Do it Yourself Toyota Corolla Brake Repair

The brakes in your Toyota Corolla eventually wear out and need changing every 60,000 to 80,000 miles. In most cases, brake repair is simply a matter of replacing the brake pads inside the calipers. Sometimes, however, the calipers might be damaged and will need to be replaced. This type of brake repair can be simple but not necessarily easy, and talking with your mechanic first is recommended.

Instructions

Removing Brake Pads

1

Remove the cap on the brake fluid reservoir. Raise the car's front end, support it on jack stands and remove the wheels.

2

Compress the caliper piston into its bore with a C-clamp. The brake fluid in the master cylinder will rise. Siphon fluid out with an unused syringe or turkey baster, if needed, to prevent overflow.

3

Clean off the brake assembly with brake cleaner spray; don't use compressed air. Keep a drain pan underneath the assembly to catch the residue.

4

Disconnect the caliper from the disc by removing its two bolts; hang it from the strut coil with a wire. Don't hang the caliper by the hose, and don't disconnect the hose unless you're replacing the caliper.

5

Pull the shims and brake pads out of the caliper mounting bracket on the disc. Remove the pad support plates and inspect them for damage. Pry off the wear indicator from the old inner pad, if equipped, and move it to the new pad.

Installing Brake Pads

6

Install the pad support plates, new brake pads and shims. Use new support plates and/or shims if the old ones are damaged.

7

Remove the sliding pins from the mounting bracket. Clean them off and apply a high-temperature grease to them before re-installing them.

8

Connect the caliper back on the mounting bracket and tighten the bolts.

9

Re-connect the wheels and lower the car once you've changed the brakes on both wheels.

Replacing Brake Calipers

10

Raise the car as described in the first section.

11

Disconnect the brake hose from the caliper by removing the banjo bolt. Plug the banjo fitting with a piece of rubber hose.

12

Disconnect the caliper from its mounting bracket as described above. Replace the pads if needed.

13

Mount the new caliper onto the mounting bracket, apply its bolts and connect the brake hose.

14

Bleed the brakes from that caliper as described below before you reconnect the wheels and lower the car.

Bleeding the Brakes

15

Fill the master cylinder reservoir with fresh brake fluid.

16

Connect a piece of clear tubing to the bleeder valve on the caliper. Submerge the tube's other end in a container of fluid.

17

Open the bleeder valve while another person presses the brake pedal in the car. Look for air bubbles in the container, then close the valve and release the pedal after a couple of seconds.

18

Repeat the previous step until there is no more air in the system, checking the master cylinder fluid level as you do so. Top off the reservoir once you are finished.