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Auto Repair & Maintenance : How to Change Disc Brake Pads

The disc brake pads on a car can be changed with the help of a ratchet and socket that will fit onto the bolts holding the calipers in place ...

How to change the rear disc brake pads on a 1996 Subaru Legacy

They're pretty much all the same, just the pads are held in differently. Hope this helps, probably took me a half hour to do the whole thing ...

Brake Maintenance

I know that Throttle is the Universal Solution when you're out on a dirt bike or racing motocross, but every now and then a tree jumps into the trail you're riding... or you realize the crowd you're headed straight for isn't cheering, they're screaming. At those times, it's nice to know your dirt bike's brakes are going to work. So let's take a quick look at the kinds of brakes you'll find on a dirt bike, and what you can do to keep them working.

If you have an older bike, chances are it has drum brakes. On the outside you'll have a covered hub at the center of the wheel with a short arm that's usually connected to a rod for the rear brake, or a cable for the front. Your dirt bike might have drum brakes on both wheels, or just one. The drum is fixed to the wheel and on the inside there are two brake pads. When you activate the brake, the arm is pulled, which moves a cam on the inside, which presses the brake pads against the inside curve of the drum. When you release the brake, a set of springs in the drum, and a spring on the brake mechanism, will pull everything back to the open position.

Disc brakes have a disc/disk (go figure!) that is fixed to the wheel. The disc is also called a rotor. At one point on the disk, you'll see a mechanism straddling the edge of the disc. That mechanism has two brake pads, one on each side of the disc. When you activate the brake, those two pads “pinch” the disc between them. Instead of using a mechanical linkage or cable, disc brakes use hydraulic pressure. Your dirt bike's brake lever presses against the hydraulic fluid in the master cylinder. That pressure is transferred to pistons that press the pads against the disc. Thanks to the science of hydraulics, a little bit of pressure on the lever results in a LOT of pressure at the piston.

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