DIY: 5AT Brakes, Rotors, DIY, Oh My!
#1
04-27-2005, 05:46 AM
DIY: 5AT Brakes, Rotors, DIY, Oh My!
Well, I've been trying to get this thing done forever (so it seems) and I guess it's at a point where I can at least start it up! It's been too long so I don't remember the exact metric wrench/socket sizes for some of the bolts, so I gave a range that the items could be. I'll edit this when verify the actual values.
So, for all you 5ATers that want to do it yourself, this one's for you!
Brake pads/calipers:
tools:
Metric socket or box wrench set
Bungee Cord
Floor Jack
C-Clamp or Channel Lock
Original brake pads (Hmm. . .where do you get that one?)
Metric flare wrench for bleeding valves
brake fluid
First off, pop your hood, and remove the cap to your brake fluid reservoir. That way when you compress the brake pistons back in, there won't be any back pressure from the air that gets trapped in the reservoir. Be cautious not to get any dirt or grime in the brake fluid reservoir. . .the brake system doesn't like it!
First pics, and very helpful tools, are the diagrams for the brake systems:
Here we go, rears first!
1. Jack up car (see the Jacking your G for the jacking points. . .)
2. Remove wheel. . .I think we should all be able to do this.
3. Looking at the brake caliper, remove TOP sliding bolt only (10mm or 12mm)
4. Slide caliper off, and pivot down, like in the first pic.
5. Hang caliper with bungee cord if desired, to remove tension off of brake line. I usually loop a the bungee through the top coil on the spring if I can. In my pic, I had the brake lines removed, so I didn't need a bungee.
6. Remove original brake pads
7. Put original pad in caliper, and compress piston back in with channel locks or c-clamp. Some people use a block of wood, but I find that the original pad works great, and you are going to chuck it anyway, so. . .
8. Put shims and PDC (brake grease stuff that is REALLY sticky!) on new brake pads backings, wherever contact is made with the caliper. The clip the pads into place. (PIC 2 & 3)
9. Slide caliper back on.
10. Put in sliding pin bolts, hand tighten as far as they go, then torque to 28-36 ft-lbs. It should look like the pic. . .
11. Put wheel back on
12. Lower car
1. Jack up car, (this time on the front. . .duh!!)
2. Remove wheel
3. Remove two sliding bolts (12mm or 14mm) (PIC 1)
4. Pull caliper away completely.
5. Hang caliper with bungee from top coil of spring (better a bungee than your brake line!) Again, I had my brake lines removed. . .so I didn't hang my caliper in the pic.
6. Again, use the orignal brake pad in caliper against piston, compress pistion back in completely with c-clamp or channel locks (like rear PIC)
7. Put shims from the original brake pads on new brake pad backings and PDC (brake grease stuff that is REALLY sticky!) wherever contact is made with the caliper. The PDC I have is the red slime in the next pic. . .
8. Clip brake pads into place, (also like in the second pic)
9. Slide Caliper back on
10. Put in sliding pin bolts, hand tighten as far as they go, then torque to 17-22 ft-lbs. (PIC 1 again)
11. When it's complete, it'll look like the third pic. . .
12. Put wheel back on
13. Lower car
Rotors:
Tools:
22mm box wrench (front)
rubber mallet
smaller box wrench (rear) I think it's a 15mm. . .but don't quote me on it! Just bring a whole set with you! LOL
Again, I'll start with the rears:
Rears:
1. Remove Brake Pads and caliper as above
2. Loosen bottom sliding bolt, but you won't be able to remove it, (the rear suspension gets in the way) (Pic 1)
3. While caliper is hanging, remove torque member bolts (14mm, 15mm, or 16mm) (PIC 2) They are on pretty good. . .but if you have problems with them just wait for the fronts! What a pain!
4. When torque member is removed, remove lower caliper sliding bolt to allow caliper to hang on the bungee cord.
5. Rotor is now exposed, so remove rotor, gently tapping with rubber mallet if needed (See the pic for the front rotor "recommended striking points" if your rotor is rusted on. . .it shouldn't be tho! Mine wasn't.)
6. Use caution with rear rotors, as the parking brake is a drum style brake in the middle of the rotor, and you don't want to get any dirt or grime on those parts!
7. Replace rotor (or put on new rotor)
8. Attach caliper back to torque member with sliding bolt, hand tighten only.
9. Re-attach torque member to suspension frame with bolts, torque to 53 - 71 ft-lbs.
10. Caliper will still hang, but tighten bottom sliding bolt 28-36 ft-lbs.
11. Follow instructions for putting pads and calipers back on as above.
Fronts:
1. Remove brake pads and caliper as above
2. Remove the torque member bolts with a 22mm box wrench (closed side) These puppies are on at 113-114 ft-lbs, so it'll take some work/beating the wrench with a rubber mallet. . .(PIC 1 shows my 22mm wrench. . .LOL)
-PIC 2 shows me pointing to the torque member bolt
-PIC 3 shows the brake assembly with the torque member removed, and the exposed torque member bolt. . .
