[Ben]

OK, so on the weekend I decided that it was about time for a brake upgrade on the old ute. Last time I ran at Symmons they got very hot and faded heaps.....

The cheapest and easiest upgrade on my ute was to get decent brake pads and decent slotted rotors on the front (slotted rotors dissipate heat and contaminants better than standard ones. You can also get cross drilled ones which dissipate heat even better but unfortunately have a tendency to crack if they get too hot which some of our members have found out!)

Remember, if you are not confident doing this job then perhaps you would be wise to take it to a professional, remember these are your brakes, they are the things that stop you from crashing into stuff and killing yourself, and other people! Please don't mess with them if you don't have a clue what you're doing....

Now, on to the pictorial:

Things you'll need:

Here is a picture of all the bits I used:



From top, clockwise: Rags, newspaper (note the headline, how appropriate), masking tape, sandpaper, degreaser, caliper paint, new pads, rotors.

Tools you'll need:

Wheel brace, trolley jack, stands if you want to do it the proper way. Assorted spanners and sockets (mainly 19mm, 18mm and 12mm). A big hammer, although a puller would make life easier. A G-Clamp.

Cost:

The new rotors are anything from about $100 each and upwards depending on brand, features, number of slots etc. I picked mine up second hand fairly cheaply. There are all different types that can run to a few hundred bucks a pop for high quality two piece ones.

The brake pads were $140 for the set, I went with Bendix Ultimates as they seem to have a pretty good reputation for stopping power at high temperatures although a few people have said they're pretty dusty. Oh well, guess I'll have to clean my wheels more often.

Brake caliper paint is about $10-15 from Super Cheap or similar, degreaser will cost you a few dollars too. As for sandpaper, rags and masking tape, well if you can't find them somewhere then don't bother reading any further cos you won't be able to work out what we're doing here! Also some WD40 is handy for lubrication (although I just used the degreaser instead).

How to do the job!

Part One: The painting

OK, well my old rotors have painted hats, so to start with I decided I wanted to paint the new ones before I put them on, it's easier to do them off the car.

First things first, I grabbed some fairly coa*se sandpaper (just whatever I had in my toolbox, I think it was about 80 grit) and gave the hats a bit of a clean up. These rotors had been sitting in Baz's shed for 6 months or so, so they were covered in surface dust and needed a bit of a clean up. The aim here is just to get rid of most of the surface rust and roughen the surface a bit so the paint has something to stick to.

Here's a pic - the one on the right has been rubbed back already and the left one hasn't been done - you can clearly see the difference.



After both rotors were rubbed back, I sprayed them with degreaser and wiped them down to get rid of any dirt or dust that was hanging about on the surface. As with all painting, the key to a good job is preparation. It also helps to have a clean, undercover area out of the wind to work - as you can see I am doing this in my front yard so yeah... it's still a pretty crap job, but the thought was there.

Next I got the newspaper and masking tape and masked off the friction surface of the rotor.

Now this is not strictly necessary - if you get a little bit of paint on that part then it will burn off once the brakes are applied, within reason. But when I painted the last set of rotors, there was too much paint, and it actually gummed up the pads a fair bit and caused them to stick on for a little while - basically it's just easier to do the things properly in the first place. It doesn't have to be a perfect job, just gotta keep most of the paint away from the important bits! This is what I ended up with:



Anyway this is the stuff I used, it's proper stuff for brake calipers as they get pretty hot and normal paint has a tendency to just peel off!



Then all you do is shake well and apply thinnish coats half an hour or so apart. Try not to spray on too much at once (it's really tempting) as you'll end up with runs. Again, I am impatient so it has a run or two - not to mention that bugs kept committing suicide in the paint, so it's a bit lumpy in spots. Oh well.

This is what one of the rotors looked like after a few coats:



Once you're satisfied that they've got enough paint on them and it's all dry, peel off the masking. If you've done it right they'll look something like this:

[Ben]

Part Two: The fitting

OK, now we get to the fun bit.

Here is the front wheel of the ute - it needs a clean. You can see the old rotor sitting there looking smug... little does it know we are about to take off it's protective wheel and hit it with a big hammer.



First of all, my car has these pesky plastic covers over the wheel nuts. Pull the little bastards off with your fingers (although Holden actually supplies a special tool for people with broken fingers). This is what they look like after you take them off:



Here are the naked wheel nuts...



Now, loosen the wheel nuts off first, before you jack the car up. It's the easiest way, trust me folks. Remove the wheel and roll it away to one side, taking care not to sit your expensive mags face down on the concrete, cos that's nasty and you'll be annoyed with yourself.

As you can see from the marks, I basically painted the old rotors then chucked the wheel back on before they were properly dry:



Now you need to remove the brake caliper. There is one 12mm bolt at the top:



And one at the bottom:



Yes, it's the bolt at the outside, you will need an 18mm spanner to hold the inner shaft though and stop it from spinning. Under the rubber boot you can see in the photos is the pin that the caliper actually slides on when you apply the brakes - to do the job properly you should really grease under there when you put it back together.... but anyways, moving on.

