How to change front brake pads on 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

[alltex]

My 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GT is in need of brake pads. Since i'm on a tight budget I'm going to do it myself. I know how to take the wheel off & the callipers, but from there I need more guidance as to how to finish it off.

Do I need to clamp off the oil hose?

What do I need to clamp off and do I test it right there?

All help is appreciated.

Thanks

Alltex

[f4istunter]

Oil hose???? lol


pull the tire off, turn the steering wheel so the tire is cranked to the left(if your doing the left)

Think the bolts are 15MM on the calipier, pull them out and rest the calipier on somthing.........dont let it just hang

the brake pads are located on the calipier bracket(still attached to the car)

they just slot into channels on the bracket on each side

as u pull off the one side put the new one in and do the same for the other side

look at how the old ones slot in and remember when u put the new ones in... this is super easy

Rememver to pump the brake pedal once the tires are back on before you drive off

[grandprixgtx00]

Originally Posted by f4istunter

Think the bolts are 15MM on the calipier, pull them out and rest the calipier on somthing

the 2 bolts that hold the caliper on are actually torx bits, not sure what size though. T16 i wanna say?

also, if your changing the pads...i recommend either bringing the rotors to a machine shop to have them resurfaced, or buying new ones.

[tblake]

Originally Posted by grandprixgtx00

the 2 bolts that hold the caliper on are actually torx bits, not sure what size though. T16 i wanna say?

also, if your changing the pads...i recommend either bringing the rotors to a machine shop to have them resurfaced, or buying new ones.

Thats odd, my caliper and bridge bolts for the front are both 15mm. For the rears, they are 14 and 16MM for the bridge and bracket. I'm not sure which is which.

[grandprixgtx00]

hmm...that is weird. i know for sure my SE was. I'd have to take a second look at my GT or GTX to see if maybe they are different? idk...maybe thats something they changed after 97?

[alltex]

Thanks to everyone for your help! I changed the front brake pads without a problem, like you said- it was easy.

Well after that I decided to check the back break pads and decided to go ahead & change them also.

Now... I know you might be saying... Why didnt I buy all 4 in the first place? Well when I originally went to the auto parts, the guy recommended that I shouldn't even buy those because most of the time the front pads are the ones that do all the squeaking & in need of replacement. So when I finished putting on the front pads, I decided to check out the back brake pads to see how they were... Well to my surprise, they were already pretty worn out too. So I went to auto parts again and purchased the back brake pads.

LOL- The problem is: The back break pads are a little different. Can you tell me how to change those also.

Thanks a million!