Brake job?

[Bullit89GT]

How difficult is it to replace front rotors and pads? I know replacing the brake pads isnt hard, but I'm not too sure about the rotors. I would like to give it a try myself, but if its a pretty tough I'ld rather not.

 

[hemi_fan]

Piece of cake man... I have almost no mechanical skills, and I would be able to do it. Heck, i did the rear drums on my car, and replaced the cylinders too... after I bled them, it actually stopped!!! I was proud (although they did fall apart a couple weeks later, and i learned i put one spring on upside down, lol). But rotors are a piece of cake, basically dissasemble and install the new parts, could be done in a couple of hours. Just make sure u use some anti-sieze on the contact points.

 

[88stangmangt]

Piece of cake man... I have almost no mechanical skills, and I would be able to do it. Heck, i did the rear drums on my car, and replaced the cylinders too... after I bled them, it actually stopped!!! I was proud (although they did fall apart a couple weeks later, and i learned i put one spring on upside down, lol). But rotors are a piece of cake, basically dissasemble and install the new parts, could be done in a couple of hours. Just make sure u use some anti-sieze on the contact points.

a couple of hours???????????// if you have one hand with only 2 fingers maybe 20-30 mins tops pads and rotors are a breeze we changed pads on a saturn at my work in 15 mins both side's and if you dont brake the brake line no need to bleed em either.

 

[jrichker]

Spend $20 and get a Chiton or Haynes Shop Manual for your car. You'll get the cost of the manual back in savings after you do a few simple repair jobs.

Don't have the $20, go to your local library and ask them to get you a manual from another library - that's a free service. You may need the ISBN number from the manual. ISBN is basically a part number for books. You can get any book ever published if you have the ISBN number. Amazon.com can supply you with the ISBN number, or you can copy it from the book at the auto parts store.

 

[Bullit89GT]

lol, Well I guess I'll give it a try then. Thanks

 

[v8only]

do it right, your life depends on it.

use a c clamp to squeeze the caliper piston back in

replace both the inner and outer wheel bearings and PACK them PROPERLY, there is a right way and wrong way, don't just smear gease on it.

resurface your rotor and don't get the cheap pads.

you'll need a t50 torquez (sp?) bit to get the calipers off

 

[Bullit89GT]

I know I'm gonna need to get new rotors. Is there any brand I should stick with? And do I need to prep them before installing them?

As for the pads I was gonna go with Hawk pads.

 

[hemi_fan]

a couple of hours???????????// if you have one hand with only 2 fingers maybe 20-30 mins tops pads and rotors are a breeze we changed pads on a saturn at my work in 15 mins both side's and if you dont brake the brake line no need to bleed em either.

LoL, i was waiting for someone to say something like that... I meant in a worst case scenario, a first time doin front brakes would take u a couple hours at most...

 

[v8only]

I know I'm gonna need to get new rotors. Is there any brand I should stick with? And do I need to prep them before installing them?

As for the pads I was gonna go with Hawk pads.

get GOOD aftermarket rotors, not autozone cheapies. Napa probably sells them. 50 resto also has them at a decent price, and will ship them to your door.

 

[ECU5.0]

make sure when you put the bearing retainer nut and washer back on you dont tighten down all the way. the best thing to do is to tighten it down with your fingers and give it a little half turn maybe with a set of channel lock pliers and than back it off like a quarter turn. you dont want them tight as crap and you dont want them so loose that you can take them off by hand. it needs to be on there so you can easily wrench them off with the pliers

 

[Bullit89GT]

Awesome, thanks for the info and tips. Hopefully I can get the parts ordered tomorrow and it'll smooth for me.