03 sedan with ~185K. Current rotors/calipers are aftermarket and were installed a long while back. Rotors were turned about 15-20K miles ago...just got new tires and was told the rotors were in pretty awful need of replacement. After I took a closer look, I'm in agreement ...there is a pretty nasty lip.

My question is this...does the fact that the calipers are aftermarket affect what rotors I get now? I unfortunately have no idea what brand the current caliper/rotors are, and really have no idea how to check.

 

What indication do you have that your calipers are aftermarket? Those are looking very stock to me. The clip/retaining hardware in your last picture is definitely stock.

Your rotors are obviously not stock, so I would just replace those with any common rotor for your car model. Avoid the cross-drilled and slotted scene (which is what you have now) unless you're doing autocrossing or some other enthusiast events. Even then, with stock calipers, I would just stick with normal rotors. If you're doing it yourself, you can get centric (who is the oem for a ton of other companies) rotors on amazon (free shipping, which is great for heavy rotors) or your favorite car parts store will have several options.

If you're having a shop do the job, they'll probably suggest changing your brake fluid if it looks dirty in the engine bay reservoir. This topic is very debatable since nissan doesn't have a service interval on the brake fluid. But you are way up there in miles so might not be a bad idea.

 

Yeah was just watching a video, and I agree that the calipers do indeed look stock. I'm not too educated when it comes to this sort of stuff...but the only difference I can tell is the stock caliper from the video had what appeared to be a "15" labeled on it, and mine has what appears to be an "18".

Anyways, am still debating if I want to do it myself. I really don't think changing rotors/pads is something too high on the difficulty scale, so I might tackle it myself. At the same time, I don't want to royally mess anything up

Was looking at just some blank Brembo replacement rotors (model no 25840). They look to be about $50 each (less then the Centric ones I have seen).

Thanks for the response. Really appreciate it. If there's anything you, or anyone else, would like to add, I'd be glad to hear it.

 

The G Coupe in 2003 was offered with gold Brembo calipers which are larger than the stock G sedan setup that you have. I'm thinking that Brembo rotor you found is for the G coupe Brembo package specifically. Unfortunately most online car part finders will only ask for year and model and won't clarify further than that when there are variations.

121.42074 is the standard Centric FRONT rotor for $34 shipped on amazon which is dirt cheap. They do not come in a pair so you are buying just one rotor. Rockauto.com is a popular online car parts shop and they've got it for $27 but shipping will kill it. Local store brand rotors will probably cost more than the Centric units so it's really hard to beat that price.

I enjoy doing my own brake work. Fairly simple and online videos are so much nicer than pictures out of the factory service manual. Some of the bolts can be extremely stubborn so you'll need to have a breaker bar or be able to rig up a breaker bar over your ratchet. Pads are usually replaced at the same time as rotors since you're tearing it all apart, but maybe your pads are good.

 

Just ordered. Was also looking at the premium version of the Centric, but a little research indicated the differences were minor and mostly cosmetic.

Pads are down to 2mm, so also need replacing. Do you have any recommendations there?

Thanks again.

 

Stoptech 309 pads with centric 125, rotors

 

My girlfriend has the centric rotors, and i put the Wagner Thermoquiet brake pads on the front and rear, did a brake fluid flush also(car had 125k on it). It stops alot better than before. Also, check where the bolts from the caliper mount into the bracket, that little accordian looking piece on my g/f's was missing on one of each bracket, and it had siezed up and the caliper wouldn't situate onto the bracket correctly.

 

+1

Looks stock to me. I've heard people have great things to say about standard Brembo blanks over cross drilled or slotted rotors as well, so for normal street driving I think that's probably the best bet.

 

You'll get a million different opinions on brake pads. I've been using Akebono ProACT's on my G and Maxima and haven't found a reason to change. Akebono is Nissan's OEM and it's a lot cheaper to buy bono's vs Nissan branded. Akebono also makes the fancy pants big brake kits on the more recent Infiniti's so I figure they must be doing something right. Looks like $44 for the ACT815 on amazon right now which is a complete front set (both sides). I've had brake pads that leave behind excessive brake dust on the wheels which drives me nuts. Haven't had a problem with that using Akebono. Most car shops are going to install Wagner and Raybestos - Akebono would generally be regarded as a higher end brand compared to those 2.

Akebono includes some decent thermal pad grease in the box. So the only other thing you'd need is some high temp grease for the slider bolts. And don't forget that breaker bar if you are doing this yourself. You will almost always need it or some other method for removing stubborn bolts.

 

Thanks guys.

As for the calipers, I guess a lot can happen in 185K miles, but I'm pretty sure there were some aftermarket calipers installed sometime in the early life of the car. In any case, the ones on their now are indeed stock.

I went with the standard Centric blanks and the Wagner ThermoQuiet ceramic pads, as also suggested. The car is getting up there in both age and miles, so I've made the decision to just stick with the basics, if that makes sense.

I'll do it myself. I've watched a few videos, and it seems like something I'll be able to get done in an hour or two. I just need to get my hands on a 22mm socket for the mounting bolts on the torque member.

If anyone has any further suggestions installation-wise (what to make sure to do/not do), feel free to add your two cents.

Edit - One additional question I do have is this - the lip on the rotor seems fairly large. Do you think I will run into any problems with getting the caliper off the rotor?

 

Nope...just wiggle the caliper and the pistons will slowly retract and you'll get them off.



Those rotors were way too thin many miles ago. Def need replacement.

 

Thanks.

One final question. What's the kosher way to compress the caliper piston? Just push the fluid back all the way through making sure not to overflow the reservoir, or to open the bleeder?

Seems like there are risks involved with both (pushing dirty fluid through the ABS, or introducing air into the lines).

 

Get a C Clamp and a small piece of wood, open the Cap on the fluid reservoir and use the C clamp to push in the piston back. With the small piece of wood.

 

One of the easiest way to compress the piston is to put the used brake pad against the piston and push it back with a clamp. You should replace the brake fluid since you are replacing rotors. Brake fluid should be replaced every 3 years. Best time to do it is when you are replacing pads or rotors.

 

I've frequently heard 2 years as an interval.


I change my fluid yearly and each time i notice pedal improvement. If you live in a humid environment, you might want to change fluid more frequently than someone in the desert like Arizona. Brake fluid absorbs water.