Rear brakes are the same idea as the front, with two complications that catch people out: the parking brake, and drums.
Do the front brakes first. That page has the full step-by-step and the safety rules, and everything on it applies here. This page covers only what is different at the back.
- Time: 2–3 hours
- Difficulty: intermediate, and harder than the front
- Shop: $200–$500 per axle. Parts: $65–$225
Brakes are the one system where a mistake shows up later, at speed. Jack stands every time, never a jack alone. Both sides, always. And pump the pedal until it is firm before you move the car. If you are not confident the job is right, have it inspected before driving.
First: find out what you have
Look through the rear wheel. Three possibilities, and they are very different jobs.
1. Rear discs with a manual parking brake
A rotor and caliper like the front, with a cable running to the caliper. The most common setup, and the most DIY-friendly.
The one big difference: the piston screws in, it does not press in. Rear calipers with an integrated parking brake use a threaded piston that has to be rotated clockwise as it goes back. Trying to force it with a C-clamp the way you would at the front will destroy the caliper.
You need a brake caliper wind-back tool, about $25, or the cube-shaped adapter set. Many chain parts stores lend these free on a deposit. Some pistons need pressing and turning at the same time, which is what the tool does.
2. Rear discs with an electric parking brake
If your parking brake is a small switch or button rather than a lever or foot pedal, you have this. A little electric motor sits on the back of each rear caliper.
The caliper piston will not retract until the motor is put into service mode, and that usually needs a scan tool that can talk to the electronic brake module. Winding it back by force damages the motor — a $300 to $600 part.
Some cars have a manual override procedure in the manual. Some mid-range scan tools, including a few in the $100 range, have the function. Without one of those, this is a shop job, and there is no shame in that — it is a tooling problem, not a skill problem.
3. Rear drum brakes
No rotor or caliper — a solid metal drum instead. Common on smaller and older cars, and on the rear of many pickups.
Drums are a genuinely different job: a nest of springs, clips and an adjuster inside, and it is fiddly the first time. Two pieces of advice that make it manageable:
- Do one side at a time, and leave the other assembled as a reference photo you can look at.
- Photograph everything from several angles before a single spring comes off.
A drum spring tool is about $15 and makes it far less miserable. If the drum will not come off, most have two threaded holes you can put bolts into to push it off, and backing the adjuster off through the small hole in the backing plate releases a lip of wear.
The rest of the job
For rear discs, it follows the front brake procedure exactly — loosen lugs on the ground, jack and support, wheel off, caliper bolts, hang the caliper on a bungee and never by the hose, bracket bolts, rotor off, clean the hub, new rotor, hardware, grease the slide pins, torque everything, lug nuts in a star pattern with a torque wrench.
Two additions at the back:
- Release the parking brake completely before you start, and unclip the cable from the caliper if it is in the way. Do not stretch or kink it.
- Adjust the parking brake afterwards. New pads mean more clearance, so the parking brake will feel slack. Most have an adjuster at the caliper or under the centre console. Test it on a slope before you trust it.
Before you drive
- Pump the brake pedal until it is firm and high. The first few presses go to the floor. This is not optional.
- Check the brake fluid level — winding pistons back pushes fluid up into the reservoir.
- Test the parking brake on a slope.
- Bed them in: about six moderate stops from 40 mph down to 10, then drive gently for ten minutes without dragging the brakes. Avoid coming to a complete stop and holding the pedal while they are hot.
When to hand it over
- Electric parking brake and no scan tool that can do the retract procedure.
- Any fluid leaking at a wheel, or a soft pedal.
- A drum that will not come off after the usual tricks.
- Seized caliper slide pins or bolts you cannot free.
- Any point at which you are not sure the result is right.
Information only, not professional advice, and no substitute for your vehicle’s service manual. Work on your own vehicle is at your own risk. See the disclaimer.