Front brake dust boot replacement

[cdnp6]

A couple of years ago my mechanic replaced my front brake pads with”better” ones . They were squealing right from the start which he said would go away as they wore down. Over time they did improve a bit. When I asked him about it again, he said I could try putting the antirattle shims back in. So in the box with the old pads are indeed the shims and springs. Looking at the caliper, the pads are so thick there is no way to get the antirattle shims installed. I pulled the pads with some degree of effort. The dust boots are shot. They were basically just sitting in the space, not attached to the piston or the caliper. Correct pads and seal kit are on order. The manual shows replacing the dust boots without splitting the caliper. Is this actually achievable?
Roy

 

[jp928]

Yes! The manual actually recommends NOT splitting the calipers, although the seals used between the halves are readily available. The 3 piston calipers were used on quite a few makes/models of cars. The most common problem is corroded pistons, which correctly fitted boots can reduce somewhat. the shims should fit, along with anti squeal paste on the back of the pads.

 

[cobraboy]

If it took some degree of effort to pull the pads, I think I would be taking the caliper off the car and replacing the main seals. You have to remove the pistons in order to replace the dust seals, so it is crazy not to replace the main seals.
When the pistons are out you may find they are in need of attention as well.
You do not need to split the calipers.