replacing your Brembo pads
#17
#20
#21
you guys should check out the rest of the DIY videos.. they stickied them in the sedan section.. I don't know why they didn't sticky them in the coupe section
https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sedan-v35-2003-06/183421-diy-video-series.html
https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sedan-v35-2003-06/183421-diy-video-series.html
#23
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#25
I purchased my G35 about a year ago and changed the brake pads out over the summer.
The instructions leave out one very very important step: Prior to bleeding the brakes, you must heat up the Brembo calipers around the bleeder valve. This will expand the aluminum around the bleeder slightly and allow the bleeder to easily come out.....I didn't do it because my G was only 47,000 mi old and the brakes had never been serviced and figured the bleeders would loosen easily.....boy was I wrong. I didn't even apply much pressure on the wrench but the bleeder valve broke off right above the threads and below the hex. A screw extractor wouldn't work since the material of the bleeder valve remaining in my caliper was too soft. In the process of trying to work the remaining bleeder valve out, I messed up the valve seat area. New Brembo calipers are $1200, and that wasn't an option.
Luckily, I was a designer at Ilmor when this happened and they have a nice machining area with many talented machinists. He rigged the caliper in the vise on a mill and we were able to put in a $5 brake bleeder repair kit from NAPA. It is basically a 1/8"NPT bushing with a bleeder valve seat machinined in the middle. The bushing barely fits on the caliper when drilled to the proper NPT fitting depth, so make sure your machinist has the caliper securely set-up. I'd say to pull this off, he needs to able to tap the hole within +/- 0.5mm concetric to the fluid passage. That will leave you with enough material for the threads to grab onto.
There are other things to do to fix this too, but take longer to fix, involve welding of aluminum, precision machining of goofy angles, and a new $12 (i think) Brembo bleeder which not many people have access to. If I have any more problems with that bleeder, this is the route I'm going to have to take...but I shouldn't since the bushing will never be removed.
The easy way to prevent this chaos is just to heat your calipers.
The instructions leave out one very very important step: Prior to bleeding the brakes, you must heat up the Brembo calipers around the bleeder valve. This will expand the aluminum around the bleeder slightly and allow the bleeder to easily come out.....I didn't do it because my G was only 47,000 mi old and the brakes had never been serviced and figured the bleeders would loosen easily.....boy was I wrong. I didn't even apply much pressure on the wrench but the bleeder valve broke off right above the threads and below the hex. A screw extractor wouldn't work since the material of the bleeder valve remaining in my caliper was too soft. In the process of trying to work the remaining bleeder valve out, I messed up the valve seat area. New Brembo calipers are $1200, and that wasn't an option.
Luckily, I was a designer at Ilmor when this happened and they have a nice machining area with many talented machinists. He rigged the caliper in the vise on a mill and we were able to put in a $5 brake bleeder repair kit from NAPA. It is basically a 1/8"NPT bushing with a bleeder valve seat machinined in the middle. The bushing barely fits on the caliper when drilled to the proper NPT fitting depth, so make sure your machinist has the caliper securely set-up. I'd say to pull this off, he needs to able to tap the hole within +/- 0.5mm concetric to the fluid passage. That will leave you with enough material for the threads to grab onto.
There are other things to do to fix this too, but take longer to fix, involve welding of aluminum, precision machining of goofy angles, and a new $12 (i think) Brembo bleeder which not many people have access to. If I have any more problems with that bleeder, this is the route I'm going to have to take...but I shouldn't since the bushing will never be removed.
The easy way to prevent this chaos is just to heat your calipers.
The following users liked this post:
Bret Jones (02-17-2015)
#28
According to their website, their general caliper spec says the calipers can handle 410 deg F maximum under braking conditions. Keep in mind this is with all the braking forces on the caliper as well. So the paint should definitely be good up to that point. Really, if you go any higher than that, you'll risk damage to the o-rings as well...A good viton o-ring is pretty much junk after 390's degs F...And I think that's actually the material of o-ring they use to seal the fluid passages.
Like ^ alread posted, using a heat gun would be better than using flame since it would increase temp of the aluminum more uniformly...also you can control temp on a lot of heat guns.
Like ^ alread posted, using a heat gun would be better than using flame since it would increase temp of the aluminum more uniformly...also you can control temp on a lot of heat guns.
#30
Kinda like if you don't want to get struck by lightning, don't stand in the middle of a field holding an umbrella. If you don't want frozen bleeder vlaves, just put some heat on the caliper and expand the aluminum. It's not hard to do...and may add like 10 minutes to the job.