I had the keyed lug nuts replaced this morning by a garage- I just didn’t have the ability to get them off. With that, I was finally able to replace the front brake pads. The boy proved interested and willing to help with the project. No description of the process- it’s too tedious and boring. Plus anyone who’s interested is probably already capable, so why bother?
Now I get to do the rear brake pads. Luckily, they are disc brakes too so the operation shouldn’t be any more traumatic than replacing the fronts. Assuming I don’t strip a lug not or something…
UPDATE: The rear brakes still had better than half their pads remaining. No need to replace them. Too bad I had to jack the car and pull the wheel off to find out.