Tools Needed for this job

[ChevyMalibu1998]

For the first time in my life at 33 years old I will be changing the brake pads, rotors, drums, and shoes on a 1998 Chevy Malibu my grandfather just gave me (99,854 miles on it driven locally only, literally). I already bought floor jacks, stands, and chocks. My question is, what tools will I need to order or go buy to complete this job? Thank you (sorry if wrong place to post this)

 

[Jim greengo]

Basic hand tools and maybe a couple you tube videos should cover it.

 

[Bigbird]

1998 malibu brakes youtube

 

[Theronswanson]

Socket set (metric) and a ratchet. C clamp to compress the pistons on the calipers. Pliers, vice grips screw driver and a hammer should take care of it. Make sure to take pictures so you put everything back the way it was and use brake lubricant. And plenty of brake clean to clean everything.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

To add to the above, any hand tools will needed will be metric sized. SAE is not used on most fasteners on that car. Brake drums can be a little confusing to someone who has never worked on them. You need a couple of "specialty tools" to make it easier. Google "brake drum tools". Main thing you need is the brake drum spring pliers. Makes it much easier than trying to use a screwdriver. You can get a kit for relatively low cost that includes the spring tool and tools to help with compressing the springs. In addition to that and basic hand tools, you will need a C-clamp to squeeze the pistons back into the calipers on the front. The whole process front and rear is fairly straightforward and relatively easy provided you have some mechanical aptitude. Watch several videos to get a feel for it, as sometimes there is bad or misleading info on one video compared to another.

And if all else fails having a Chilton's or Haynes manual for you car will help walk you through the process. Good luck.

 

[Copymutt]

Brake spring tool.
Caliper piston compressor
brake clean
assorted wrenches, hammers, pliers, breaker bar & chunk of pipe over same, impact driver would be helpful. Drums & rotors need to be miked, probably turned by machine shop, replaced if worn too far. Proper wrenches to bleed brakes. Brake fluid. Might need rebuild kit for drums. Consists of springs, clips, slave cylinders.
lug wrench
torque wrench
rags.
I’ve done many w/o most of the above, but its harder & takes an extended vocabulary.

 

[ChevyMalibu1998]

Brake spring tool.
Caliper piston compressor
brake clean
assorted wrenches, hammers, pliers, breaker bar & chunk of pipe over same, impact driver would be helpful. Drums & rotors need to be miked, probably turned by machine shop, replaced if worn too far. Proper wrenches to bleed brakes. Brake fluid. Might need rebuild kit for drums. Consists of springs, clips, slave cylinders.
lug wrench
torque wrench
rags.
I’ve done many w/o most of the above, but its harder & takes an extended vocabulary.

Thank you, I'm thinking of ordering a powerstop complete kit with all that you mentioned and just replacing everything.

https://www.carparts.com/details/Chevrolet/Malibu/Powerstop/Brake_Disc_And_Drum_Kit/1998/P15KOE15161DK.html?TID=gglpla&origin=pla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=20882398558&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNSsuecSvaEvRcCX0JOvcHOeCt4ss2WK4_JSr9-VQCjfYFwTS-sYqaBoCuHEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

would this be a good enough kit? or should I look for something else? Thank you again. I'm gonna buy the tools now

 

[ChevyMalibu1998]

To add to the above, any hand tools will needed will be metric sized. SAE is not used on most fasteners on that car. Brake drums can be a little confusing to someone who has never worked on them. You need a couple of "specialty tools" to make it easier. Google "brake drum tools". Main thing you need is the brake drum spring pliers. Makes it much easier than trying to use a screwdriver. You can get a kit for relatively low cost that includes the spring tool and tools to help with compressing the springs. In addition to that and basic hand tools, you will need a C-clamp to squeeze the pistons back into the calipers on the front. The whole process front and rear is fairly straightforward and relatively easy provided you have some mechanical aptitude. Watch several videos to get a feel for it, as sometimes there is bad or misleading info on one video compared to another.

And if all else fails having a Chilton's or Haynes manual for you car will help walk you through the process. Good luck.

