do it myself?

[shock_core]

So i've never ever even remotly worked on brakes. Do you think I could take a weekend off and do it all myself? (I'm pretty good at figuring things out that I have never done before.) Or are there like some things on brakes that need like professional adjustment?

I pretty much need 4 rotors and 4 pads and i really dont want to pay labor

[chadder]

shouldnt be too hard. but look up how to do it before you start goin at it. Just dont overtorque your rotors, thats not cool at all.

[FunkZ]

Pick up a Haynes or Chilton manual with those parts and you should have all the info you need. It's not difficult at all.

Don't let the calipers hang by the brake hoses, try not to twist them too badly, and don't step on the brake pedal while you have the calipers off.

[shenanigans]

Brake jobs are pretty easy, you will likely need a tool to get the brake caliper off, its kind of like a really big allen wrench. They sell them at advanced auto.

[shock_core]

erm ... so thats all i would need/ just that tool to take off the calipers then all it is from there is unbolt the rotors, put new ones and and take out the brake pads and put new ones in?

[Ian]

Dude, ill walk you through it:

1) Go to autozone, buy the correct size socket-allen to fit the bolts on the back of the rotors(if you have allen wrenches, test them, then go buy the socket thats the right size, itll make your life MUCH easier)

Buy like a 5" or 6" C-clamp to compress the piston when the pads are off.

2) Jack car up, take front wheels off

3) undo the two bolts on the back of the caliper, and slide the caliper off. Take the old pads off the caliper

4) Just pull on the rotor, itll come right off

5) Put new rotor on (just, um, put it right on)

6) grease back of pad where it touches the piston w/ that supplied anti-squeel ****

7) open the c-clamp all the way up, put the part that doesnt screw on the back of the caliper somewhere, put the big long screw inside the piston, and tighten it almost all teh way in.

8) Put the new pads back on the caliper, using all the clips needed

9) line the caliper back up over the rotor, put the bolts through, tighten them

10) put the wheel back on, and EVENLY TORQUE THE LUG NUTS, ALTERNATING EVERY OTHER ONE, TO THE SPECS. If you didnt notice, thats important.


Thats it, just repeat for the other three wheels.

[shock_core]

huh.. that sounds easy enough. even i can't screw that up :D ty

[fabolous24]

but if you take the calipers off dont u have to bleed the breaks?

[Ian]

Originally posted by fabolous24:
but if you take the calipers off dont u have to bleed the breaks?

No, the calipers have a hose going into them for the fluid. If you take the HOSE off, you have to bleed them, but to change brakes, you just un-mount the caliper from the caliper mounting bracket, you dont touch the hose at all.

Its seriously easy.

[Tyler]

took me about a solid hour after getting it supported on jack stands.. using air tools helps. Its pretty strait forward

[Tyler]

also when pressing in the caliper to get them off, you MIGHT want to syphen some break fluid out of the cylinder becuase depressing them will make the fluid over flow. just a little fyi

[CamaroKRAZED]

***IMPORTANT***
If you do decide on doing the brake work yourself, do not forget one critical step that was left out... spray the new rotors with brake cleaner! This is a must. New rotors come with a protective coating that needs to be removed. Brake cleaner will remove that film and clean them up real good. If you do this, you will get better performance and wear out of your new rotors.
Another very important issue here is proper pad/rotor break-in. This is also essential for peak brake performance and wear. I know of a 30/30 method which involves 30 stops from 30mph. I am not sure how it goes but talk to some mechanics and/or do some research on proper break-in.

[Ian]

Originally posted by CamaroKRAZED:
***IMPORTANT***
If you do decide on doing the brake work yourself, do not forget one critical step that was left out... spray the new rotors with brake cleaner! This is a must. New rotors come with a protective coating that needs to be removed. Brake cleaner will remove that film and clean them up real good. If you do this, you will get better performance and wear out of your new rotors.
Another very important issue here is proper pad/rotor break-in. This is also essential for peak brake performance and wear. I know of a 30/30 method which involves 30 stops from 30mph. I am not sure how it goes but talk to some mechanics and/or do some research on proper break-in.

I never did this. My KVR's came with directions, and said nothing about spraying them with a coating. I got a zinc coating on the, which is just for color, but that i know of, no protective coating.

The rotors will have a break in procedure. Definately make sure you follow it.

[ellik]

the zinc coated roaters dont need the protective coating. what it is, is an oily film put onby the manufacturer that keeps the regular cheap-O rotors from rusting in their boxes while on the stores shelves. you might notice that if you let your car sit a few days without driving it, that the rotors start to rust a little bit, but once you get out on the road and use the brakes a bit, they clean right up.

Ian, you will find that the zink coating will wear off the main part of the rotor that comes in contact with the pads. this is fine because regular use will keep them shiney anyway. what the zinc is going to do, is keep that outer lip of the rotors nice and shiney just like the rest, whereas the rest of us who use the basic rotors have a discolored rusty ring around the outer edge of our rotors.

if you just buy the regular old rotors, DEFENATELY get a can of brake cleaner and get that oily film off before you install the rotors.

[ December 04, 2004, 07:29 PM: Message edited by: ellik ]

[oil pan 4]

The oily film will cause them to heat up real bad and warp right off the bat.