Ok guys, I am going to plan a brake job on Sunday. I've heard horror stories about pulling off the rotors. I am going to replace both of the fronts. Please let me know what I'm in store for and if you have any tips!

Also, before winter I tried and tried to change out my O2 sensor. The nasty one on the pass side. I could not get anything on it. Any more advice? It's literally frozen in there. I'm in Kansas City so we do get snow, salt, rain, etc.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Plan for a legnthy period of time. First time I did mine, I planned for a half hour for each of the four wheels, ended up taking me over six hours. Make sure you have a sledge available to you, unless you are planning on having your rotors turned. Most times if you are doing your brakes for the first time, rotor removal can be quite a bear. Be prepared to sweat too. Some of us, myself included have actually split the rotors when attmepting removal. Also, a wire brush and/or anti-seize or never-seize for when you put the new rotors on, you don't have to go through the sledge routine again. I know it's fun but...

Smitty

 

As soon as you park the expy on Saturday, soak the rotors in PB Blaster. Then Sat night, soak them again. Then Sun morning, soak them again. Agreed with Smitty than when you re-install the rotors, put a LIGHT coating of anti-seize on the mating surfaces and you shouldn't have to go through this hell again.

BigMan69

 

Well I'm beating the heck out of it and it's still not budging. Going to go buy a bigger hammer. However, I noticed on the new rotor there are no lugs for the wheels. Looks like they sit in there individually on the old. Do I have the wrong rotor?

 

Holy crap! OK, the driver's side is off! I figured out the lug problem. They just pop in and out don't they? I also managed to leak all of my brake fluid out of the line. Guess I didn't have it plugged very well. What do you guys use to plug that with? Now just to change the pads, clean the caliper and put it back together! Passenger side can wait til tomorrow. It's not moving anywhere tonight. AUGH!

 

Why did you remove the caliper from the brake system? Unless you had a problem with the caliper you should not have had to disconnect any brake lines. Just use a c-clamp and push the piston back into the housing.

Anyways since there is now air in the system, don't forget to bleed the brakes when you get it all put back together.

Glock

 

I had to take the caliper off to take the rotor off. To get to the bolts I had to move the brake line out of the way. And actually it may be a good thing as it was the inside pad that was significantly worn as compared to the others. So I'm going to get it cleaned up and greased and hope it works better. This is my first attempt at doing these, so any tips are appreciated!

 

Hey Mike,
For future reference you really don't need to take the brake line loose from the caliper, the unit will lift entirely clear of the rotor. Use a wire coat hanger to support the caliper by "hanging" it off the coil spring (don't let it hang by the brake line as that can damage the line).

I live about 5 minutes from Prairie Village...if you get in a bind tomorrow I'd be happy to help... just drop me an email (gk@everestkc.net) and I can give you a call.
Good Luck,
Gary

 

Awesome! Thank you Gary! I'm hoping the passenger side goes a little smoother. Thanks for the tips re: the caliper. Just didn't know any better I guess! Now if I can just avoid the rain!

 

Hey, just a quick note. DO 1 WHEEL AT A TIME. Do not dismantle both or all four wheels when doing your first few brake jobs. The reason being when you collapse the piston on one wheel guess what happens on the other 3? Well the piston will push out of the caliper housing and well unless you are extreamly talented you are in deep stuff.

 

Thanks Toyvo! So far I've just been doing one at a time. I don't think my arms could handle more than that!

The passenger side actually came off pretty easy. Don't get me wrong, I still had to beat the crap out of it. Now I have to run down to the store to get a c-clamp. I swear I've bought more tools doing this darn thing! The driver's side I took to work and was able to use a clamp there. Ah well. I just hope it stops once I get it all back together!!

 

Done!!! Thank you all for your suggestions. The passenger side went very smoothly. Bled the lines and took her for a spin and it was great! Not even a squeak!

For future reference here's what I learned:
Start by having a LOT of PB Blaster and a REALLY BIG HAMMER!!!
1. Pull off the wheel.
2. Use a Torx-45 to remove the caliper and hang it out away from the rotor. There are 2 bolts to remove. One on top and the other on the bottom. Use a wire or something to hang the caliper so that you're not hanging it from the brake line.
3. Remove old brake pads. They should slide right off.
4. If you need to remove the rotor, GOOD LUCK! I had to remove the brake pad holder bracket thing (guys, can you help me out with a name here?) and then beat the crap out of the rotor till it fell off. If you need to remove the bracket, it's 2 18 mm bolts. One on top and one on the bottom. Be prepared to apply a lot of leverage.
5. You may also need to remove the lugs. If so, just tap them through.
6. Clean everything really good!
7. Once the rotor is off and you have strength in your arm again, replace the lugs and rotor and apply a light coating of anti-seize to the contact surfaces of the rotor.
8. Reattach the brake pad bracket if removed and slide in the pads. Use a little caliper grease on the back of the brake pads. NEVER on the pad itself.
9. Push the caliper pistons in with a c-clamp in order to make room for the new pads.
10. Slide caliper on and replace bolts. This can be a little tricky as you have to get the prongs at the top and the bottom to slide into the metal slides.
11. Replace tire and tighten up lugs really good.
12. Bleed system starting with wheel farthest away from the master cylinder and continue working toward closest.
13. Give her a test drive!

This is pretty much for my future reference in case I have to do it again I'll have some guidelines. But maybe some other first timer will benefit from them too. You pros let me know if I can add or change something to make it better.

Now onto the MAF and the coil!

Thanks again you all!!
Mike

 

Glad to hear it went well...

 

I thought that was the case but being an Expy noob, didn't want to stick my neck out. Done lots of brake jobs and never had to disconnect a brake line.

Glad you got it fixed.

Glock

 

Yup Glock, that's correct! Just a newbie mistake!