-PIC 4 is my battle trophy. . .that thing was a PAIN to get off!
3. Rotor is now exposed, so remove rotor, gently tapping with rubber mallet if needed. . .this only happens if your rotor is completely rusted on. Again, mine wasn't at all.
4. Replace rotor (or put on new rotor)
5. Reattach torque member with torque member bolts, to a whopping 113-114 ft-lbs. Ugh! The torque isn't impossible. . .it's just really awkward in the wheel well to get leverage!
6. Follow instuctions for putting pads and calipers back on as above.
Hmmm. . .as I think of things, I'll add 'em. And as I find mistakes, I'll change 'em! But for now. . .this is it. Stay tuned for the stainless steel brake line addition, and the caliper paint pointers!
Hopefully this will help all you DIYers. . .I actually thought I had more pictures than I had. And unfortunately a bunch of the pics just didn't turn out.
Anyway. . .will update soon, then get moved to the DIY section. . .
Thanks for lookin!
-drew-
Well. . . tips anyway.
If you want to mask off each one and paint each one individually, it is possible, but the caliper paint may harden too quickly unless you have all four wheels off at once. Or, you can take the caliper and torque members all off and paint at your leisure. I'll assume you are going to take off the calipers/torque members all together, and you are using the G2 paint kit.
Hokai! So, here we go:
1. Remove calipers and torque members as from above, like you are going to change the rotors.
2. Clean the parts (the G2 kit comes with cleaner) and use a wire brush! Scrub those bad boys until they look new! Piccy 1 is of a dirty and clean caliper. When it's clean it'll have a nicer light grey look.
3. Next, mix the epoxy with the activator, paying attention to the temp outside, since the hotter it is the faster the epoxy will harden.
4. Paint the epoxy onto the calipers, making sure to cover the parts that will be seen through the wheel. No need to waste valuable epoxy on parts that won't be seen! (Pic 2)
5. After you've painted all the parts, (pic 3?) paint over them again. . .and agian. . .and again. . .until the epoxy in your mixing cup is gone. . .
6. If you painted them at night, let them dry over night. If you painted them during the day, now you WANT them to get hot. I set mine out in the direct sunlight to "cure" for an hour or two. (Pic 4.) If you don't wait to let the epoxy cure long enough, you can easily put finger prints in it. Then it'll harden with a mark in it. Avoid that if possible.
7. When all is hardened and dried, put the calipers/torque members back on, and admire your cool "new" brakes!
that is slick...
So, for all you 5ATers that want to do it yourself, this one's for you!
Brake pads/calipers:
tools:
Metric socket or box wrench set
Bungee Cord
Floor Jack
C-Clamp or Channel Lock
Original brake pads (Hmm. . .where do you get that one?)
Metric flare wrench for bleeding valves
brake fluid
First off, pop your hood, and remove the cap to your brake fluid reservoir. That way when you compress the brake pistons back in, there won't be any back pressure from the air that gets trapped in the reservoir. Be cautious not to get any dirt or grime in the brake fluid reservoir. . .the brake system doesn't like it!
First pics, and very helpful tools, are the diagrams for the brake systems:
Here we go, rears first!
1. Jack up car (see the Jacking your G for the jacking points. . .)
2. Remove wheel. . .I think we should all be able to do this.
3. Looking at the brake caliper, remove TOP sliding bolt only (10mm or 12mm)
4. Slide caliper off, and pivot down, like in the first pic.
5. Hang caliper with bungee cord if desired, to remove tension off of brake line. I usually loop a the bungee through the top coil on the spring if I can. In my pic, I had the brake lines removed, so I didn't need a bungee.
6. Remove original brake pads
7. Put original pad in caliper, and compress piston back in with channel locks or c-clamp. Some people use a block of wood, but I find that the original pad works great, and you are going to chuck it anyway, so. . .
8. Put shims and PDC (brake grease stuff that is REALLY sticky!) on new brake pads backings, wherever contact is made with the caliper. The clip the pads into place. (PIC 2 & 3)
9. Slide caliper back on.
10. Put in sliding pin bolts, hand tighten as far as they go, then torque to 28-36 ft-lbs. It should look like the pic. . .
11. Put wheel back on
12. Lower car
1. Jack up car, (this time on the front. . .duh!!)
2. Remove wheel
3. Remove two sliding bolts (12mm or 14mm) (PIC 1)
4. Pull caliper away completely.
5. Hang caliper with bungee from top coil of spring (better a bungee than your brake line!) Again, I had my brake lines removed. . .so I didn't hang my caliper in the pic.
6. Again, use the orignal brake pad in caliper against piston, compress pistion back in completely with c-clamp or channel locks (like rear PIC)
7. Put shims from the original brake pads on new brake pad backings and PDC (brake grease stuff that is REALLY sticky!) wherever contact is made with the caliper. The PDC I have is the red slime in the next pic. . .
