Project Mu front brake pad installation

Not much different than the typical brake pad installation, but a couple little things that make a difference.

 

First, make sure you have all your tools lined up. I have laid out my floor jack, jack stands, 14 mm ratcheting wrench (open-ended is fine), tools for removing the wheels, pb blaster in case the bolt resists, brake cleaner, the new pads, brake lubricant. Please use jack stands so that I don't hear about how you had your chest crushed while working on your brakes. Gloves and safety glasses are a good idea. Brake cleaner in the eye stings, you know.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough01.jpg

 

Some instructions say to bleed out some brake fluid or open your brake fluid reservoir. I didn't find this necessary, but I put some towels around the reservoir just in case. The level of the reservoir did go up noticeably, but didn't spill.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough02.jpg

 

The elusive Legacy GT front center jack point. People still seem to have trouble finding it. It's right there, at the back of the engine undertray, where the crossmember is right in front of the transmission. Loosen all your lug nuts before raising the wheels.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough03.jpg

 

Once you've jacked up the front of the car with the floor jack and placed your jack stands so that they are supporting the car, take off the wheel on one side. Remember to support the wheel with your foot as you are taking off the bottom lugs so that no mayhem ensues when the wheel tilts.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough04.jpg

 

This is the bolt you want to remove. It's a 14 mm bolt. It should come off pretty easily, but if not, hit it with a little PB Blaster.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough05.jpg

 

Once that bolt is removed, it's a piece of cake to flip the whole caliper up. If not, you might loosen the upper bolt, but remember to tighten it later.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough06.jpg

 

Support the caliper so that it's out of your way. A shorty bungie cord wrapped around the strut works great.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough07.jpg

 

Remove the old brake pads, shims and all. It's pretty easy to do, make sure you get both the inboard and outboard pads. If one resists, push on the little metal latch that holds it in place. The outboard latch is on the top; the inboard latch is on the bottom.

 

With the pads remove, go ahead and take the shims off the pad. I had Hawk pads on before, so the inner shims were built-in. The new pads, Project Mu, did not come with inner shims, and were thick enough not to need them. If you are replacing OEM pads with OEM, then make sure to use both the outer and inner shims. Note that I am not talking about INBOARD and OUTBOARD; both inboard and outboard pads have shims.

 

Clean your shims well with brake cleaner. I also cleaned the brake body and the brake retention clips very thoroughly, though I did not remove them from the brake body.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough08.jpg

 

Lubricate both the outer and inner surfaces of the shims with your brake lubricant. A very thin layer suffices.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough09.jpg

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough10.jpg

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough11.jpg

 

Clip the cleaned and lubricated shim onto your new brake pad. The outboard shim has a "M" pattern on it from the outboard brake caliper.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough12.jpg

 

The outboard brake pad has an extra metal clip on it that the inboard pad does not.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough17.jpg

 

The inboard brake shim has a "OO" pattern on it from the pistons.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough13.jpg

 

For both the inboard and outboard pads, first insert the side without the retention clip. There is a tab that goes into a cutout.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough16.jpg

 

The pad retention clip should be gently engaged for the tab end then for the clip end, and the clip should insert into its slot and click into place. If the clip is bent outward, it may hang up. Bend it back into place and try again. Be patient - if you mangle your clips, you may be heading back to the parts store.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough18.jpg

 

Now that both the inboard and outboard pads are in place, things can get interesting.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough14.jpg

 

On the first side, I had no problem pushing the pistons in by hand. Don't worry about pushing them both in at once. Push the upper piston in and rotate the caliper partly back in place. The piston is now compressed against the shim and pad. Also, make sure to hold the inboard shim in place when you rotate the caliper down. If the piston isn't out of the way, it likes to mangle the shim.

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough15.jpg

 

So your caliper is halfway down. Now you compress the second piston. Again, I was able to do this easily by hand, though I noticed when I was heading over to the other side of the car that the brake fluid reservoir was at a higher level. Reinsert the 14 mm bolt and tighten it down. If you loosened the upper bolt, now would be a good time to tighten it back up.

 

Make sure you grab the shorty bungie, you're going to want to use it for the other side. Put your wheel back on. Repeat the process for the other side. The only complication I ran into was that the pistons would not compress by hand. The fluid had too much pressure after I compressed the pistons on the other side. This is where I got out the c-clamps and gently forced the second-side pistons in. This is also where I discovered that incompletely compressed pistons like to mangle the shims. Patience is valuable during the steps of reassembling the caliper.

 

Also, remember to grab that shorty bungie before putting the wheel back on, or you'll look like this:

 

http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad350/DukeTrout1/2007%20Legacy%20GT%20brake%20pad%20walkthrough/brakepadwalkthrough19.jpg

 

Yep, I left it wrapped around the strut and completely reassembled everything, dropped the car back on the ground, and torqued the lugs to spec before I remembered it.

 

If anyone spots something incorrect or missing, please comment. Please do so before I run off the road and wrap myself around a tree. I would take it as a kindness.

how do you like the pads?

 

specifically a noise & dust review?

Great initial bite! Very noticeable, even compared to the Hawk HPS that were on the car. No noise at all, so great there. Too early to tell about the dust, I'll give it a look in a week or two.

so compared to HPSs, better bite and less noise?

 

dust doesnt really concern me as much as noise.

I had a little squeaking yesterday, but it might have been from the rears (which are still Hawks). FBP was out of stock temporarily for the rears, so I went ahead with the fronts which needed replacement more.

 

So to sum up, definitely quieter. As for the initial bite, I will say that it's possible that the Project Mus are the same as the Hawks, as it's not fair to compare depleted brake pads to new ones, but I don't EVER remember my car stopping this well. So, subjectively, I'd definitely place the PMs a notch above the Hawks.

cool, i'll probably look at these then when i go for a change.

I had Project Mu HC+ pads back when I was still stock calipers.

It dust and noise like hell but great initial bite and heat registance at track.

 

Now, I have PMu BBK with Type NS pads for daily driving and HC+ for track event.

 

Hey Duke Trout, I hope you enjoy quality JDM product as I do!!

Thanks for the pictures!