How to Change the Disc Brake Pads for a Saab

The disc of a disc brake is actually a steel brake rotor that spins with the wheel hub when the car is moving. The rotor has a machined surface on each side that the brake pads are pressed against to slow or stop the car. The pads are actuated by a caliper that is mounted over the rotor. Disc brakes gained popularity over drum brake systems due to their ability to shed off excess heat and their resistance to fade with repeated hard use. Saab is a European car maker that has only been making autos since the late 1940s, but came standard with disc brakes when most American cars used the drum system. The brake pads can be changed on your Saab in about one hour.

Instructions

1

Place your Saab on jack stands by raising the car with a floor jack and sliding the stands under each corner of the car's frame rails. Remove the wheels with a lug wrench and place them aside.

2

Work on one wheel at a time a avoid inadvertantly mixing parts from different wheels. Pry off the rubber plugs that protect the two caliper mounting bolts with a flat-blade screwdriver and set them aside. Remove the bolts in a counterclockwise direction with a 7 mm hex wrench. Lift the caliper from the brake rotor and suspend it from the coil spring in the wheel well with a piece of wire or cord to avoid putting a strain on the flexible brake line that still will be attached to the caliper.

3

Remove the wire spring that holds the brake pads in the caliper by prying it off with a flat-blade screwdriver. Slide the brake pads out and discard them.

4

Compress the piston back into the caliper by placing a "C" clamp over the end of the piston and the opposite side of the caliper. Tighten down the clamp to push the piston back into the caliper to make room for the new and thicker brake pads.

5

Push new brake pads (two per caliper) into the caliper in the same orientation as the old pads were installed. Press the ends of the wire clip back into the holes in the caliper to hold the new pads in place.

6

Remove the wire or cord from the caliper and push the caliper back over the rotor, making sure to line up the mounting holes. Run the caliper mounting bolts in and tighten them in a clockwise direction with a 7 mm hex wrench.

7

Repeat steps 2 through 6 to replace the brake pads on the other wheels. Replace the wheels and tighten the lug nuts with a lug wrench. Remove the jack stands and lower the car.