8. Clip brake pads into place, (also like in the second pic)
9. Slide Caliper back on
10. Put in sliding pin bolts, hand tighten as far as they go, then torque to 17-22 ft-lbs. (PIC 1 again)
11. When it's complete, it'll look like the third pic. . .
12. Put wheel back on
13. Lower car
Rotors:
Tools:
22mm box wrench (front)
rubber mallet
smaller box wrench (rear) I think it's a 15mm. . .but don't quote me on it! Just bring a whole set with you! LOL
Again, I'll start with the rears:
Rears:
1. Remove Brake Pads and caliper as above
2. Loosen bottom sliding bolt, but you won't be able to remove it, (the rear suspension gets in the way) (Pic 1)
3. While caliper is hanging, remove torque member bolts (14mm, 15mm, or 16mm) (PIC 2) They are on pretty good. . .but if you have problems with them just wait for the fronts! What a pain!
4. When torque member is removed, remove lower caliper sliding bolt to allow caliper to hang on the bungee cord.
5. Rotor is now exposed, so remove rotor, gently tapping with rubber mallet if needed (See the pic for the front rotor "recommended striking points" if your rotor is rusted on. . .it shouldn't be tho! Mine wasn't.)
6. Use caution with rear rotors, as the parking brake is a drum style brake in the middle of the rotor, and you don't want to get any dirt or grime on those parts!
7. Replace rotor (or put on new rotor)
8. Attach caliper back to torque member with sliding bolt, hand tighten only.
9. Re-attach torque member to suspension frame with bolts, torque to 53 - 71 ft-lbs.
10. Caliper will still hang, but tighten bottom sliding bolt 28-36 ft-lbs.
11. Follow instructions for putting pads and calipers back on as above.
Fronts:
1. Remove brake pads and caliper as above
2. Remove the torque member bolts with a 22mm box wrench (closed side) These puppies are on at 113-114 ft-lbs, so it'll take some work/beating the wrench with a rubber mallet. . .(PIC 1 shows my 22mm wrench. . .LOL)
-PIC 2 shows me pointing to the torque member bolt
-PIC 3 shows the brake assembly with the torque member removed, and the exposed torque member bolt. . .
-PIC 4 is my battle trophy. . .that thing was a PAIN to get off!
3. Rotor is now exposed, so remove rotor, gently tapping with rubber mallet if needed. . .this only happens if your rotor is completely rusted on. Again, mine wasn't at all.
4. Replace rotor (or put on new rotor)
5. Reattach torque member with torque member bolts, to a whopping 113-114 ft-lbs. Ugh! The torque isn't impossible. . .it's just really awkward in the wheel well to get leverage!
6. Follow instuctions for putting pads and calipers back on as above.
Hmmm. . .as I think of things, I'll add 'em. And as I find mistakes, I'll change 'em! But for now. . .this is it. Stay tuned for the stainless steel brake line addition, and the caliper paint pointers!
Hopefully this will help all you DIYers. . .I actually thought I had more pictures than I had. And unfortunately a bunch of the pics just didn't turn out.
Anyway. . .will update soon, then get moved to the DIY section. . .
Thanks for lookin!
-drew-
Well. . . tips anyway.
If you want to mask off each one and paint each one individually, it is possible, but the caliper paint may harden too quickly unless you have all four wheels off at once. Or, you can take the caliper and torque members all off and paint at your leisure. I'll assume you are going to take off the calipers/torque members all together, and you are using the G2 paint kit.
Hokai! So, here we go:
1. Remove calipers and torque members as from above, like you are going to change the rotors.
2. Clean the parts (the G2 kit comes with cleaner) and use a wire brush! Scrub those bad boys until they look new! Piccy 1 is of a dirty and clean caliper. When it's clean it'll have a nicer light grey look.
3. Next, mix the epoxy with the activator, paying attention to the temp outside, since the hotter it is the faster the epoxy will harden.
4. Paint the epoxy onto the calipers, making sure to cover the parts that will be seen through the wheel. No need to waste valuable epoxy on parts that won't be seen! (Pic 2)
5. After you've painted all the parts, (pic 3?) paint over them again. . .and agian. . .and again. . .until the epoxy in your mixing cup is gone. . .
6. If you painted them at night, let them dry over night. If you painted them during the day, now you WANT them to get hot. I set mine out in the direct sunlight to "cure" for an hour or two. (Pic 4.) If you don't wait to let the epoxy cure long enough, you can easily put finger prints in it. Then it'll harden with a mark in it. Avoid that if possible.
7. When all is hardened and dried, put the calipers/torque members back on, and admire your cool "new" brakes!
that is slick...
Last edited by O NO; 04-05-2008 at 10:17 AM.
The following 3 users liked this post by Drewer:
#7
09-24-2005, 10:29 AM
