Owners of other Nissan or Infiniti vehicles such as the Versa, Maxima, Juke, Rogue, Altima, Xterra, Pathfinder, Murano, Cube, Armada, Leaf, Quest, Frontier, Teana, 370Z, GT-R, Titan, G25, G37, M35, QX56, QX60 and M37 may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

The tools needed to complete this procedure include a lug nut wrench, a floor jack, two jack stands, a 14mm socket, a 3/8" drive ratcheting wrench, a "C" or "F" clamp and a tube of brake caliper grease.

A few compatible replacement sets of new brake pads with their part numbers include the following: Akebono ACT815, Wagner ThermoQuiet QC1650, KFE KFE815-104, Centric Parts 102.08151, Bosch BC815A, Power Stop 16-815A, Monroe CX815A and ACDelco 17D1650CH.

Chock both sides of the rear wheels to prevent the car from moving while you are replacing the front brake pads.

Slightly loosen the five lug nuts by turning them counterclockwise with the tire iron.

Raise the front of the car with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

I prefer to work on one side of the car at a time to keep three wheels on the ground for extra safety.

Spin off the 5 lug nuts and set them aside in a safe place.

Remove the front wheel to reveal the rotor, bracket, caliper and suspension.

Then loosen the lower 14mm caliper bolt in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car).

Rest the caliper on the suspension or suspend it from the spring with a bungee cord.

Make a mental note of where the wear indicator bars or "squeal" bars are situated on the old pads.

On this 2014 Sentra, the wear bars were situated at the top of both the inner and outer brake pads.

If your new set of front brake pads included replacement hardware, pull the old pad abutment or "anti-rattle" clips out of the top and bottom of the bracket.

Apply some brake caliper grease to the new pad abutment clips where they will come in contact with the new brake pads or the bracket.

Do not apply caliper grease to the friction surface of the new pads or the rotors.

Pull the two caliper slider pins out of their rubber dust boots.

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the smooth parts of the pins before pushing them back in to their rubber dust boots.

The caliper piston needs to be compressed back so that it will fit over the thicker new brake pads.

Attach the "C" or "F" clamp to the caliper piston.

Move to the right rear area of the engine bay and twist off the brake fluid reservoir cap in the counterclockwise direction.

Removing the brake fluid cap will allow the fluid to more easily travel back through the lines when you compress the piston.

Repeatedly check the level in the brake fluid reservoir to make sure that it doesn't over flow.

Clean up any spilled brake fluid immediately since it can easily damage painted surfaces.

Continue compressing back the caliper piston until it is flush with the rubber dust boot surrounding it.

Try to avoid pinching or otherwise damaging the rubber dust boot.

Replace the brake fluid reservoir cap as soon as possible by twisting it on in the clockwise direction. Brake fluid is hygroscopic so it easily absorbs moisture from the air.

If your Sentra exhibits shuddering, pulsating, or vibrations during braking, you may need to have your rotors "turned" (resurfaced) or just replace them with new rotors. If this is the car's first front brake job and the rotors seem to be in excellent condition, you should be able to just replace the pads with great results.

To remove the existing rotors and install new ones, just remove the two bolts on the rear of the caliper bracket that attach it to the steering knuckle. Then loosen the old rotor with a rubber mallet, pull it off and slide the new one in its place.

The 2014 Sentra service manual specification for tightening the two bracket bolts is 122 lb-ft (or 165 N-m) of torque.

Please verify that this value is correct for your vehicle.

Install the two new brake pads in to the bracket with the wear bars situated at the top of both pads.

I recommend buying the Wagner ThermoQuiet QC1650 brake pads. I've had great experiences with them and they are easy to install since they don't require backing plates, shims or brake quiet gel.

Gently lower the caliper over the new pads and in to the bracket.

Line up the bolt holes in the caliper with the bolts holes in the slider pins within the bracket.

Tighten the two caliper bolts in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from outside of the vehicle) to just past hand tight.

The 2014 Sentra service manual specification for tightening the front caliper bolts is 20 lb-ft (or 26.48 Nm) of torque.

Double check that the two caliper bolts are tight before moving on to the next steps.

It would be best to bleed the brake lines at this time in order to flush out the old fluid and replace it with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid. For more on this topic, check out my Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With An Assistant DIY Guide or alternatively the Brake Line Fluid Bleeding With A Power Bleeder Guide.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located on the back of the caliper just below the upper bolt.

If you haven't already done so, replace the brake fluid reservoir cap by twisting it on in the clockwise direction.

Slightly tighten the lug nuts with the tire iron in a criss-cross or "star" pattern.

Progressively tighten the lug nuts in a "criss cross" or "star" pattern to about 1/4 to 1/3 turn past hand tight. 

It would be best to use a torque wrench or an air gun with a torque stick to tighten the lug nuts to the owner's manual specification of 83 ft-lbs of torque.

To break in your new front brake pads, just drive normally for the first few hundred miles while trying to avoid any hard or "panic" stops which may glaze over the new pads and cause them to be noisy and/or not perform as well.

It's also a good idea to regularly check your driveway, parking spot or garage for fresh drops of brake fluid which might indicate a leak, check the brake fluid level in the reservoir, and also check that the lug nuts are still tight.

For more, check out my other 2013-2015 Nissan Sentra DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.