Crosstrek Rear Brake Replacement

When it comes to car maintenance, one thing always seems to lead to another. As I was finishing up my rear spring and strut replacement, I noticed my rear brakes were almost completely worn to the metal. Join me as I try to beat the rain and complete a rear brake replacement.
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[@Lighthouse42]

Great video! I watched a few on the exact car and subject. This one is by far my favorite and the best, as in concise and informative as well as slightly entertaining. Thank you much for the knowledge. And thank you for enabling me to do my own brakes.

[@suesspot5930]

This is like a glitch in the matrix... A youtuber who is both mechanically inclined and camerally inclined. Bravo to you sir! Now if I could get you to buy a 1966 harley davidson sprint 250 and start doing some mechanical videos, specifically around the engine and ignition timing that'd be really appreciated.

[@TomtheDilettante]

LOL! Thanks for the kind words! Old HD eh? Very cool! I've had 4 Harleys throughout my life so far...currently on a BMW R1250 GSA. Good luck tinkering and thanks for watching!

[@dominator5498]

Good job Tom, you took the time to do the job right. I am a brake system technical trainer and I have two obvious recommendations. 1st, take the bracket to your wire wheel and clean as much as you can to get rust and debris off. 2nd, the recommended break-in for almost any brake pad follows the simple 20/30/30 rule. 20 stops, under 30 mph, 30 seconds apart. Cheers!

[@jacksonreese5633]

He there. Would you recommend to bleed the brake line like he did or just compress the caliper all the way? That’s guys!

[@buddymorgan3198]

I just did my Chevy Colorado brakes for the first time on my own. I am buying a Crosstrek Wilderness next year and I will never pay the dealership again to do things that I can do on my own. Thank for sharing your knowledge!

[@jamesmichaelwoods2930]

Good video. Applicable to many vehicles and well organized Thanks Tom

[@Feelgoo49]

Thank you brother!

[@HouseCuber15]

Great informative video as always. Really appreciate the simplicity of your video format!

[@williambauer2170]

I love these DIY videos. I'm still hanging on for the DIY for the transmission cooler install!

[@ronnrose3909]

Wow, that's a great video. Looks like an excellent mechanic!

[@TheOGMattBurns]

Nice to see that Subaru still keeps it simple. My Civic has an electronic parking brake, so you have to be super careful when compressing the piston. You have to disconnect the wiring, then manually crank back a bolt in the back of the piston before compressing it. Thankfully I'll never have to deal with that again, as I'm going to be getting a Crosstrek Wilderness Edition in a few months. I'm hoping that the 3rd gen Crosstrek has a similar strut mount as the previous gen so I can use 2nd gen spacers for a cheap altitude adjustment. Now that they've paired the 2.5 liter and a 4.1 final drive ratio, I think I can live with a naturally aspirated boxer engine.

[@darondyer9846]

Great Video! Especially the terminology that meakes it easy to understand. Thank you Sir!

[@dschulz9695]

Dear Tom; Thank you so much for the video on replacing break pads and rotors on your 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. I just replaced the front pads on my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek and am getting ready to start the rear. So far, no issues. Thanks for giving me the courage to understate this project on my own. I hate paying others to do what I can do myself. Thanks again; Din

[@YooTooobJeff]

The fluid is very clean, so no need to bleed it out, and the master cylinder should be safe

[@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures]

Nice work Tom!

[@cbijames7]

Cool thank you for sharing this. I have a 21 Crosstrek and I'll be doing my brakes when I get 60k on them I'm at 49 k now.

[@elijones1453]

Just hit 90k today on my '21 XV. Replacing my rotors tomorrow. Wish me luck lol

[@TomtheDilettante]

you gots dis! Good luck :)

[@matthewgross6958]

Tom… I too am an outside shadetree mechanic and also have a ‘shit bowl!’ 😂😂😂

[@barryomahony4983]

FYI Your local public library can be a good source for manuals with torque specs, etc. At my library, with the account number on my library card I can log onto their website (from home) and access Chilton repair manuals for all my cars, for free. 😀

[@Dr.Squints]

Dont forget to retract and readjust the emergency brake. If you force the rotor off the hub you can damage the E brake shoes

[@gobear83]

Great video … time for a series of repair videos ….next installing a turbo … just kidding Keep them coming … noticed new motorcycle tires in the back ground , they being installed ?

[@TomtheDilettante]

Thanks! At just about 40k miles, the Subie is in for either repairs or general maintenance so I'm sure there will be adequate opportunities for content :). A turbo would be awesome, but I don't think the stock internals could handle it. If the motor died, I'd definitely be looking into a WRX or STI driveline swap (muhahaha!). As for the bike tires, those are the Anakee Adventure tires that came with the Beemer. I had swapped in some Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires for the trip out west and I was really happy with them. Keeping the Michelins though because they only had about 1k miles on them.

[@KenPritchett]

Looks GoodNTight to me. Great video. 🤝

[@KJ-kc9cp]

Actually: Nice N Tight 😊😊

[@YooTooobJeff]

Guessing the front is even simpler with no parking break drum and shoes to worry about, 4 bolts off 4 bolts on

[@BobMarcum]

Kissing dogs and throwing words like “copious” around…you jarheads sure do live on the edge. Of course, if you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much room. BTW…outstanding job with good info. Of course it had to rain… Good disclaimer on torque. Torquing wheels keeps you rotors true as well.

