nidaba Posted October 3, 2002 Share Posted October 3, 2002 I am about to replace the brake pads on my wife's '99 SC300 this weekend. I have routinely performed this job on BMW's for the past 15 years, but have never done a Lexus before. The basic process should be the same (remove calipers, remove old pads, insert new pads, replace caliper), but I am wondering what size tools I will need. Has anyone done this job before and what size bolts will I encounter? TIA, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWJ Posted October 3, 2002 Share Posted October 3, 2002 Welcome Nick. I am about to take this job on myself, but I am swapping the entire caliper assy out as well as the rotors. Anyways, to merely replace pads - you just need to remove the center top portion of the caliper secured by two bolts (not sure on size). Pull the pads. Note all clips and shims. You will want to replace them and put anti-squeal grease on the shims. Get the pistons retracted, by bleeding and pushing or they may just push back in. Put in your new pads with new shims, clips and grease. Bolt the caliper back up and your ready to go. You could bleed it if you like. IF you need to pull the rotor for surfacing or replacement, then of course you will have to remove the caliper in the whole piece. That is also secured with two bolts (again, not positive on size). But it is not hard. Just have a complete tool set of meteric wrenches and a torque wrench for piece of mind. The rotors have to holes in them so you can use two bolts to Jack the rotor off the assy there. Pretty freindly job. Reinstall and bleed those breaks and your ready to roll again. Good luck. I may be able to fax the pages from the service manual for this job if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nidaba Posted October 3, 2002 Author Share Posted October 3, 2002 Thanks for your helpful description. Unfortunately, my main concern is the size of the bolts holding the caliper in place; so if you come across that in your manual, that's all I will need. Someone at a local repair shop has told me i will need a 14mm allen socket to remove the calipers, so I have purchased that socket. But frankly, upon inspection this looks awfully large; my BMW uses a 7mm allen socket by comparison. If you could confirm/refute this info it would be very helpful. Thanks again, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWJ Posted October 4, 2002 Share Posted October 4, 2002 a local repair shop has told me i will need a 14mm allen socket to remove the calipers No way. The manual shows standard metric bolts as well as my car. I just ran outside and checked to make sure. Bring a couple of combination box end wrenches with you. Guessing it is a 14 to 17mm standard metric socket or wrench. An m14 socket head cap screw is way too huge - maybe on a big rig. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nidaba Posted October 4, 2002 Author Share Posted October 4, 2002 Thanks for checking; sockets that size make sense to me, but not allens. I have sockets that size so it sounds like I'm set to go. thanks again for your key input. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWJ Posted October 4, 2002 Share Posted October 4, 2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nidaba Posted October 6, 2002 Author Share Posted October 6, 2002 Andrew: Thanks for taking the time/energy to fax me the insytuctions; they were absolutely invaluable. I was very surprised to see how different the Lexus and the BMW calipers and pads work. The Lexus arrangement would not have been intuitively obvious to me based upon my past experience; in fact, my past experience would have likely mis-directed me. BMW doesn't use shims, and the spring clips for the pads are completely different. Getting the caliper piston retracted is also different. In any case, after taking about 30-45 minutes with the driver's front side, I finished off the remaining 3 wheels in about 15-20 minutes each. Took it for a test drive and everything feels solid. Thanks again for the diagrams; if there is ever anyting I can do for you, please let me know. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWJ Posted October 6, 2002 Share Posted October 6, 2002 NP. Glad to be of assistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arabian Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Newbie here and I need some help guys. I know this is an old thread but fits the descriptions to my questions.... didn't make sense to create a new thread when this already exists. I needed help changing the front brake pads of my 92 sc 400. I was wondering if anyone can give me the directions. I got kinda lost on the removing the 2 bolts on the center portion of the caliper part.... The caliper assy has 2 bolts, then there are another 2 bolts and on the center there are 4.(removed with an allen wrench) Which bolts do I remove to get to the pads? Also, my pads are farely worn out, how can I push the pistons back so that the new, thicker, pads can fit? Much help would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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