Toro MDX front disc brake change

Our first MDX just turned over 800 hrs. and I'm going over the 800 service interval .

Not to hard to check them . You can see how much pad is left by looking through the openings in the caliper .

  

If you have the anti chatter clip you can pull it out and look also . 

Caught ours just in time .

Anything less than 1/32 " of an inch of pad material needs replacing . 

First remove the cap on the brake reservoir .

The 2 wire clips just pull out . There are 2 bolts on backside that removes the caliper . The brake line can be pulled through the rubber grommet a little to make it easier to work on . 

I've seen the same type of brakes on small cars . 

The pads come as a kit to do one wheel . In the package includes new wire clips and instructions . The instructions mention to use a screw driver to pry on the old brake pad ( while its on the disc before removal) to push the piston back . 

There is no through opening to use a clamp the normal way . I had to improvise a bit and used one of the wheel nuts to push on the center of the piston so it doesn't bind sideways  . 

Watch the piston and feel how it goes back in . It should be easily pushed back not jumpy or excessive  force with the clamp . Push it till it just bottoms out . 

Pads only go one way with friction material facing the disc . The slots sit on the wire pins .

Assemble disc pads and pins in caliper . also de-glaze the disc and check to see if it's warped or excessive wear . The pads ALWAYS wears more on the piston side since it 's the pad that makes contact first . 

You can slide the anti chatter clip in if yours has it . 

You can now install the bolts and torque them to 35 - 40 ft. lbs. 

While your here you can clean up the bleeder screws threads and put some ant seize on them . 

That way if the brakes had to bled later on you might have a better chance to get them to break free with out snapping one off. 

 Picture above of De-glazed disc with some medium grit sand paper . Before you test drive ....push the brake pedal down a few times first to get the new pads out to the disc . 

   I'm a bit of a pack rat so I'll keep the 2 outside old pads and a couple of wire clips ( for just in case ) . Most likely will never use them but you never know in this business . I've seen parts missing that leaves you scratching your head at times .