Please do not let the caliper hang by the brake line as this is bad for your brake line and could cause it to split, leak, or cause other problems. Try to sit it somewhere on the front suspension, or somewhere else where there's no weight on the brake lines. Do not bother removing the brake line from it altogether, as then you'll let air into the system and you'll have to bleed the brakes before they'll work properly again, and that's a pain in the a*s especially if there's only one of you doing the job.

Okay, the caliper is off now, and you have access to the brake pads. Pull them out, they'll be dirty but by this stage you'll be dirtier than a hooker after a huge night out, so it won't matter. Remove them and place them to one side, or throw them over your shoulder being careful that there are no small children or furry animals in the landing area. Or just throw them anyway, if you like seeing furry animals in distress. Kids are another story.

Take note of how they were fitted (although the new ones should be labelled) - the outside ones have a large metal tang thing attached to them which sits over the inside pad as well, and helps stop them from squealing. Wish I'd taken a photo but I was distracted by the small children wailing in the background after being hit in the head by a flying brake pad. JUST KIDDING!

What you can see here is the cradle thingamibob (technical term) that the brake pads actually sit in. I've already removed them.



To remove this cradle thingy, undo the two 19mm bolts at the back. These suckers will be tight, and so they should be - if they come undone while you're cruising along the highway, you could be in a spot of bother. Here they are:



Once you've removed those two bolts, the cradle thingamebob will be free and you can lift it off and onto the ground. Please don't throw this over your shoulder, as you need it. Just leave it somewhere on the ground for people to trip over, like so:



Now that bit's done, you will be left with just a naked rotor like so:



So your arms and hands are sore from undoing those tight bolts, and your legs are sore from squatting in front of the car. Now you've gotta remove the rotor, so grab your big hammer and start belting bejeezus out of it.

[Ben]

Yes, this time I'm serious. The rotors are just an interference fit on the hub - that is, they just sit over the hub and the only thing that holds them on is the wheel, and the fact that they're a tight fit. So, spray some WD40 or some lubricant onto the hub, around the wheelstuds, and then start pulling. Just pull on the outside of the rotor with your hands and tap away at the hat to loosen it up, keep spinning the rotor around, and tapping with the hammer, and eventually it'll work its way off. Be careful not to hit the wheelstuds as you may damage them or push them through (they're only pressed in) and also don't hit the braking area of the rotor, you don't want to damage it, might want to use them again! Just hit them on the outside of the hub (the bit that's poking through the centre of the rotor) and on the hat itself (between the wheel studs) while slowly applying pressure.

If I had more time and a few more bits and pieces, I could have made a press which ran across between the wheelstuds and probably would have made it easier to get the hub off, but didn't have time.

Anyway, eventually it came off. Then you just put the new rotor on where the old one was. Because it was such a tight fit, I used a couple of wheel nuts to press the new rotor onto the hub as hard as I could, here's a pic of the new rotor in place:



Now it is just a matter of reversing the procedure - put the cradle thingy back on and do up the bolts... tightly. Here's one I prepared earlier:



Next I had to put the caliper back on - BUT since I was fitting new brake pads at the same time (and new ones are thicker than used ones because... well they haven't started to wear, duh!) you need to push the piston back into the caliper. This is where your G-clamp comes in.

Before you do this, it's wise to check your brake fluid reservoir and siphon a bit out if it's too full - when you push the pistons back into the caliper they will obviously displace brake fluid back into the system and push the level in the reservoir back up. You don't want it overflowing all over the paint in your engine bay, that's nasty....

Anyway here's my trusty G-Clamp doing it's thing. I had to give it some help, (hard to get good tools these days) but we make a good team, the G-Clamp and I... ooh look, twin spots!



OK now you're almost done, just place the new pads back in where the old ones were. Place the caliper over them and do up those 12mm bolts on the outside. Tightly, but not ludicrously tight - they are only thin and you could snap them with those gorilla lookin' arms of yours. Grease the slides, if you feel the urge, and if you have some grease handy. Don't use KY Jelly! I prefer rubber grease personally as it's less likely to perish the seals and comes in handy for many purposes.....

Put the wheel back on, and tighten at least a couple of wheel nuts so they're sitting in the taper nicely and the wheel is hard up on the rotor. Lower the car and tighten all the wheel nuts up - make sure they're tight, but don't snap a wheel stud. Put the silly little plastic caps on the wheel nuts. Then sit back and have a beer... no wait a second - you still have to do the other side!

Do the other side as per the instructions. Check the brake fluid level, make sure it's full, top up if necessary. Note: if your brakes have got very hot (as mine did) it is probably advisable to replace all the brake fluid and flush the system periodically, once your brake fluid has boiled it can be less effective. I didn't bother as I didn't have enough brake fluid lying around, also didn't have the time to bleed them all and didn't have enough light. Anyway now is an ideal time if that needs doing.... I'll save that for another tutorial.

Now it's time to go for a cruise and admire your handiwork.

[Ben]

Part Three: Bedding in, and the aftermath

Alright - so! You've done both sides as per the instructions. Now what do you do?

