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Brakes Pads Removal / Refitting

Tools Needed: 
Hammer & drift (for removing retaining pins on calipers)
A pair of grips
12mm socket & ratchet
1/2 Inch drive Breaker bar & 21mm socket
Flat Blade Screwdriver
Car jack / axle stands / workshop vehicle ramp
An Assistant should be nearby
A brake bleeding bottle
New Brake Fluid Dot 3

Start off by loosening the 21mm Wheel Nuts (unless other size is in use) on the rear of the car

Lift the bonnet and remove the brake fluid reservoir cap, clean it with brake cleaner. keep it safe

 Raise with the jack or vehicle lift and remove road wheels

Rear Pads
Remove the clip that is connected to the upper and lower brake pad retaining pins, and keep it safe.



Using the drift & hammer, tap out the retaining pins from the inside, you can use the grips to pull the pins out, which may cause the retaining clip to "ping" out. Keep these safe as well.

 

You can use the screwdriver to prise out the inner brake pad by using the pin hole, and levering against the caliper. The same method can be used to remove the outer brake pad. Be carefull as the pad might give suddenly, and fly out, so be reasonable with the force used.

Connect the brake bleeding tube to the bleed nipple, and loosen it using a spanner (10mm but may vary)


Use some rag to cover the grips jaws, place the top jaw on the piston and the bottom jaw on the outer of the caliper housing - I'd advise using a piece of cardboard between the grip and the caliper to prevent damage. Keep an eye on the brake fluid, it should be draining into the bleed bottle and not travelling back up the system.
Compress each piston starting at the one furthest away from the bleed nipple, then the piston on the opposite side, the third should be the one above the 1st piston, and last the one closest to the bleed nipple.

Once the piston(s) are all fully decompressed, tighten the bleed nipple.

Copper Slip the top and bottom of the pad, and the back where pressure would be applied by the piston. It is important that the brake Pad material or the rotor is not contaminated with copper slip. this can be wiped off with some brake/clutch cleaner.

Once the top and bottom slide in area of the pad have been copper slipped, put some copper slip over the areas under pressure from the pistons, and their opposing pressure areas.

Re attach all the brake pad retaining clips, top up the brake fluid reserviour with the correct brake fluid used before (probably Dot4, but always check with your local garage if you do decide to carry out this proceedure yourself).

Once both sides have been done, and the resevoir topped up to the max line, pump the pedal several times until you have a hard pedal, then with pressure still being applied to the footbrake turn the ignition to the "on" position, and then start the engine, the pedal will drop a little. This is the servo assist system coming into play and is perfectly normal, you should be able to re pump the pedal until it gets some pressure again.
Top up the fluid reserviour as necesary, and put the cap back on.

However if the pedal doesnt gain pressure during pumping the brake pedal with the engine off, its possible theres a:

 bleed nipple not tightened 
severe leakage from rear brake cylinders
damaged brake piston seals
damaged diaghram within the brake master cylinder
damaged servo pipe or connection - although signs of this could also make the engine idle erratically and possibly even stall.

Bleeding the entire brake system

You will need:
An assistant
New Dot 3 or Dot 4 Brake fluid
Fluid Suction tool
10-14mm spanners
Brake Bleeding bottle

Begin by removing the Brake Fluid Reservouir Cap, and using the suction tool remove the brake fluid as much as you can.
If your feeling brave, you can remove the reserviour itself and clean out thoroughly with brake & clutch cleaner, and replace. The part you need to be extremely carefull with is removing and refitting the reserviour itself as the seals can be damaged due to their age. I even go as far as advising you to get new seals from Nissan prior to carrying out the operation, just in case.
Once the reservoir is back in place, fill it up with the new brake fluid.

Now you need to start at the rear left side of the car (or the side furthest away from the master cylinder.
Attach the brake bleed pipe & bottle and un do the nipple by approx half a turn, and have your assistant gently depress the brake pedal until it reaches the floor, and continue until you see the new clean fluid flowing through into the bleed bottle. Top the reserviour up again.
Tighten up the bleed nipple and move to the other side of the vehicle and repeat the process.
Always top up the fluid as you complete the bleeding of each caliper.

Refit the Fluid Reservoir cap, and pump the pedal until it gains pressure, while holding the pressure start the engine, and the pressure will drop slightly, but as mentioned in the brake pad removal / refitting guide, is perfectly normal.

New Discs & Pads Notes:

It will take approximately 500 miles for a set of pads to reach their optimum braking capacity, se be aware of this as accidents can happen if this is not taken note of. This is because the discs and pads are still bedding into one another.
Always make sure you buy the right pads for the job - theres no use fitting race pads for short journeys that may not be long enough for brake pad compound to become fully efficient.

Rear shoes& cylinder removal/refitting to follow