About to start my first brake job! Tips/Suggestions?

[N8Magic]

I am about to replace the front discs/pads on my '95 Z24. This is my first time doing brakes on a car, is there anything that the shop manual might have missed? (that seasoned veterans may already know)

Tips or suggestions?

*edit* Are cross-drilled/vented discs all there cut out to be? Are they worth the premium?

 

[Alienwho]

Don't screw up. Seriously.

 

[N8Magic]

Don't screw up. Seriously.

Words to live by!

 

[Bignate603]

hehe, i'm going to have to bend new brake lines for my car later this summer, they'll last but that's one part of your car you don't want to be kind of "iffy"

 

[Mrburns2007]

Brake Pads...baaa there over rated....just a scam for big companies to make money.

 

[Colt45]

if your are just changing pads its pretty straight forward, but if your messin' with the cylinders you'll get air in the line and have to bleed everything.. pain in the @ss

 

[Badbry]

don't take both the left and right sides off at the same time,then that way if you forget where something goes,you can go back to the side you didn't take apart yet,and look where the part goes... and like they say DON'T MESS UP!!!!...

Bryan

 

[Soybomb]

Its pretty hard to mess up. You'll develop your own technique after the first time. Personally I like to open the cap on the master cylinder and put a small container under there, then when I use my huge c clamp to drive the piston back in its bore, the spilled fluid is neatly contained. Remember to break in your brake pads properly, have the rotors turned, and torque the lug nuts back on to spec, no as tight as you can!

edit: here is my favorite break in method, give credit to a dempsey bowling

Once installed, your new brakes will need to be broken in. The reason is to set the polymer that binds the brake material together. You will want to bring the car to 60MPH, then apply the brakes hard enough that an empty coffee mug on the seat will tumble to the floor. Bring the vehicle down to about 30MPH, then gently accelerate (using only 1/3 to 1/2 throttle) back up to 60MPH. Again apply the brakes as described. Repeat this procedure 25 times, then park the vehicle for at least one hour to allow the brakes to cool. Be sure to roll the car forward a couple of inches every minute for the first 15 minutes of cooldown to ensure the rotors don't get hot spots on them. After the cooldown is completed, repeat the slowdown procedure five more times and your brakes will be ready for use

 

[GoldenBear]

<< Tips/Suggestions? >>

The brakes are the left pedal.

 

[cmv]

If you plan on bleeding your brakes get a pressurized system that attaches to the brake fluid tank (can't spell resivoir at the moment) for $30-$60 or get some speed bleeders that attach to the end of the brake lines before they enter the calipers ($8-$10 per bleeder, usually 4 per car). You can alternate use of regular brake fluid and blue brake fluid so you can tell when the old stuff is flushed out. Or just put a bunch through .

If you are only doing the pads make sure you read the manual. Your calipers may require that you rotate the piston back into the caliper housing when putting on new pads (the new pads are larger because they haven't worn down yet). You can also get some goo or backing to put behind the pads to stop annoying rattle/squeeking that sometimes comes up.

Cross drilled/vented are worth it but make sure you buy decent pads... The best thing is to read up on the owners group out on the net for the best places to buy parts for your car and the best parts to buy...

Wear disposable rubber gloves to keep your hands clean . Cleaning under your nails sucks.

 

[Emulex]

cross drilled rotors are good for applications where you want to disperse more heat (ie track), however the holes themselves reduce the area of contact to the pads, hence reduce braking. You might just want to get some slotted rotors, instead if you don't plan on getting your breaks too hot. Many places can mill stock rotors to add slots.

Also, slotted/drilled rotors do tend to wear the pads out a little bit quicker.

Of course, don't use crappy autozone pads, if you are going that route. I like the repco metal master. Less dust to clean off, good braking. The Green stuff pads are amazing too i hear.

While your there, you might consider cleaning the calipers off and using some high-temp (autozone) paint on them. I hear yellow adds more hp!

 

[cmv]

The paint helps too for stopping rust. I put on some new calipers two years ago and they are looking rusty already... Next time I'm going to paint them just to stop the bleeder screws from getting rusted on. Bleeder screws should have caps that cover them and thread down! Who designed these calipers anyway! This is on a VW but they are all the same :|.

 

[Aenygma]

TIP: Remove the wheel first.

 

[Fiddy]

Be sure to use jack stands to hold the car up, don't rely on the jack itself. And be sure and use some anti-squeal on the back of the pads.

 

[bigredguy]

sometimes the disc's have a film to protect them from the environment, it is a good idea to remove this.


and GoldenBear this is like the 8th thread i have been to where you said something so lame and unusefull that i wonder why you do it, seems like you just nef up a good thread