[@TomtheDilettante]

Ha! Well, I mean if the doggo comes up for kisses, you gotta give the kisses. Am I right? Also, good point on torque helping to prevent rotors from warping...especially on alloy rims. I've seen folks go to town on their lugs with an impact only to ask me later why their brakes are pulsating and/or steering wheel shaking when the brake. Dead giveaway :). Thanks for watching!

[@DinkyFroggy]

good video !!!

[@YooTooobJeff]

Got 70k miles out of the original set, so replacing with OEM which is a known quantity!

[@SirPoopyPants]

Ah. . I will only say that I apply anti-seize to the hub before placing the new rotor and coat that mating surface cause. . .well. . you have two metals mating which tends to cause corrosion and when same. .it still corrodes hence bolts to remove thing. Anti-seize will stop that. Then apply it again on the outer side of the rotor for the wheel to rotor contact faces so you don't have the wheel frozen to the rotor when it is 11pm on the side of the road changing a tire and trying to kick the tire to break it loose thing. The other thing I do is re-grease those pins as it is literally right there in your hand and the process itself allows you to check. In your case use with the vehicle, I would think you would do that as the vehicle is in more extreme situations than 4th and broad asphault. Off-road requires enhanced maintenance as muddy slops suck for repairs when lifting a few tons. Finally, I am the push back type and have never failed a master cylinder in 100's of brake jobs. However . . .having said that, it is a VERY GOOD practice to at least crack bleeders on every brake change just to exercise the threads. Never touch that bleeder screw till you have to and you simply wind up with it seized. Final pro tip. The bleeders in most cases have rubber cover caps. Not a big deal, but again. . .off-road use it is exposed to more then add Chicago salt trucks and well. . .you can pick up a bag of 20 or 50 for like 5 bucks. I keep those on hand as the simple cost of bulk for the anti-corrosion value is well worth it.

[@spacecruisers]

Really good recommendations! I was surprised that he was able to get the rotors off the hub using the bolts, that has worked about 1% of the time for me haha. Usually just strips the threads and I’ve have to get the old 15lb sledge out and go crazy

[@SirPoopyPants]

@@spacecruisers Thank West Main Auto channel. . . I learned a lot of "how to deal with corrosion" from him. Plus anyone who likes what this channel likes to learn, so why not share? it doesn't cost anyone anything to share knowledge but it makes a big difference to those of us that learn the tricks!!!!!

[@TomtheDilettante]

LOL!! Oh trust me, I've been there with the sledge too. That anxious feeling when you know you're committed...b*tch is either coming off or you're screwed because there's no re-assembling that mess after you go all Thor on it :)

[@trevorryan8030]

Are the rear brakes one the front brakes the same on this year of crosstreck? I need to replace both and am wondering

[@TomtheDilettante]

As far as rotors, no. Rear brake rotors have a drum as well for the emergency brake. Front rotors do not. Brake pads are different as well. Per subaruparts.com, the rear pads are OEM part number 26696FJ000, and fronts are p/n 26296FL032. Those would be for my make, model and year. They're not hard to do so I would certainly encourage you to give it a shot, but do please confirm with your dealer the right part numbers for your vehicle and don't just take my word for it :)

[@jeffd3844]

The rear pads are wearing quicker on my 2017 Trek. Did you notice that, too?

[@TomtheDilettante]

Oddly, yes. I was fully expecting the fronts to wear quicker as they have with just about every other vehicle I've owned. In fairness, my fronts are ready to go too LOL. Those are next on the list.

[@jf7769]

what mileage were you at when you hit rock bottom on those brakes and rotors? thank you!

[@TomtheDilettante]

about 40k I think. Ample highway miles, but certainly not exclusive. Do a lot of city commuting as well.

[@jf7769]

@@TomtheDilettante thank you, I'm at 85k (lots of highway), and all is spiffy, well above the brakes wear line. Will tag your video when I go to change them out.

[@nohrtillman8734]

Looking at the rest of your suspension, I have to take back my other thread comment. Salt state rust didn’t get to your finishes after three years. Even the calipers look good. Maybe it’s just my misfortune in Michigan.

[@toyomatt84]

Without proper brake ducting, a drilled and slotted rotor will actually perform worse than a blank rotor. Without proper airflow to them, the heat created during braking does not evacuate quickly enough to make any meritable improvement. And, to be fair, with the decreased surface area will provide a decrease in actual brake performance, increase in pad wear, and increase in brake fade.

[@spacecruisers]

Source?

[@toyomatt84]

@@spacecruisers There's several out there corroborating my statement. I could just say "Google", but to make it simpler for you, try out The Drive's article on "Don't Waste Your Money On Drilled Brake Rotors"... or NASA Speed's "Proper Brake Cooling Is Essential for Safety and Lower Lap Times". But, in general, its a simple look at the laws of thermodynamics and basic airflow.

[@spacecruisers]

@@toyomatt84 I’ll check those out, thanks.