figuring out which way things should go together, so use the other pad as a reference.

when you have one pad out, uncap the brake fluid reservoir and compress the piston until you can stick the new pad in. check the fluid level frequently. You can use the old pad as a back to compress the brake pistons - I used channel locks here.

Doing the other side shouldn't affect much (fluid level again) - I expect that your compressing the pistons will first take up any slack with the other pad.

once your pads are back in, push the pins through the holes you pulled them from, making sure that the small hoeles in the end are about 45 degrees up and towards the caliper center so reinserting the clip is easy.

I found that I could reinsert the clip by first using it to rotate the pins a bit so they were porerly aligned, then inserting into both pins at once. I then put the tab through the hole it goes in.

last piece for the caliper: take the springy thing with the c shaped end towards the bottom and put it around the bottom pin so the C is towards the rotor, then rotate the spring up towards the other pin. This allows some fine tuning of pad positioning - the spring should easily go in the middle, with the wings pressing down on the pads. When you contact the top pin, push a bit and it should clip into place. Replace the brake fluid cap.

put your wheel back on and unjack the car. Start it up and pump the brakes until the pedal is firm and repeat for the other side.

once both are done, retorque your front wheels, unchock the back ones and smoke test - roll the car slowly, then stop. If the brakes fail, use the parking brake; since these isntructions should not hit the brake fluid much at all, this is unlikely. check anyway.

once you've confirmed the brakes work period, bed them so you don't get brake squeal.


now for my list of sins:

I removed one 14mm bolt from the caliper. I also loosened another; I retorqued it when I realized my mistake, but after the test drive, I found drips in my inner wheel and there was a sweet smell in the engine bay. I retorqued the bolts again (one was a little loose), but I'll probably see the mechanic if it does anything suspicious tomorrow morning.

I broke a retaining clip on the 4 pots. I really have to fix this ASAP - the pins can work loose and that's all sorts of bad.

I dropped my brake fluid cap. From what I found, running with the cap missing is ok if you seal the reservoir - I used saran wrap and a ziptie. Will fix tomorrow.

The second wheel was far faster and less eventful - I expect switching front braks is a lunchtime activity once you do it a couple times.

After changing my wife's Protege pads, I realized how lucky I was with the scooby 4 pot pads. Sliding calipers are PITA's compared to the drop in pad replacement that the 4 pots offer. You might want to be mindful about your saran warp solution. I think saran wrap allows for condensation to occur which is bad for brake fluid. I could be wrong.. best bet is to head to you local scooby parts bin and purchase a new cap.

[Uncle Scotty]

I broke a retaining clip on the 4 pots. I really have to fix this ASAP - the pins can work loose and that's all sorts of bad.

this is a show stopper....you CAN get small cotter pins or clips to hold these in lieu of the factory piece


and the 'T' shaped clips(anti rattle clips) can be removed and forgotten about without any issue that I can tell

I dropped my brake fluid cap. From what I found, running with the cap missing is ok if you seal the reservoir - I used saran wrap and a ziptie. Will fix tomorrow.

Dropped???

where is it???

If you dropped this and can not find it...where is it???

If you dropped it and it got contaminated with crud....just rinse it off with brake fluid and put it back on....no worries


I bet a friend that I could replace all 4 corner pads in 20 minutes...start to done.
I won.

He was

[phantasm]

If you don't have a cotter pin, find some old key chains and use them. I did this on my lawn mower a few years ago and it works great.

The anti-rattle clips you'll notice when the pads start to wear. You'll hear "clunk clunk" when you are driving at low speeds. More annoying than anything else.

[RankFrank]

Originally Posted by Uncle Scotty

this is a show stopper....you CAN get small cotter pins or clips to hold these in lieu of the factory piece


and the 'T' shaped clips(anti rattle clips) can be removed and forgotten about without any issue that I can tell



Dropped???

where is it???

If you dropped this and can not find it...where is it???

If you dropped it and it got contaminated with crud....just rinse it off with brake fluid and put it back on....no worries


I bet a friend that I could replace all 4 corner pads in 20 minutes...start to done.
I won.

He was

I went and got some replacement clips the next morning; installed at my work before going home. I'm not too happy about the saran wrap, but i have to wait for my order from SGP to show up to fix it right. Seems nobody stocks the caps at all.

I really dunno where the cap went to - it isn't on the skid plate or anywhere I can get a flashlight. I would hope it isn't planning on melting, because it's in some mystery place.

Oh yeah, doing the second pad was a whole lot faster.

[Uncle Scotty]

Originally Posted by phantasm

If you don't have a cotter pin, find some old key chains and use them. I did this on my lawn mower a few years ago and it works great.

The anti-rattle clips you'll notice when the pads start to wear. You'll hear "clunk clunk" when you are driving at low speeds. More annoying than anything else.

these holes are quite small and it would be Barbie keyrings you would need to make that work

and the pads clunking isnt a big deal to me....those rattle clips are a pita

[crampfan]

I use .028 safety wire