I am about to change out my front pads first time on my own and also planning on bleeding the brakes as well.
Do you bleed it before you change out the old pads or after?
And do you bleed the brakes with the caliper and piston clamping the rotor so the piston won't fall out?

And I am also planning on dumping all the old brake fluid to some fresh one, what's the best way to do it?

Thanks for any help.

Mike

 

It doesn't really matter if you bleed the brakes before or after you change the pads since no brake fluid should get on the pads during the brake bleeding process. The best way to change your brake fluid is through the brake bleeding procedure. If you are using the stock caliper bleeders you will need two people. You can invest in "speed bleeders" which allows a single person to bleed the brakes. If you get speed bleeders be cautious when you install them. You can over tighten and strip the bleeders.

You bleed the brakes starting with the wheel farthest from the master cylinder and work towards the master cylinder. Watch the level in the master cylinder so that it does not fall below the minimum point. Letting the master cylinder get too low allows air into the braking system and you're in for a substantial brake bleeding job then. Generally between 2 and three 500ml bottles of brake fluid should flush the system. Follow all the usual rules about mixing or NOT mixing the different types of brake fluid.

A tip many people use is to attach a tight fitting rubber hose to the business end of the brake bleeder and put the other end of the hose in a bottle. If you do this it is a good idea to fill the bottle above the level of the hose so that there is a reduced chance for sucking air back into the caliper.

Changing the brake pads on the 350Z is about the easiest thing you can do. After removing the tire, you only need to remove one bolt and loosen the other to swing the top of the caliper out of the way so you can remove the pads. If your pads are badly worn you will have to compress the cylinder back into the caliper to fit the new pads. A thin piece of wood and a C-clamp will easily do the trick. When finished brake gently in the driveway a time or two to expand the cylinders back into position. Check your master cylinder fluid level one more time and you should be set.

 

It depends on how your bleeding the brakes. If your using a person in the car to pump the pedal, then make sure everything is bolted up. If not and the pedal is depressed, the piston can be pushed out of the caliper.

 

Anyone got pictures for doing this?
The only thread I could find here is for non-Brembo calipers.
The guy who was going to help me out can't anymore so Im a little unsure
of what Im doing exactly.
Thanks!
George
(is slowly learning to do things for himself)

 

How many mile have you gotten on your stock pads? I'm approaching 30,000 on a Brembo set and was just wondering what type of waer you guys are getting

 

ALWAYS make sure you have pads in place, new or old, not just the rotor or the pistons might pop out.

 

You are doing very well to get 30k out of the stock pads, even on brembos. Must be all highway commute

 

Yea.. Mostly highway miles & 10 miles to and from work. Maybe I'll pick up a set of front pads so I have them when they go...

 

I have gotten 24k off my oem non/brembo pads. Will be doing Hawk HP pads next monday

 

updated, i got 30,000 from my front brake pads, i installed my Hawk HP this past saturday.