And thanks for adding to the knowledge base, Chief. I'm linking your post from our official DIY Forum for greater visibility.

 

Nice work, thanks for making it clear it was an easy job.

I could not find OEM brake pads on some online stores, what pads and rotors did you go with?

Also, do these cars have a brake pad wear sensor indicating that the pads are due to be replaced soon? If not, how can you tell?

 

I didn't go with the OEM parts. I went with the Duralast rotors and pads from Autozone. The rotors were $35 each and the Gold series pads were $35. They currently have a coupon on their website for $20 off when you buy 2 rotors and pads (select the rotors and on that page is the link to info on $20 off brake parts). So, for around $110 or so (with tax) I got the rotors, pads and hardware kit. They may not last as long as more expensive parts, but for my use, they are just fine and although I just installed them recently, I have been impressed with them so far. Not an endorsement for Duralast or Autozone, just saying I thought it was a good deal.

As far as the wear indicator, there is a clip on the inboard (inside) pad that I believe is a wear indicator that makes noise when the pad gets to a certain thickness (or thinness if you will). Best way to tell is just take a look next time your wheels are off (maybe your next tire rotation). Maybe somebody else can chime in with better info.

Rob

 

Maybe add the torque specs to it? I did mine a few weeks ago. Those are tough to track down a lot of the time. 59 lbs front, maybe 39 rear for support bolts? 8lbs for bleeding nipple..any others I suppose you used. My numbers need to be verified. But good write up.

 

I think this is one of the better DIY forester brake threads out there. Finally someone who actually lubes up the slide pins (hopefully you used silicone based lube and not petroleum based that reacts with the boots) and discusses the PITA bracket bolts.

In my experience, however, the breaker bar method is more likely to snap those bolts than heat and a light impact setting.

 

Torque Specs according to 2010 FSM:

Front
Fill Nipple - 5.9 ft-lb
Caliper - 19.9 ft-lb
Caliper Support - 59 ft-lb

Rear
Fill Nipple - 5.9 ft-lb
Caliper - 19.9 ft-lb
Caliper Support - 48.7 ft-lb

Wheel
Lug Nuts - 73.8 ft-lb

 

And for those of us of the metric persuasion:

Fill Nipple - 8 Nm
Caliper - 27 Nm
Caliper Support - 80 Nm
Lug Nuts - 100 Nm

 

I have replaced brakes on various vehicles but havn't tried the Subaru Forester yet . Never had any major problem but ........ it made me nervous when the OP mentioned the possibility of breaking the Caliper Support Bracket Bolts .
Has anyone had this happen to them ?

 

noisy new brakes

I replaced front and rear pads, with new front rotors a few months ago. Bought non OEM rotors, better quality, and yellow pads. I cleaned everything, lubed everything and stops well. But, they vibrate and chatter when using brakes in town. I didn't change the hardware and am going to soon. That should stop the noise.

 

nice. I bought Stop-tech cryo treated rotors and ceramic pads all around at about 70k. I also put on new steel brake lines (red coated) for a little bling and performance. Thing I liked about the Stoptech rotors is the black panted hub.

My brakes are more responsive...not touch them and stop on a dime fast, but a vast improvement over my old fading setup.

What parts did you buy?

 

I replaced pads and rotors on all four wheels on my 2011 today. It was my first time ever doing brakes, and it went pretty smoothly after reading this thread and a few others. I was a little afraid of breaking the caliper support bracket bolts on the fronts after hearing about them breaking on a lot of other people, but all of them came loose in one piece without to much trouble. Since I had both ingredients on-hand (though my wife no longer has any nail polish remover :icon_wink: ), I decided to try the homemade penetrating oil of half acetone/half ATF that the internet rumor mill claims is way better than PB blaster and other off-the-shelfs. I liberally soaked all of the bracket bolts on all wheels before starting and started with the rear wheels to give the stubborn front ones more time to soak. When I had to get up for something, I'd occasionally spray them again...probably out of paranoia. Anyways, it seems to have worked well, because a 17mm socket, an 18" 3/8 drive breaker bar, and moderate steady pressure broke each one loose intact. Like the pictures above, the nastiest, most corroded part of each bolt was the part near the head that passes through the smooth holes in the bracket. I cleaned them up and put a little anti-seize on just that part of each bolt. Since the anti-seize wasn't on the threads that were being used, I torqued them back to their published torque values.