Well you should really take it for a drive and make sure everything is as it should be. You also need to bed in the new pads so that they don't glaze over and lose their effectiveness.

So yeah, jump in and start 'er up with the handbrake on. Pump the pedal a couple of times, make sure it feels okay. Feels solid? Alright, we're good to go.

Drive away carefully, listen and feel for any wobbles, squeaks or vibrations that weren't there before. Mine didn't have any, I took that as a good sign.

Then you should bed the pads in as per manufacturers instructions. What I do is drive for a hundred metres or so at about 40kph with the brakes applied, just to get them warm. Then I do about 6 or 7 hard stops from 60-80kph just to let the friction material of the pad know that it's in for a hard time. I'm not sure if that's completely the right way to do it but that's the way I've always done it, so yeah... anyway my cars have always stopped pretty well. If in doubt, check the instructions in the box.

Once I've done that then I'm usually pretty confident that they're right, so I'll drive around trying to get the thing to do a mono (it's not bloody easy in a ute, let me tell ya!) - anyway for now we're pretty much done.

Now this was a pretty easy job, really the painting took half an hour or so, spaced out over half a day while paint dried and stuff. Then all up the fitting took a little less than two hours, including the fact that I was taking lots of pictures and stuff. There was also one other thing that took a little while....

Apparently my good "gorilla arms" self did the wheel nuts up fairly tight last time I had the front wheels off. So tight in fact, that one of them would not budge no matter how hard I tried to remove it.

In fact, I managed to completely trash my wheel brace (thankyou Holden for providing such quality tools with your vehicles) in the process. I then thought to myself "oh no worries, I'll just do it with a socket". Well that was bloody stupid because I split the socket as well (there's a first time for everything... anyway Kinchrome sockets have a lifetime warranty so should be all good).

It was at this point I was starting to scratch my head as my home workshop isn't really all that well equipped when things go wrong.. thankfully I have a small set of metric impact sockets, and by using one of those, a short breaker bar, and shoving the end of the wheel brace onto the bar for extra leverage (kinda like a bit of pipe, it's just a flat piece of steel rolled into a tube) I finally managed to get the sneaky little bugger off. You wouldn't think removing a wheel would be the hard part of this job, would you... and of all the tools to fail.. A WHEEL BRACE???



Anyhow that was the story of my day, hope you enjoyed it and hope you learnt something.

Finally I suppose I'd better tell you what I think of the car.. well so far (it's only been 24 hours) it's excellent. The pedal feels great (firm and not spongy, much better than before with the old cheapy Ferodo pads) and there hasn't been a hint of brake fade so far - although I haven't tested 'em out too much yet. Been to Deloraine and back without issues though.

I was a little worried that the slotted rotors would be noisier when applying the brakes but so far I haven't noticed any extra noise at all, so that's all good. Now all that's left is to get it out on the track and see whether it makes a difference to the lap times!

[Howie-VL]

Well done on posting all that up Ben!!! Musta taken you a little while, lol! Nice job!

Some good peices of info there mate. Should help a few peeps out!

[dwaynE]

just a tip pushing your pistons back into the calipers:
make sure the fluid level in the master cylinder bottle is low enough that it won't overflow spilling brakefluid all down the engine bay of your car...
next up, sit one of the old brake pads in place over the pistons and make the clamp clamp onto the pad inbetween the two pistons.... this will make sure the pistons go in both together at the same time.... it also stops the risk of one going in popping the other one out....

but otherwise, good little feature ben....

[SSHatch]

And I think you will find that the other holes in the centre of the disc will take a 8x1.25 bolt.

Put one in either side and slowly tighten them up alternating sides and as the bolt goes through the disc and into the hub it will press the disc off.

[Ben]

Yep, I mentioned the brake fluid level in the reservoir dwayne... you must have missed that bit But thanks for the tip about using the old brake pad, I've always just done one at a time but that seems like a more sensible thing to do....

And yep PJ, nice pickup - the new rotors do indeed have a threaded hole in them so they'll be a lot easier to get off using a bolt. The old ones don't tho, unfortunately..

[V8RMBL]

dwaynE, on Aug 1 2005, 09:53 PM, said:

just a tip pushing your pistons back into the calipers:
make sure the fluid level in the master cylinder bottle is low enough that it won't overflow spilling brakefluid all down the engine bay of your car...
next up, sit one of the old brake pads in place over the pistons and make the clamp clamp onto the pad inbetween the two pistons.... this will make sure the pistons go in both together at the same time.... it also stops the risk of one going in popping the other one out....

but otherwise, good little feature ben....

Spewin, could have told me that before I wacked mine in , I was pushing 2 in on one side and the 2 on the other side popped out (this was as I was installing them) so I had to make a little gadget up that was basically 2 plates with a nut and bolt to push all 4 back in at the same time...


Back to subject on hand; Top thread Ben. Finished product should wipe some speed off easily

This post has been edited by V8RMBL: 02 August 2005 - 08:20 AM

[Prewer]

looks good cobber!!!!

those steps are exactly the same ones i took when i put the slotted rotors on my car a few weekends ago