Did rear brakes on my car today.

[JulesMaximus]

My car has been suffering from some vibrations when braking from freeway speeds and/or hard braking and it has been driving me crazy. I had the front brakes done a few weeks ago but the guy who did them said the rears had plenty of pad left (despite what the dealership told me when I had it in for the 90,000 mile service). Anyway, I bought the parts ($100 for pads and rotors) and spent a couple hours wrenching on my car this morning.

Once I finished up I took it for a test drive and no more vibrations! WOO HOO!!!

Pads still had plenty of meat on them but I really needed to do this.

I did have to buy a tool though because the piston on the rear calipers don't push in, they screw in. Tool cost $11 and I had my wife pick it up because she was out anyway.

Looks like I'm keeping the Maxima for a while. I really have no reason to get rid of it other than fuel economy. It is paid for and it only has 101,000 miles on it. It still looks good and runs great. Back to looking at Ducatis!

 

[T2urtle]

looks like a gen 5.5 with the 3.5L motor.

great car. 6speed ?

i've been looking for one for my younger brother. We have a 4th gen and a 1st gen g35 sedan both kept us very happy and cost to own is cheap.

 

[JulesMaximus]

looks like a gen 5.5 with the 3.5L motor.

great car. 6speed ?

i've been looking for one for my younger brother. We have a 4th gen and a 1st gen g35 sedan both kept us very happy and cost to own is cheap.

Automatic, and it is the 3.5l motor. I'm the original owner and I didn't have much choice when I bought it. The 2004's were already in showrooms so Nissan was heavily discounting the '03. I paid $22,800 for the car, it is an SE and has the power moonroof as the only option.

I've really had zero issues with this car. It has been one of the best cars I've ever owned...it certainly is the longest I've ever owned a car. I was looking at the new Ford Focus as a replacement but I just can't see buying a new car when this one is in such excellent condition. They offered me $4,000 for it without batting an eye.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Our I30 is starting to crap out, its needed a full set of injectors, starter, alternator, CV boots, O2 sensors all within the last year. Its about time for it to go.

Nice looking ride though

 

[JulesMaximus]

Our I30 is starting to crap out, its needed a full set of injectors, starter, alternator, CV boots, O2 sensors all within the last year. Its about time for it to go.

Nice looking ride though

Those are pretty minor things though and typical wear items. How many miles do you have on it?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Those are pretty minor things though and typical wear items. How many miles do you have on it?

Normally I would think so, but it just crossed 100k a few months ago. I think its a bit early for that many things to start going south.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

My car has been suffering from some vibrations when braking from freeway speeds and/or hard braking and it has been driving me crazy. I had the front brakes done a few weeks ago but the guy who did them said the rears had plenty of pad left (despite what the dealership told me when I had it in for the 90,000 mile service). Anyway, I bought the parts ($100 for pads and rotors) and spent a couple hours wrenching on my car this morning.

Once I finished up I took it for a test drive and no more vibrations! WOO HOO!!!

Pads still had plenty of meat on them but I really needed to do this.

I did have to buy a tool though because the piston on the rear calipers don't push in, they screw in. Tool cost $11 and I had my wife pick it up because she was out anyway.

Looks like I'm keeping the Maxima for a while. I really have no reason to get rid of it other than fuel economy. It is paid for and it only has 101,000 miles on it. It still looks good and runs great. Back to looking at Ducatis!

I don't know. I just bought a new ride and it sure is nice being able for the family to get in and enjoy my new toy along with me. My wife never liked riding on my bikes and I never felt comfortable with her on em. Now we got something we both can enjoy. :thumbsup:

 

[BUTCH1]

My brother has the same car w/145K and it still runs like a top. He's not happy about getting 20MPG hwy. which sounds kinda low but maybe it's just his lead foot..

 

[thescreensavers]

Guy I go to for alignments and stuff, his wife drives a late 90s model I believe 300k or more on the clock and everything is perfect like day one. No oil burning nothing, dealer nearby said if it hits 500k in this condition we will trade you for a new one.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't know. I just bought a new ride and it sure is nice being able for the family to get in and enjoy my new toy along with me. My wife never liked riding on my bikes and I never felt comfortable with her on em. Now we got something we both can enjoy. :thumbsup:

I'm not getting rid of the car. It was just a choice of buying a new car or buying a new bike. Either I keep the old bike and buy a new car or keep the old car and buy a new bike. My wife actually likes my current car, we usually take it when we drive up to L.A. or when we go out to Palm Springs because it is so comfortable. Driving it was making me fucking crazy though with the brake problems and I have spent a couple grand on it this year between front brakes, routine maintenance and motor mounts.

My wife drives a 2006 Lexus IS250 so it's not like she has a crappy car and I'm driving the sweet rides.