Anyways, for a little more than half of what the shop wanted to just do my rear brakes, I did all four wheels on my Forester and the fronts on my wife's civic:bananapowerslide:

 

Nice write-up! Thanks for posting. Good to have some pictures of what I'll be getting into when my new Forester arrives.
I have a few questions, though... I'd definitely consider myself a DIY novice when it comes to car repairs, but I have maintained brakes on at least 3 different cars (all smallish Toyotas) for the past 6+ years. So I'm not sure if I was taught wrong, of if I'm spending unnecessary time where it isn't important, but there were a few things I noticed in the writeup and pictures.

First, it seems to me like the importance of anti-seize has been under-emphasized in this thread. The OP mentions it once, and then nobody until KennyPowers in the last post says anything about it, despite specific mentions of seized bolts. In my (very limited) experience, that makes all the difference with regular brake maintenance. I lightly goop up just about every bolt I remove from a car before re-inserting it, and I've always found it easy to remove again later. Especially caliper and support bolts, and it seems like a good coating early in the life of the car would basically eliminate problems with that break-prone support bolt. Kenny alludes to differing torque readings with lubed threads, and I'm aware of that phenomenon, but never had a problem with anything loosening, over the few hundred thousand miles I've been watching cars.

Second, in the picture of the compressed pistons it looks to me like the rubber boots around the pistons are bulged out a bit. How did you prevent this from getting pinched between the piston and the pad upon re-installation? Despite my best attempts I've had this happen a couple of times, and fortunately noticed and replaced the boot before there was any obvious damage to the piston. I would say flattening out bulges in that caliper boot can be one of the more difficult parts of replacing brake pads. Any tips or tricks?

Third, my personal preference is to dissemble, clean, and lube my brakes at least once a year, whether or not anything needs to be replaced. I don't remove/replace the dust covers on the slider pins unless they feel sticky or rough, but I remove the pads and get a good look at everything, spray/brush out any accumulated brake dust, and lube all the contact points with brake grease. I usually do this when switching off snow tires, since the car is jacked up with wheels off anyway. This prevents anything from getting seized up or rusting without my knowledge. An ounce of prevention, you know.

Thanks in advance for any replies to satisfy my curiosity, and I hope something here might be helpful,
Andy

 

Thanks for the nice write up with nice pictures! I have a 2003 WRX on which I have been doing all brake jobs, but our 2012 Forester is now due for the front brakes, and thanks to your thread I now know it is pretty much the same as on my WRX.

And I did not knew about the bolts having a tendency to break, so that is very nice to know, especially with you theory on the source of the problem, I think it makes perfect sense and I will make sure to clean up and anti-seize this area of the bolts.

Fred

 

Thank you!

This was the second brake job I've done (the first on my 1996 Ford Explorer). This was great to get an idea of what I had to look out for.

I just got my forester for a decent price but higher mileage, and decided to do the brakes myself. Bought slotted rotors/ceramic pads from 1a auto for $150 (free shipping), although the caliper bolts busted on both the front and back on the driver's side. I was close to Autozone, so other than the extra cost, it wasn't much of an inconvenience. Took me a little longer than I'd like to admit, but for my second brake job and changing all 4 in one go, it went pretty well. The front rotors were a bit of a pain to get off, but placing a crowbar in the right spot (didn't have 8mm bolts) did the job.

Does anyone recommend a brake fluid flush or can anyone direct me to more information on frequency/necessity?

 

Nice write up! Any maintenance possible on the calipers themselves (to remove corrosion and prolong their working livetimes) while things are apart?

 

a few things to consider.

Clean new brake rotors with dawn in the sink.. brake cleaner doesn't do that great a job.
Did the pads move freely? Many aftermarket pads need ground down slightly.

Be careful with closed end lugnuts they will bottom out and may become damaged.
if you put them on and tight without a wheel.

I prefer sil-glyde for the caliper slides and pastelub for the pad ears and other pad contact points.

 

Sadly, it appears the photos are no longer available from the original post. Does anyone have updated photo links, or perhaps a PDF of the original post with pics?

 

The member who posted the pictures has been here within the last month, so he's still with us. I'll try sending him a note and asking if he can update them. Too good a resource for us to lose.