nidaba

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

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

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

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