Thank you for the awesome reply, i'm thinking of ordering this kit

https://www.carparts.com/details/Chevrolet/Malibu/Powerstop/Brake_Disc_And_Drum_Kit/1998/P15KOE15161DK.html?TID=gglpla&origin=pla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=20882398558&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNSsuecSvaEvRcCX0JOvcHOeCt4ss2WK4_JSr9-VQCjfYFwTS-sYqaBoCuHEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[ChevyMalibu1998]

1998 malibu brakes youtube

thank you for the reply

 

[ChevyMalibu1998]

Socket set (metric) and a ratchet. C clamp to compress the pistons on the calipers. Pliers, vice grips screw driver and a hammer should take care of it. Make sure to take pictures so you put everything back the way it was and use brake lubricant. And plenty of brake clean to clean everything.

thank you for the reply, any specific brake lub and clean? or it doesnt matter?

 

[ChevyMalibu1998]

Basic hand tools and maybe a couple you tube videos should cover it.

thank you for the reply

 

[crasher98]

You can do it!! My suggestions:

1. Watch as many videos on doing brakes on your car as you can find.

2. Make sure you have the tools that you'll need, based on the videos you've watched.

3. Get a Chilton's/Haynes manual or a factory service manual (FSM) - normally I'd recommend the FSM first, but actually the generic manuals have been more helpful to me in the past for brakes, plus usually they're cheaper.

4. Find a buddy to help - if he/she knows their way around a car and has some tools perfect, but even if your helper is green it's always nice to have a second pair of hands and/or a second opinion and/or moral support.

5. Take pictures with your phone as you take things apart so you have something to refer back to as you reassemble.

6. Only do one side at a time so you can run to the other side of the car and see how things are supposed to go back together. Very important for the drum brakes especially!

7. Speaking of which - start with the front brakes, those will be easier.

8. If you live in an area where they salt the roads, come back here and ask for advice about that -- an easy job or at least not too bad in the south can be a "please kill me now" job in the north.

9. Once you get to the rears, a drum brake set is worth it -- Harbor Freight has one, I'm sure they're on Amazon too.

 

[MovingAlong]

thank you for the reply, any specific brake lub and clean? or it doesnt matter?

It matters - a little... but don't over think it. You can pick up Super Lube at Walmart, manufacturer recommended for both hardware and the pins. If you go with a traditional brake grease on the hardware and back of pads, you'll also need something specifically approved for rubber to lubricate the pins. Traditional grease is hard on the rubber boots and seals...

For cleaner, non-chlorinated is what I use. Still want to be careful with the fumes, they are powerful and will deaden your sense of smell almost immediately. You typically will only smell brake cleaner once per job (in my experience) so use a fan, open the doors or keep it outside.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

I think this depends on if you want to do this one thing and you're done with tools. Or if you're going to start doing more repair work. You might want to buy nicer tools, maybe a set.

I dont know what tools from this set you'd otherwise be purchasing individually, but I think it's considered to be a nice starter set:

https://www.harborfreight.com/Master-Technicians-Tool-Set-428-Piece-58154.html?event_id=182730

Coupon expires Sunday to get it for $329. It was $300 last month on a different promotion. I wouldn't want to pay full price of $400 for it given how often it goes on sale.

In general I would say Harbor Freight get Quinn or Icon tools only. Quinn is their mid-level brand, Icon is higher level brand. And if you can wait, I would only buy their stuff on coupons. This weekend they have a 10% off anything coupon, or 20% off anything if you pay the $30 annual inside track club membership. And they do coupons all the time, in a few weeks for father's day they'll do more. It's usually one coupon per person per day so kind of a pain to use if you want to accumulate a bunch in a short period.

I also like Tekton at this same tier of tools. Basically you want to stick with Taiwan and not get anything from China or India.

For car speciality tools, look at Lisle tools on Amazon, they might make a variety of things you need for specific jobs.

If you want a step up from there, I'd get Proto wrenches / sockets off Zoro with a 20% off coupon, whenever those come around.

Knipex makes good pliers at a reasonable price. I like to buy from Amazon.de the German site for cheaper prices but you to wait a few weeks for shipping and you have to spend $200+ to make it worthwhile because they charge one lump sum $40 shipping to the US and then add on another $3 per pair of pliers from there. Can also look into Wera and Wiha screwdrivers from Amazon.de for discounts compared to US Amazon pricing.

