Fiitng brake pads yourself?

bahaha .spoken like a true used car salesman- how many times have you said just throw a set of pads in there to make the buyer happy and have ended up having to do more because the calipers weren't bled or the discs aren't true and they won't bed in.and the pedal is soft because only the outer edges of the pad are touching the rotor surface.
no offense Kabanz it's a line I've heard from so many owners and sales people over the years.

Relatively simple job - even I can do it.

Three handy hints that the pro mechanics here might think too obvious to even mention:

(1) Take the cap off the top of the master cylinder reservoir, and wrap a BIG old clean rag around the body of the reservoir to soak up any excess fluid that may come out the top.

(2) Clean the polished outer bore of the piston(s) with brake cleaner before pushing them back into the caliper (new pads are much thicker than old pads!)and take care to push them straight to avoid damaging the seals.

(3) Be sure to pump & pump the pedal once you have it all back together with the new pads in, until the pistons find their new operating position, before you attempt to drive off.

i estimate about once a year you read in the news about someone
pinned or killed by a falling car that wasn'tsupported on stands.
Have had one car almost fall on me - through my own and the owners stupidity- him stupid for moving some supporting blocks and me stupid for trusting him-note to self trust no one but yourself.you'll live longer.
luckily it fell onto the ramps we had in place but scared the crap out of me at the time.
another time the ,mechanic in the bay next to me was working under a car on stands when the apprentice moving another vehicle nudged the bumper.luckily didn't fall.but she rocked something fierce.
also remember the service manager doing a 5 second job under a car on a jack when the car dropped on his chest. he was a bastard at times but not a complete bastard so we jacked it up and got him out.unfortunately he survivedunharmed and carried on to torment many more apprentices

you dont need to bleed the calipers if you are just fitting pads.

no you don't but do you really want to leave that old brake fluid in the lines, or the calipers .

our standard practise to change brake fluid with pads.especially considering many owners don't have a maintenance plan in placefor changing it. cheap option we always offeredto the owner .

One of the firewood rounds under the sills as a backup to the stands always gives a bit more confidence that the car won't end up on you but one shouldn't need to be under the car to do the pads which is where this thread started.

I do my own., and it is a simple job if you know how. like most things, but if you don't know it is probably easier to put in the shop!., unless you had someone to show you., not sure what a shop would charge in labour to fit pads!. maybe an hours labour! for front and back., the actual pads are pretty cheap to buy these days. I have a 1993 telstar for my runaround and the pads are less than $20 a pair.,