 

[Vic Vega]

I did the front and rear brakes on my car this week as well. Like you, my car is long paid for, in excellent condition and mechanically is near perfect. I see no reason to get rid of it any time soon. I've got 160k on the clock which for this engine is nothing, they are well known to go into the 400s with ease. Fuel economy isn't stellar (V8) but it's not terrible. 90% of my commute is highway and I average about 500 miles a tank (19 gallon tank, normal fill is 18.5 gallons). I've seen 30 MPG highway in this car several times over the years but it's not the norm. Gas prices would hurt a lot more if I were also making a $500/month car payment.

My car is a 1996 and has every available option for that year. There are few bells and whistiles new cars offer that this car doesn't have. I wouldn't mind having heated seats and BT connectivity but I'm not buying a new car for it.

 

[exdeath]

Yeah it's time for new rotors on the Camry... 160k on the OEM rotors that have been turned twice. I know they are warped because it takes 3 passes on the lathe, and you can see it start a partial cut on opposite faces 180 deg apart. Turning may make the surface square to the hub, but it can't re balance the resulting uneven distribution of mass. Crazy vibration and steering wheel shudder at 70+ still remains after swapping wheels with new tires and balancing, feels like driving on one flat tire.

Its a work beater though so I've been a cheap ass.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah it's time for new rotors on the Camry... 160k on the OEM rotors that have been turned twice. I know they are warped because it takes 3 passes on the lathe, and you can see it start a partial cut on opposite faces 180 deg apart. Turning may make the surface square to the hub, but it can't re balance the resulting uneven distribution of mass. Crazy vibration and steering wheel shudder at 70+ still remains after swapping wheels with new tires and balancing, feels like driving on one flat tire.

That's EXACTLY what I was experiencing. And new front brakes didn't help so I knew it had to be the rears. My dilemma was do I spend the money to try and cure this problem or do I trade it in. I was all set to drag the wife kicking and screaming down to the Ford dealership yesterday to look at the 2012 Ford Focus Titanium hatchback, which I test drove last weekend, fully loaded with nav, bluetooth, leather, moonroof, etc. but time got away from us and we never made it down there.

I washed it yesterday and this morning I did a paint cleaning and wax on the hood, roof, trunk, and front bumper and then took a drive down to the auto parts store and bought the brake components. I was pleasantly surprised at how cheap the parts were actually...and I went with the more expensive OEM rated parts.

The Focus would have saved me $150/month in gas but that's not enough to offset the car payment. I really like that car though.

 

[T2urtle]

What kind of MPG u getting?

Sent from my Nexus One

 

[JulesMaximus]

What kind of MPG u getting?

Sent from my Nexus One

Last tank was 20mpg.

 

[KK]

what is this screw type calipers, never seen those.

 

[T2urtle]

Screw in. When u twist the piston back in rather then a simple c clamp

Sent from my Nexus One

 

[T2urtle]

Last tank was 20mpg.

Makes my awd g35 feel a little better. I'm getting 17s


Sent from my Nexus One

 

[JulesMaximus]

Makes my awd g35 feel a little better. I'm getting 17s


Sent from my Nexus One

Well, your G35 has the same engine my car has but it is tuned a little more for performance. I get around 25mpg on the open road but even when I'm on the freeway during my commute I'm usually in stop and go traffic with short bursts at freeway speeds.

 

[KK]

Screw in. When u twist the piston back in rather then a simple c clamp

Sent from my Nexus One

How does it work under normal operation?

 

[Engineer]

what is this screw type calipers, never seen those.

It's for the emergency brake, as far as I can remember. Pulling the cable turns the caliper piston causing it to compress and hold the brakes. You can't simply press the calipers in, you must twist them in.

Not sure if many cars have this or not...maybe all rear disc brakes have them for all I know.

 

[punjabiplaya]

less Maxima, more Ducati

 

[exdeath]

It's for the emergency brake, as far as I can remember. Pulling the cable turns the caliper piston causing it to compress and hold the brakes. You can't simply press the calipers in, you must twist them in.

Not sure if many cars have this or not...maybe all rear disc brakes have them for all I know.

Yes. The parking brake cable pulls a lever which mechanically rotates the screw piston enough to squeeze the disc and engage the parking brake using the existing hydraulic caliper. Any car which does not have a drum-in-hub style or seperate small parking brake caliper will have a screw type rear caliper piston with a return spring and a lever for the parking brake cable.

It's the cheapest, lightest, and easiest way to implement a parking brake as it doesn't require many additional components. It makes use of the regular rear brake caliper that is already there in such a way to provide both a hydraulic regular brake and mechanical parking brake in one caliper with minimal additional components.

 

[RKS]

looks like a gen 5.5 with the 3.5L motor.

great car. 6speed ?

i've been looking for one for my younger brother. We have a 4th gen and a 1st gen g35 sedan both kept us very happy and cost to own is cheap.

We had a 2002 with the 3.5 and 6MT. My wife is still pissed that we sold it. Great car but it was time for something new after 10 years of reliable duty.

 

[Howard]

Yeah, I should probably do the rears on my car. I only did the fronts and left the rears because there was a lot of meat on the pads, but the rotors look like shit and I want to get the ceramic pads in there.