Good Morning Everyone on the Dodge-Dart.org!
I have found (as far as I looked) that no one has done a front brake rotor and pad how-to here yet! Well, I did mine last night using the Brakemotive Rotors and pads from eBay.
Through a little research, I actually found that Brakemotive uses the Powerstop brand pads with their kits... Which as most of you know are a great brake company!
So, without further ado... Let's get started!
What you will need:
- (1) Front brake rotor and pad kit (For each side, driver, and passenger)
- 14MM & 19MM 6-point shallow socket
- E20 External Torx socket
- Torque wrench with capabilities of both 32Ft-lbs & 130Ft-lbs
- Car jack
- 3/16 Allan key (Hex key)
- C-clamp
- Hammer (may need, may not)
- Breaker bar
Alright, so I'm going to do a step by step version here and I will add notes as I go so that people understand everything in each picture!
Here is a quick "Before" picture:
![]()
1. First, you want to "break" the lugs using the 19MM socket and the breaker bar... by that, I mean loosening the lug bolts just enough so you are not shaking the car once it is up on the jack/ jack stand...
2. Place the jack at the factory designated jacking point and lift her up till the wheel you are going to work on is off the ground about 3-5".
(There are technically 2 different jacking points on a Dodge Dart... One being the pinch weld behind the rocker panel and the other being the point where they lift at the dealer using the 4-point lifts. I use the latter of the two as I do not have a pinch weld jack.)
3. Remove the lugs and then the wheel...
Should look like this when steps 1-3 are complete:
![]()
Now, as I do not have jack stands that are small enough for this car I DO NOT recommend leaving the car sitting on the jack for this entire procedure... It is dangerous and if the jack fails the car will fall and potentially hurt or kill you!
Next, you are going to find the caliper guide pin bolts...
The guide pin bolts are 14MM and look like this:
![]()
(Please excuse the extreme close-up... It's hard to take a picture in reverse back there!)
There are two of these guide pin bolts, One on top and one on the bottom of the caliper...
4. Using your 14MM socket, loosen and remove both the top and bottom guide pin bolts. (Make sure to use a ratcheting wrench as you do NOT want to break these bolts! REMEMBER lefty, loosey... righty, tighty LOL)
5. After you have removed the guide pin bolts you can pull the caliper off and set it down. (Use a small bucket so you don't put stress on the brake line and break it!)
There is also a gasket on the break line that you will need to pull off the strut in order to move the caliper away from the rotor...
Gasket attached:
![]()
Gasket Removed:
![]()
After steps 4 & 5 you should be looking at something like this:
![]()
Make sure that when you remove the caliper, you DO NOT let it hang or twist the brake line... Have a bucket or box or something to set the caliper on so that there is NO tension or anything on the brake line to the caliper!!!
You can now pull the brake pads out. This should be very easy and require little effort. Just pull them away from the rotor...
Now you need to find the caliper bracket bolts... These are the E20 External Torx bolts...
Caliper Bracket Bolts:
![]()
These bolts are ON THERE TIGHT!!!! You will need the breaker bar to remove these as you don't want to break your ratchet... Just make sure to check which way to turn the bolts to loosen them with the ratchet before using the breaker bar!
6. Loosen the bottom caliper bracket bolt. (You will not need to remove it completely)
7. Loosen and remove the top caliper bracket bolt and the bracket should lean down and come to rest.
You should be looking like this now!
![]()
Please see my next post for the remainder of the brake replacement...
I have found (as far as I looked) that no one has done a front brake rotor and pad how-to here yet! Well, I did mine last night using the Brakemotive Rotors and pads from eBay.
Through a little research, I actually found that Brakemotive uses the Powerstop brand pads with their kits... Which as most of you know are a great brake company!
So, without further ado... Let's get started!
What you will need:
- (1) Front brake rotor and pad kit (For each side, driver, and passenger)
- 14MM & 19MM 6-point shallow socket
- E20 External Torx socket
- Torque wrench with capabilities of both 32Ft-lbs & 130Ft-lbs
- Car jack
- 3/16 Allan key (Hex key)
- C-clamp
- Hammer (may need, may not)
- Breaker bar
Alright, so I'm going to do a step by step version here and I will add notes as I go so that people understand everything in each picture!
Here is a quick "Before" picture:
1. First, you want to "break" the lugs using the 19MM socket and the breaker bar... by that, I mean loosening the lug bolts just enough so you are not shaking the car once it is up on the jack/ jack stand...
2. Place the jack at the factory designated jacking point and lift her up till the wheel you are going to work on is off the ground about 3-5".
(There are technically 2 different jacking points on a Dodge Dart... One being the pinch weld behind the rocker panel and the other being the point where they lift at the dealer using the 4-point lifts. I use the latter of the two as I do not have a pinch weld jack.)
3. Remove the lugs and then the wheel...
Should look like this when steps 1-3 are complete:
Now, as I do not have jack stands that are small enough for this car I DO NOT recommend leaving the car sitting on the jack for this entire procedure... It is dangerous and if the jack fails the car will fall and potentially hurt or kill you!
Next, you are going to find the caliper guide pin bolts...
The guide pin bolts are 14MM and look like this:
(Please excuse the extreme close-up... It's hard to take a picture in reverse back there!)
There are two of these guide pin bolts, One on top and one on the bottom of the caliper...
4. Using your 14MM socket, loosen and remove both the top and bottom guide pin bolts. (Make sure to use a ratcheting wrench as you do NOT want to break these bolts! REMEMBER lefty, loosey... righty, tighty LOL)
5. After you have removed the guide pin bolts you can pull the caliper off and set it down. (Use a small bucket so you don't put stress on the brake line and break it!)
There is also a gasket on the break line that you will need to pull off the strut in order to move the caliper away from the rotor...
Gasket attached:
Gasket Removed:
After steps 4 & 5 you should be looking at something like this:
Make sure that when you remove the caliper, you DO NOT let it hang or twist the brake line... Have a bucket or box or something to set the caliper on so that there is NO tension or anything on the brake line to the caliper!!!
You can now pull the brake pads out. This should be very easy and require little effort. Just pull them away from the rotor...
Now you need to find the caliper bracket bolts... These are the E20 External Torx bolts...
Caliper Bracket Bolts:
These bolts are ON THERE TIGHT!!!! You will need the breaker bar to remove these as you don't want to break your ratchet... Just make sure to check which way to turn the bolts to loosen them with the ratchet before using the breaker bar!
6. Loosen the bottom caliper bracket bolt. (You will not need to remove it completely)
7. Loosen and remove the top caliper bracket bolt and the bracket should lean down and come to rest.
You should be looking like this now!
Please see my next post for the remainder of the brake replacement...
