How to Remove the Rear Brake Pads on a GS 300

Labor rates in auto repair shops are high. That is why it is important that you be able to make repairs to your Lexus GS 300, such as replacing the rear brakes yourself. Inspecting them should be a part of your regular maintenance routine. If you wait until they get too thin, they will begin to cut into the rotors, resulting in repairs that are more expensive. Removing the brake pads from the GS is not a difficult procedure and does not require any tools out of the ordinary.

Instructions

1

Park the GS300 on a level surface and turn of the key. Place a set of wheel chocks in front of the front wheels. Loosen the lug nuts on the wheel that you will be starting with using a lug wrench, but do not take them off yet. Raise the Lexus on the side you will be starting with using the automobile jack. Be sure to raise the car by the rear subframe and not the floorpan.

2

Place a jack stand under the GS 300's subframe under the jacking point and raise it to the frame. Back off on the automobile jack slightly so that the car is resting on the jack stand. Remove the lug nuts from the wheel and pull the tire from the car. Place three of the lug nuts on the wheel hub hand-tight to prevent the rotor from coming off.

3

Remove the retaining bolts from the brake caliper using a socket and ratchet. Open the bleeder valve on the brake caliper using a small wrench. Force the caliper piston into the housing using a pair of vise-grip pliers, or a C-clamp.

4

Place an old brake pad on the piston to avoid damaging it with the vise grips or the clamp. Close the jaws of the vise grips, or C-clamp with the back of the caliper and the brake pad inside the jaws so that as you close the jaws, the piston goes back into the caliper housing. Close the bleeder valve on the caliper with the wrench.

5

Clean up any brake fluid that comes out using the shop rags. Pry the anti-squeal spring out of the brake caliper using a flathead screwdriver. Remove the clip from the pad guide pin using a pair of pliers and pull the guide pin out. Remove the anti-squeal shims and brake pads from the caliper.

6

Spread some brake grease on both sides of the inner anti-squeal shims. Place the shims on each pad making sure that the arrows on the inner shims face the same direction that the disc rotates. Install the pads and shims into the caliper. Install the guide pins and snap the clip into place at the end of it using a pair of pliers.

7

Place the anti-squeal spring on the caliper, making sure it is raised and secure. Place the caliper on the mounting cradle and install the retaining bolts using a socket and ratchet. Place the wheel on the Lexus GS300 and tighten the lug nuts using the lug wrench. Raise the car high enough with the automobile jack so that you can remove the jack stand.

8

Lower the Lexus to the ground and repeat the procedure on the other wheel.