You know how important it is to replace worn out brake pads on your Ram 1500 pickup truck, but may not feel confident doing a good job yourself, instead possibly ending up with a serious brake system problem. With some simple strategies and a few common tools, though, you can keep yourself from tearing the brake hose, damaging some other brake component and, most importantly, breathing dangerous lining dust.
Instructions
Removing the Brake Pads
- 1
Park your Ram pickup on a level surface.
2Remove about half of the brake fluid from the master cylinder using a hand siphon pump.
3Shift the transmission to Neutral.
4Unfasten the front wheel lug nuts using a lug wrench but do not remove them yet.
5Lift the front of the vehicle using a floor jack and support it on jack stands.
6Chock the rear wheels.
7Finish removing the front wheels.
8Work on one brake assembly at a time and detach the brake caliper from its mounting bracket by unfastening the two mounting pins using a 3/8-inch hex wrench or socket and ratchet.
9Pull the caliper upward and off the bracket and brake rotor.
10Lift one end of the outboard pad retaining spring with a screwdriver, just enough to rotate the pad to remove it from the caliper.
11Seat the piston back into its caliper bore using a large C-clamp. Let the screw on the C-clamp push against the inboard pad to seat the piston. Then remove the clamp.
12Pry the inboard pad off the caliper piston using the screwdriver. Be careful not to damage the piston and seal. Then remove the inboard pad from the caliper.
13Tie the brake caliper to the coil spring or some other suitable suspension component with wire to prevent the caliper weight from damaging the brake hose attached to the caliper.
Installing the Brake Pads
- 14
Spray the brake assemblies with brake parts cleaner and wipe the surface with a clean, lint-free cloth to get rid of brake dust. Clean the caliper and steering knuckle sliding surfaces with a wire brush if necessary. James E. Duffy warns against blowing brake dust off the brake assembly. The dust may end up in your lungs. (See References 2)
15Clean the caliper mounting pins of rust or corrosion with a piece of crocus cloth or replace the pins if necessary.
16Set the new inboard pad in place and push the pad spring clip into the caliper piston until the pad is flush with the piston.
17Install the outboard pad and be sure the retaining spring locks on the caliper-mounting surface.
18Position the caliper on its mounting bracket and rotor.
19Lubricate the sleeves of the caliper mounting pins with GE 661 silicone grease or equivalent and start the pins by hand to avoid stripping the threads.
20Tighten the caliper pins with the 3/8-inch hex wrench or socket.
21Replace the brake pads on the opposite brake assembly following Steps 8 from the first section through Step 7 of this section.
22Mount the wheels on the hub assemblies and start the wheel lug nuts by hand. Then fasten the lug nuts with the lug wrench.
23Lower the vehicle and finish tightening the lug nuts.
24Pump the brake pedal several times to help the new pads seat on the brake rotor.
25Check the master cylinder and add new brake fluid if necessary.
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