How to Replace the Brake Pads on a Renault

The brake pads on the French-built Renault work the same as American-made vehicles. The brake pads are responsible for stopping the Renault by applying pressure to the inner and outer sides of the brake rotor. The friction of the brake pads dragging against the sides of the brake rotor is the main process that brings the Renault to a safe stop. Replace the brake pads once they have worn down to 1/8 of an inch. The brake rotors will need to be turned or replaced at the same time as the brake pads are replaced.

Instructions

1

Park the Renault on a flat surface. Apply the parking brake to prevent the car from rolling.

2

Loosen the lug nuts from the front wheels by turning the lug nuts counterclockwise with either a tire tool or the lug wrench that comes with the Renault. Do not remove the lug nuts.

3

Slide a floor jack under the front end of the Renault and position it under a jack point. Raise the front of the Renault up and place a jack stand under the side rails on both front sides of the car. Position the stands close to the front wheels so that they can safely and securely hold the weight of the Renault. Lower the front of the car to the top of the stands. Leave the jack sitting in the up position as an extra safety precaution.

4

Loosen then remove the lug nuts from the front wheels with the lug tool. Slide each front wheel off the hubs and lay the wheels flat to keep them from rolling.

5

Move to the driver's side wheel and locate the access hole on the side of the brake caliper. Insert the screw end of a C-clamp into the opening so that it is facing the outer brake pad. Position the other end of the C-clamp over the back of the brake caliper. Turn the C-clamp clockwise to compress the outer brake pad against the caliper cylinder. Once the cylinder is flush with the entrance of the cylinder housing, unscrew the C-clamp and remove it from the caliper.

6

Locate and remove the lower and upper caliper mounting slide bolts from the back of the caliper. There are two metric slide bolts that can be removed by turning the bolts counterclockwise with the ratchet and a metric socket.

7

Pull the brake caliper off of the side of the rotor by hand. Then hang the caliper to one of the steering components located behind the wheel hub assembly. Use a strand of mechanic's wire or a piece of rope to hang the caliper. This prevents the weight of the brake caliper from hanging by the brake fluid lines.

8

Pull the worn brake pads straight out of the caliper by hand. Discard the worn pads and slide the new brake pads into position inside the brake caliper. Then remove the brake caliper from the steering component and mount it back onto the side of the brake rotor with the two metric slide bolts. Tighten the slide bolts by turning them clockwise with the ratchet and metric socket.

9

Position the wheel back onto the wheel studs and screw the lug nuts as far down as they will go with the lug nut tool. Move to the front passenger side wheel and repeat the same steps above to replace the brake pads. Then jack the front of the Renault back up and take the jack stands out from under the side rails. Lower the Renault to the ground and slide the floor jack out.

10

Tighten the lug nuts on both wheels with the lug nut tool. Crank the Renault's engine and apply the brake pedal a couple of times all the way to the floor and back up to seat the new brake pads to the proper distance from the rotor. Then turn the engine off.