How do I change front brake pads on a 2005 Tahoe

[alamantia]

I have the day off and wanted to replace the warped front rotors and install new pads on my 2005 Tahoe. I went to remove my caliper slider bolts with my 3/8" allen socket only to find out the slider bolts are a T55 torx. I replaced the 3/8" allen socket with a T55 torx bit and bent the bit trying to remove the slider bolts. They seem siezed in there pretty good. So then I removed the two 18mm bolts for the caliper bracket and took the entire bracket off to try and extract the pads that way. The pads have notches that ride on the caliper bracket which prevent me from extracting the pads. I tried to slide the caliper off the caliper bracket to get the pads out and it wont slide all the way out. I am starting to get frustrated. Any suggestions?

 

[swtz71]

if you can put the bracket back on do so. then try spraying pb blaster then hit the top with a hammer not to hard but don't go to light this will hopefully shock the bolt and allow it to loosen. as far as the torx bit what I do is put it on the bolt head and hit it with a hammer as well, make sure you hit it dead on center.
That usually works.
I hope this helps.

 

[ScottyBoy]

Get a t55 torx impact bit. It will not strip out or bend. Plus hit it with a hammer like
swtz71 suggested. The blow from the impact of the hammer will also help to unlock frozen threads and break free any rust or corrosion. It may or may not work, but it "can" help a lot of times.

 

[TnTahoe]

i had to use a breaker bar on mine

 

[alamantia]

Yeah... these torx are not coming out. If I remove the caliper bracket from the spindle again and try to slide the caliper off the caliper bracket to extract the pads the caliper starts to slide out but gets hung up right before It clears the slider pins. Perhaps it is binding up on the inner pad. If I whack the pad with a hammer to free it up from binding, will there be enough room to seperate the caliper from the caliper bracket while still leaving the slides in tact? Has anyone tried this?

 

[TnTahoe]

i dont think its possible to remove the pads without raising the top, i know this may sound dumb but are you turning the right way

 

[alamantia]

Righty tighty, lefty loosy... There shouldnt be any reason slider pins are reverse threaded that I can see.

 

[swtz71]

i dont think its possible to remove the pads without raising the top, i know this may sound dumb but are you turning the right way

I agree it's not possible to do that. You would never get the pad out from the caliper side nor would one go in.
I hope as well you are not confusing your position and trying to tighten instead of loosening .

Can you put the setup completely back together? If so I would have a garage take care of it just so you don't get stuck without a truck.

 

[alamantia]

I think you are right, I cant get the pads out the side either no matter how much I wack at it.

I did some searching on line and found this post from another forum where it says you can in the last two posts. Perhaps this guy had a different style caliper set up.

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/archive/index.php/t-132380.html

 

[TnTahoe]

if u are on the left side then you should be turning clockwise to loosen, if you have a breaker bar put it on there so that you can step on it with your foot, it may even help to bounce on it if you can

 

[alamantia]

I drove it up to my dads shop and used an impact as suggested and they came out like butter. I bought 4 new slider pins from carquest for $18 that have the hex, no more torx, on a side note, you can get the pads out without removing the slider pins. You just have to remove the caliper bracket and pull the caliper out. The reason why I couldnt pull the caliper out was because the inner pad on the drivers side was siezed preventing me from sliding the caliper out. The passenger side came out easy and I was able to extract the pads without removing the slider bolts.

Thanks fo all your help and suggestions.

 

[swtz71]

I drove it up to my dads shop and used an impact as suggested and they came out like butter. I bought 4 new slider pins from carquest for $18 that have the hex, no more torx, on a side note, you can get the pads out without removing the slider pins. You just have to remove the caliper bracket and pull the caliper out. The reason why I couldnt pull the caliper out was because the inner pad on the drivers side was siezed preventing me from sliding the caliper out. The passenger side came out easy and I was able to extract the pads without removing the slider bolts.

Thanks fo all your help and suggestions.

I'm glad it all worked out for you..

 

[robertscottcostello]

I know this is an old thread, but I want to agree that it was easiest to remove the caliper bracket first, then use an impact wrench on the T55 Torx. The caliper bolts were also kind of tough to get off, but using a 1/2" socket, a breaker bar, and a swift kick down with my foot, they broke free.

 

[stuckatcuse]

Tried at lunch today to free my caliper bolts. The 18mm bracket bolts came out no problem with my impact wrench. The t55 bolts are no go. Going to put the bracket back on and wack it with a 3 lb hammer. I'll also try some heat. They are soaking in pb now. Any other advice? I should add that my (700 ft lb allegedly ) impact didnt budge them. Ugh.

 

[tx tahoe z71]

Why are you messing with the Torx bolts? I've replaced my brake pads and rotors on my 2003 4wd and my mom's 2002 2wd Tahoe and never had to deal with a Torx bolt. You sure you can't just take the caliper and mounting bracket off as one piece (two 18mm bolts, IIRC)?

Re-read OP's first post. IIRC, the caliper will slide off of the pins, there isn't anything holding them together but friction on the pins. I could be wrong, but when I greased my caliper pins, I believe I just pulled them apart, with some effort and PB Blaster though, they hadn't been greased in years and years.

 

[stuckatcuse]

You're right. I tried to take them out because that's what the directions told me to do! Anyway I got them out using some heat. All is well. Now if I could just do something about the spongy brakes.