I replaced the brake pads and shoes on my 2006 Chevrolet Silverado and thougt I would do a little write up.
Jack up front of truck and support on jack stands with parking brake set. Remove front wheels.
Remove 2 bolts securing caliper to spindle, mine took an 18mm wrench/socket.
Remove wheel speed sensor cable clip from bracket and take out the bolt securing the brake line bracket, mine took a 10mm socket.
Now remove the caliper from the rotor and set it aside. I used some wire and tied it up so it wouldn't be dangling by the brake line. Remove the Torx head screw that is securing the rotor to the hub. Mine took a T-30 Torx bit.
Remove the rotor from the hub and set aside.
In this picture you can see the wheel speed sensor. It's nice to know where it is just in case you ever have problems with ABS.
Now that the rotor is removed you can remove the stationary brake pad. Then using a C-clamp, compress the piston completely and remove the last pad.
From this point I washed everything down with Brakleen. Expect to use about 6 to 8 cans when doing all four corners. The cheap stuff works just as well as the expensive stuff. Just try to clean everything up as good as possible, paint everything now if it makes you feel better.
Here is a comparison shot of the old pads and the new pads. These are the original pads and have 96,000 miles on them. Honestly they probably have 20,000 more miles left on them with the way I drive.
I took my rotors down to the local O'Reilly's and had them turn the rotors. There was no need for replacement and they only needed to be skim cut. They cleaned up nicely. Assemble in reverse order.
Now it's time to bleed the system. In my case I changed out all of the brake fluid since I have never done it on this vehicle. It was time the old stuff looked pretty dark. I used a vacuum bleeder which I picked up at the parts store for about $40. I used a quart of DOT3 brake fluid for the job. I don't have action shots from the bleeding process, just connect the vacuum pump up to the bleeder plug. Crack the bleeder and pump away until you get clear fluid. Tighten the bleeder and continue on to the next caliper. I used the vacuum pump to suck the old fluid out of the reservoir and refilled with new before I started the bleeding process.
Old brake fluid.
Now with the front wheels back on you can move to the rear. Jack up the rear of the truck and place your jack stands in a good secure spot. Block the front wheels, make sure you release the parking brake. It will be almost impossible to remove the rear drums with the parking brake set.
The rear drums some times stick and are hard to remove so there are two jacking bolt holes for using a bolt to help get them loose. Mine required a 10mm bolt. With the drums removed here is what you'll see.
Remove the spring from the slack adjuster mechanism. Remove the slack adjuster arm and the adjuster itself.
Now the fun part is removing the large W shaped spring, you can use a pair of pliers to pull it out of the hole. Then slide it inward and remove the shoes.
The rear shoe is the one with the parking brake mechanism on it. With the shoe loose turn it over to give yourself access to the end of the cable, pull it toward you and then press it down and pull out to disengage. It is easier if you disconnect the parking brake cable completely when doing this.
Now wash everything down and clean it all up. Have your drums turned down and reassemble in reverse order.
For adjusting I adjusted the brakes out until the drum would just go over the shoes. Reconnect the parking brake cable, bleed the brakes with the vacuum pump like on the front. Then once it was all together I went to a parking lot and let them self adjust. To do this simply go in reverse and apply the brakes, this will cause the brakes to chatter a bit and the self adjuster will ratchet up tension until the proper space is achieved. It's old school but it works.
I used Wagner Thermo-Quiet Ceramic shoes and pads and spent about $250 total, this includes the vacuum pump I bought. Hope this helps someone.
Jack up front of truck and support on jack stands with parking brake set. Remove front wheels.
Remove 2 bolts securing caliper to spindle, mine took an 18mm wrench/socket.
Remove wheel speed sensor cable clip from bracket and take out the bolt securing the brake line bracket, mine took a 10mm socket.
Now remove the caliper from the rotor and set it aside. I used some wire and tied it up so it wouldn't be dangling by the brake line. Remove the Torx head screw that is securing the rotor to the hub. Mine took a T-30 Torx bit.
Remove the rotor from the hub and set aside.
In this picture you can see the wheel speed sensor. It's nice to know where it is just in case you ever have problems with ABS.
Now that the rotor is removed you can remove the stationary brake pad. Then using a C-clamp, compress the piston completely and remove the last pad.
From this point I washed everything down with Brakleen. Expect to use about 6 to 8 cans when doing all four corners. The cheap stuff works just as well as the expensive stuff. Just try to clean everything up as good as possible, paint everything now if it makes you feel better.
Here is a comparison shot of the old pads and the new pads. These are the original pads and have 96,000 miles on them. Honestly they probably have 20,000 more miles left on them with the way I drive.
I took my rotors down to the local O'Reilly's and had them turn the rotors. There was no need for replacement and they only needed to be skim cut. They cleaned up nicely. Assemble in reverse order.
Now it's time to bleed the system. In my case I changed out all of the brake fluid since I have never done it on this vehicle. It was time the old stuff looked pretty dark. I used a vacuum bleeder which I picked up at the parts store for about $40. I used a quart of DOT3 brake fluid for the job. I don't have action shots from the bleeding process, just connect the vacuum pump up to the bleeder plug. Crack the bleeder and pump away until you get clear fluid. Tighten the bleeder and continue on to the next caliper. I used the vacuum pump to suck the old fluid out of the reservoir and refilled with new before I started the bleeding process.
Old brake fluid.
Now with the front wheels back on you can move to the rear. Jack up the rear of the truck and place your jack stands in a good secure spot. Block the front wheels, make sure you release the parking brake. It will be almost impossible to remove the rear drums with the parking brake set.
The rear drums some times stick and are hard to remove so there are two jacking bolt holes for using a bolt to help get them loose. Mine required a 10mm bolt. With the drums removed here is what you'll see.
Remove the spring from the slack adjuster mechanism. Remove the slack adjuster arm and the adjuster itself.
Now the fun part is removing the large W shaped spring, you can use a pair of pliers to pull it out of the hole. Then slide it inward and remove the shoes.
The rear shoe is the one with the parking brake mechanism on it. With the shoe loose turn it over to give yourself access to the end of the cable, pull it toward you and then press it down and pull out to disengage. It is easier if you disconnect the parking brake cable completely when doing this.
Now wash everything down and clean it all up. Have your drums turned down and reassemble in reverse order.
For adjusting I adjusted the brakes out until the drum would just go over the shoes. Reconnect the parking brake cable, bleed the brakes with the vacuum pump like on the front. Then once it was all together I went to a parking lot and let them self adjust. To do this simply go in reverse and apply the brakes, this will cause the brakes to chatter a bit and the self adjuster will ratchet up tension until the proper space is achieved. It's old school but it works.
I used Wagner Thermo-Quiet Ceramic shoes and pads and spent about $250 total, this includes the vacuum pump I bought. Hope this helps someone.
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