Brake Pad Replacement

Hello,

Here is a guide to help you get the job done step by step and the instruction in the diagrams below to show you how on your car.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-replace-front-brake-pads-and-rotors-fwd

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.

I'd like to replace the rotors and pads on my Mom's 2003 Regal. I just did the same job on my 2005 Chevy Impala. I have two questions:

1. Will the brake design on the Regal be pretty much the same as my 2005 Impala? I'm trying to determine if I should expect the job, steps, etc. to be pretty much the same for both cars.
2. What reasonable priced repair manual would you recommend for a 2003 Buick Regal?

Any help would be appreciated.
Allen Washburn

I will post the steps below, they are pretty much routine steps for any vehicle's brake job though. is your vehicle equipped with all 4 disc brakes or are the rear brakes drums? you should check out the link below for a nice repair manual on your vehicle.. https://www.2carpros.com/kpages/auto_repair_manuals.htm

2000 Buick Regal, v6, 125k miles

My question isn't really specific to this car, but it's what I'm driving. I had a mechanic tell me that I need brake shoes/pad and rotors replaced. My last brake job was about 14 months ago, and I had all those items replaced. A mechanic I trust (not this one) told me recently that I have about 15% left on my pads, so I know they need to be replaced. I do not have any squeaking or vibrations when braking as of yet.

Is it possible for the rotors to wear out faster than/before the brake pads, or is this guy just trying to rip me off? It seems counter-intuitive to me that the rotors would wear before the brakes squeak.

I own the same car and when I replaced the front brakes last year, I measured the thickness of the rotors and after machining, they were within specs. Within 4k miles there was some brake induced shake from the rotors being warped. I then installed new rotors to eliminate the problem. So the moral of the story is, if you replace the pads and machine the rotors, sometimes the problem does not go away. And for that matter, what is your life worth? A new set of pads and rotors is cheap, your life or your loved ones are priceless.