Posted by Bruce K on February 07, 19100 at 07:19:51:
I changed front brake pads on my 96 K1500 Saturday. Turned out to be not too bad a job on a warm day (it was 28 deg and I had a salamander heater in the garage to help out). It helps to stop the truck a few times on the road to warm up the parts.
The sensor on the pads was squealing and had been for about a week. This was my second set of pads since new (at 50K). The first set was changed by the dealer at 23K when they wore down to metal without the sensor sounding. That was under warranty. Got new rotors then too.
Since we all do this a lot :-( , I thought I'd pass along a few tips that I found along the way. This is no substitute for a factory manual, but may help someone.
Don't forget to support the truck with good jack stands or a heavy block of wood while you're working on it. Don't trust the jack, no matter how good it is.
1. Those two allen head cap screws that you can't see along side the cylinder are 3/8 inch. I fooled around with 7 and 9 mm metric wrenches for about 15 minutes until I decided to try my American sizes. I was positive these would be metric by now. They only have to be loosened until they are out of the threads they screw into. They do not have to be pulled all the way out. The rubber collar around them does not have to be touched.
2. The caliper assembly can be pulled out either by rotating the top out or by pulling straight out. A small prybar or the claw of a carpenter's hammer helps here. Make sure the caliper assembly does not hang by the brake hose. This can damage the hose.
While you're in there, check the hoses for cracks and check around the piston for brake fluid leaks. Fix anything you see.
3. Changing the pads themselves is pretty straight forward. The outer pad needed a big screwdriver to pry it off, the inner came out easy.
Remember to push the piston back in so that the new pads will clear the rotor. I did this after removing the outer pad. I used an 8 inch C clamp between the inner pad and the back of the brake piston. Give it a half turn at a time and it will go in pretty easy.
Make sure that if you have added any brake fluid over the life of the last set of pads that you check the master cylinder for overflowing.
If the pads don't go in pretty easy, something is not right. Take them off and try again. There are some fairly close fits in there for the pads and some holes and pegs for the outer pads.
4. At this point the rotor can be pulled off the studs and checked on both sides. I caught mine in time and there was no scoring or anything on the faces. I put it in as-is. The rotor is independent of the spindle and nothing else has to be pulled to remove it.
If the face of the rotor is scored or gouged or there is pulsing in the brakes, it should be turned or replaced to bring it back to specs.
5. I put two lug nuts on two wheel studs to hold the rotor in place while I put the caliper on.
6. The caliper went on straight in. Some gentle taps with a hammer helped get it all the way in. If it doesn't go in easy, take it out and try again.
7. Screw the cap screws back in.
8. Pump the brakes after each wheel is done to pre-load the calipers and pads and take the slack out of the system. I also like to stand on the brakes with the engine running (for full boost) at this point to check for weak spots in the line or hoses. It's better to have them go in the garage than out on the road.
9. Take the lug nuts off the rotor.
10. Put the tire back on.
11. Take the truck out for a mile or so and test it before you start on the other side.
The first set of pads took about an hour. The second set took about 1/2 hour, once I learned how.
The tools I used were:
A 3 ton jack.
A 3 ton jack stand under the front cross member.
A cross wrench (7/8") for the lug nuts.
A 3/8" Allen head socket. (A 3/8" Allen Wrench would have worked too.)
A carpenter's hammer with a claw.
A large flat blade screwdriver.
An 8" C clamp. (6" would have worked)
A trouble light.
Hope this saves someone some frustration....