Breaking the Brakes on the Subaru.

After 10 hours of YouTube videos, I finally felt I had enough understanding to attempt changing out the brake shoes on the Subie without outside help.   They had been squeaking for a few weeks now and I was very happy to discover it was not something worse.    So...Let us begin. 

Remove/lift caliper

You may be "surprised" to discover how easy it actually is.( I know I was!)    I have heard that even an idiot can do them...and being one of those myself,  I guess I can now believe it.

14 mm works nicely

Pry off old shoes and hardware

We ordered the shoes on Amazon.com.  Along with a brake tool and a small tube of silicone grease.  

Hmm,  A little rusty.

The old shoes practically fell apart in my hands.   As you might be able to see,  there was not much left on one of the sides.  

Old shoes.   Note:  Uneven wear.

The passenger side job went so easy,  I decided to do the drivers side next.   Mostly because I heard that they should be done in pairs and the shoes I purchased happened to have them included.  

Practically falling apart.  Lets get the new ones!

It simply would not be a blog post if things went completely perfect.   That is right....  after all of those YouTube videos  walking me though the process....I hit a snag.

Shiny and new!

Replace hardware

Replace shoes

The slider guides on the drivers side were ( and still ARE!)  completely totally frozen in place.   Just to clarify:  they SHOULD slide back and forth whenever you step on the brakes; allowing your shoes to press against the rotor evenly.   This one does not.  Instead, it presses against the inside shoe and grinds it to dust. 

Fold and tighten caliper..DONE!  Easy!

I debated whether I should grab my biggest hammer and, with my best and loudest Hulk voice, "BASH IT!"

 but cooler heads prevailed and I was able to finally assemble it back together.  At least I have brakes,  Although I had to reuse the outside old one because it was the only one that fit. 

So looks like I will be limping along until I replace the caliper holding bracket  with new sliding rods.  I'll probably have to replace the rotors on the passenger side as well.  Luckily,  they are not too expensive.   ( under $30.) But there is always the risk that I could encounter another frozen bolt somewhere.

I was so proud that I completed the passenger side too.   Bummer that the driver side had to throw a wrench into the job.  ( pun intended)

Tomorrow is the last day I have to train and qualify for the Tennessee Pearson project.   It is proving to be a challenge and I'm not sure if I will be able to qualify for this one.   My goal is to at least make it long enough to earn enough money to replace that caliper bracket.  ( $30!)  Luckily there is free shipping on Amazon Prime.

I guess it is possible that I could actually qualify despite my reservations, but even if I did,  the project is only meant to last a week or so.  Not to mention I may not feel much like scoring after a full 8 hours at Collegeboard.   We shall see how things go