When the brakes on the car started squealing, I knew it was time to change the brake pads. It wasn’t surprising since it recently hit 75,000 miles. Just to be thorough Jenny called Midas to get an estimate and it was over $300, without machining the rotors. There are other brake places that advertise a complete set of pads replaced for $99, but it would still have been a hassle for me to find time to take it and it wouldn’t be any easier for Jenny during the day with both girls. So a quick trip the auto parts store and I had the replacement pads to do it myself. If you’ve never replaced disc brake pads, it’s probably easier than you’d think. Basically, you remove the tire, remove two bolts to remove the caliper, slip out the old brake pads, compress the caliper with a C-clamp (I leave the inside brake pad on to do this) and then remove the C-clamp, slip in the new pads, and reassemble. It took me a little over an hour to do it and it was pretty uneventful. The only problem I ran into was that the bolts attaching the calipers were metric and the only metric sockets I have are 3/8 inch drive. And since my 3/8 inch ratchet is only 8 inches long it didn’t provide enough leverage. Luckily my dad taught me that you shouldn’t have to pull that hard – you just get a longer pipe. By ‘pipe’ I’m referring to a ‘cheater bar’. In case you didn’t know, this not recommended. I especially like the following regulations from NASA:
“Use the approved tool for the job. Makeshift arrangements such as the use of a screwdriver as a chisel, a pair of pliers as a wrench, a wrench as a hammer, or overloading a wrench by using a pipe extension (cheater bar) on the handle are not to be employed.� (Source)
Good thing my dad doesn’t work for NASA because those are pretty much all standard operating procedures for farmers. I actually didn’t have a pipe, so I improvised a little further. I used the box end of a 7/8 inch combination wrench. Jenny was debating whether the ratchet or the wrench would break first. I wasn’t worried since they were both Craftsman and guaranteed for life. Neither broke and we made out just fine. The brake pads cost me a total of $66 so that means I get to put the $234 I saved towards my next gadget wish-list item. Oh, and a set of ½ inch drive metric sockets is on my Christmas list too.
Oh J.R.
You make all of us so proud that you can remember your roots and stubbornly do things with improvised equipment that you find just laying around in the corner of the shed.
I’m sure Mike and I will both be pleased to tell folks about our Texas grandchildren as they grow up, who alternate between the three outcomes of ingenuity.
1. Success with things that weren’t made for the task.
2. In retrospect having to hear their parents yell at them and ask, “What the hell were you thinking?” (you can edit that if you need to)
3. Giving back the correct response to #2, “Well, It should have worked!”
By the way, the reason they offset the end of a box end wrench is not to keep the user from skinning their knuckles, it is to enable you to get two different angles on the ratchet wrench when you use it for a cheater bar.
Best of luck and hope your day is as good as mine.
Grandpa Andrews
I took on the same job myself a couple years ago. I was surprises at how easy it really was.
Good ol’ cheater bar. That thing came to my aid a number of times on the farm.
Hey little brother,
From the sounds of it you aren’t really saving money, more like redirecting your spending.
It sure is nice to have a talented, resourceful husband! Thanks to all his good skills we don’t pay for car washes, oil changes, break pad replacements, plumbing repairs, electrical work, sod laying, laminate floor installation, ceramic tiling, fencing (you’re going to replace the fence, right?), painting (and you’re still going to paint the bedroom, right?), and the list goes on and on!! Yeah for my wonderful do-it-yourselfer! I love you!
UH-OH
That is starting to look like a list!
Grandpa Andrews