Tuesday, November 23, 2010

How to change front rotors and brake pads on 2000 Dodge Caravan?

Once you get the calipers off, the rotor should pull right off on that one I think. It's possible the caliper mounting bracket might prevent that, in which case that would have to be taken off too. If this is the first time they've ever been off, there may be some thin washer-like things on a couple of the studs that you can just break off and throw away. If you're putting brand new rotors on, use some brake cleaner and clean paper towels to wipe off the anti-rust coating that come on them before you put them on.



Here's the rest for doing the pads;



Remove brake fluid from the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir until the reservoir is approximately 1 / 2 full. Discard the removed fluid.



Raise and safely support the front of the vehicle. Remove the front wheels.



Remove or disconnect the following:



Front brake caliper guide pin bolts



Brake caliper by slowly sliding it up and off the adapter and brake rotor. Support the caliper out of the way with a strong piece of wire. Do not let the caliper hang by the brake hose or damage to the brake hose will result.



Compress the caliper piston into the bore using a C-clamp. Insert a suitable piece of wood between the C-clamp and caliper piston to protect the piston.



Outboard disc brake pad from the caliper by prying the brake pad retaining clip over the raised area on the caliper. Slide the brake pad down and off the caliper.



Inboard disc brake pad from the caliper by pulling the brake pad away from the caliper piston until the retaining clip on the pad is free from the caliper piston cavity



To install:



Be sure the caliper piston has been completely retracted into the piston bore of the caliper assembly. This is required when installing the brake caliper equipped with new brake pads.



If equipped, remove the protective paper from the noise suppression gaskets on the new disc brake pads.



Install or connect the following:



New inboard disc brake pad into the caliper piston by pressing the pad firmly into the cavity of the caliper piston. Be sure the new inboard brake pad is seated squarely against the face of the brake caliper piston.



Outboard disc brake pad by sliding it onto the caliper assembly



Brake caliper assembly over the brake rotor and onto the steering knuckle adapter



Caliper guide pin bolts and torque to: 35 ft. lbs. (47 Nm) on 2002-04 models or 26 ft. lbs. (35 Nm) on 2005 models



Apply the brake pedal several times until a firm pedal is obtained.



Check the fluid level in the master cylinder and add fluid as necessary. Road-test the vehicle.



And here's a picture of the caliper, with names of all the parts;

http://repairguide.autozone.com/znetrgs/How to change front rotors and brake pads on 2000 Dodge Caravan?If you don't know how to do it, let a professional do it. It is your brakes a major safety item. I just don't want to see anyone get hurt because they don't know what they are doing.How to change front rotors and brake pads on 2000 Dodge Caravan?Brakes are extremely easy to do yourself. It's just barely more than jacking the car up and taking off a few bolts. If you don't disconnect the hose from the caliper you won't even have to bleed the brakes, not that it's that hard either though.



But, asking how to do it online isn't really a great option, it's just a few too many steps to accurately spell out, you certainly don't want to miss any of the steps. Go pick up a haynes manual at any repair shop, it'll be plenty thorough enough to do it yourself. If you've never done it before it'll probably take two hours. Once you've done it once you should be able to do it in 45 minutes.