Above that you're getting into Snap On range and based on the context of your post, I doubt you will want to spend 10x Harbor Freight prices to buy Snap On tools to repair your nearly 30-year old beater unless you already are a tool enthusiast and then you'd already know all of these answers

Just off the top of my head I might guess Quinn / Tekton as base level prices for hand tools then do 2x that for Harbor Freight's Icon line, or do 4x base price for Proto Made in US tools, or 10x base price for Snap On tools.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[MovingAlong]

You can do it!! My suggestions:

1. Watch as many videos on doing brakes on your car as you can find.

2. Make sure you have the tools that you'll need, based on the videos you've watched.

3. Get a Chilton's/Haynes manual or a factory service manual (FSM) - normally I'd recommend the FSM first, but actually the generic manuals have been more helpful to me in the past for brakes, plus usually they're cheaper.

4. Find a buddy to help - if he/she knows their way around a car and has some tools perfect, but even if your helper is green it's always nice to have a second pair of hands and/or a second opinion and/or moral support.

5. Take pictures with your phone as you take things apart so you have something to refer back to as you reassemble.

6. Only do one side at a time so you can run to the other side of the car and see how things are supposed to go back together. Very important for the drum brakes especially!

7. Speaking of which - start with the front brakes, those will be easier.

8. If you live in an area where they salt the roads, come back here and ask for advice about that -- an easy job or at least not too bad in the south can be a "please kill me now" job in the north.

9. Once you get to the rears, a drum brake set is worth it -- Harbor Freight has one, I'm sure they're on Amazon too.

#6 has saved me many, many, times...

Much hard earned wisdom in this list!

 

[Theronswanson]

thank you for the reply, any specific brake lub and clean? or it doesnt matter?

I just use whatever house brand brake cleaner from whatever store. I use this for lube. Expensive, but well worth it.

 

[bb29510]

pair of small vice grip, c clamp , lug wrench

 

[crasher98]

#6 has saved me many, many, times...

Much hard earned wisdom in this list!

lol, yes - very hard earned, sometimes more than once!

 

[RTM]

Add a dust mask for when you first open the drums up. It can be foul. If working on a driveway of someone who is **** retentive, put something down so you don’t stain THEIR driveway with the dust. A pair or more of latex or nitrile gloves so you don’t track the mess into THEIR house when you go to wash up. Some people like a wire brush to clean rust off the drum and hub, even if not in the rust belt.

Waterless hand cleaner to clean up before you go into the house, or into the car’s interior.

¢¢

 

[drmarkr]

OP, you have definitely got this handled.

But, since this IS the Garage Journal, the proper thing to do is get out the checkbook and go big!

 

[Hakeem]

You’d probably pay $500-600+ for that at a shop so even if you spend $300 on parts, you have $100-200 to spend on tools and still come out ahead

3/8” socket/ratchet set from tekton, harbor freight, Gearwrench, Home Depot, etc + harbor freight torque wrench will be enough to get you through lots of stuff. Add/upgrade from there as needed.

Lastly, don’t be intimidated by the prospect of doing your own vehicular maintenance. Turning a bolt isnt rocket science, if you can follow instructions you can do most if not all of your own scheduled maintenance.

 

[rust in the eye]

use a sitck or something similar to depress the brake pedal part way before beginning. This closes off the reservoir from the circuit so you won't be dripping fluid the whole time you're working.
**** out the old fluid from the reservoir before bleeding(all four corners) and fill with fresh fluid so you aren't pumping all the old **** into new parts.
I didn't view your parts list but if not buying calipers that include brackets clean all the sliding surfaces well and lightly lubricate them.
Anti-sieze on the hubs. Check/replace rubber hoses.
'98 Malibu, eh? See here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...m-n-body-front-wheel-bearing-hub-assy.526307/

Just looked your potential buy of parts. Drum brakes on that thing? Nice the hardware is included for them. You may want to consider wheel cylinders after almost 30 years too. Then you learn the joy of ancient brake lines.