Do-it-yourself Lx450 Front Brake Job

[jsmith8918]

I'm always prefer to do a job myself if I have a choice. For those of you who have done your own front brake job on the LX450, how was it? (Mine is a '97 if that makes a difference.) I'm reading my Hayne's repair manual for the '97 Landcruiser and it looks pretty straightforward and almost even easier than front brake jobs that I've done on most other vehicles (including three prior Jeep Cherokees and a current Honda Civic). I'm looking to do a minimum of a pad replacement, with the possibility of also having the rotors turned and also flushing out all of the old brake fluid. (I'm planning to leave the rear brakes for a later date.)

[dougjohn]

A brake pad replacement is about a 1/4 banana job.

Turning rotors (I believe) requires equipment that most do not have in their garage... I personally would rather not have them turned. The pads seat in very well after a few miles of braking.

The replacment of the rotors themselves takes a few hours. Although it's not a very difficult job, it's quite messy. You will need some somewhat specialized tools, but nothing you can't find in a decent automotive parts store.

Haynes is nice, but nothing beats the factory service manual. The FSM for a '97 Land Cruiser should work for 99% of your LX 450 service needs (If you can't find a LX 450 FSM).