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Changing rotors and pads- any problems to expect?

H

HenryKrinkle

NAXJA Forum User
Location
WI
Getting new raysbestos rotors and pads soon. I have been noticing a slight pulsing just after rain- when brakes are really grabby. I have no idea when the front brakes were last worked on.

Any tips as to what I might run into? It seems straightforward (2 caliper bolts each-swap parts), but I like to plan as I'll be doing after work and don't want to get stranded after hours.

They've lasted me about a year pretty well. The rears were done by a shop immediately after I bought it. I did a '96 booster/master swap into this '88.

Thanks for any advice...
 
Should be pretty straightforward. You should polish and lube the surfaces that the ears of the pads slide on. Sometimes they will develop a divot and cause the pads to hang up. If you can see a divot starting to form, smooth it out now before it gets any worse.

Also, depending on how worn your old pads are, you may need a way to remove some brake fluid from the system as well. I had to remove 3-4oz of fluid from the reservoir, but my old pads had 90K miles on them...
 
Its pretty straight forward. Just use some white lithium grease on all metal to metal contact areas where the pads slide in and make sure you make sure the caliper slides move freely. Take them out and clean/re-grease them
 
I did my own first brake job using cheap chinese autozone rotors about nine years ago... and they're STILL holding up just great...! Though I recently (last month) had to change out the pads... I HIGHLY recommend a random orbital sander with emery paper. Works AWESOME on clutches too.
 
Just another basic point if you never did it before. Push one caliper piston in before you take the other caliper off. Otherwise you might push the other piston out of the caliper, while compressing the first one. I just use a big channel lock pliers to push the pistons back in.
 
Can I just use a c-clamp to push in the caliper? I assume I take the cap off the master cylinder first and then do one side at a time? These should be auto-adjusting, right?
 
HenryKrinkle said:
Can I just use a c-clamp to push in the caliper? I assume I take the cap off the master cylinder first and then do one side at a time? These should be auto-adjusting, right?
Click to expand...

BRILLIANT! Yes, use the C-clamp to compress the piston. Remove the MC cap and suck some brake fluid out (cheap turkey baster), then compress the piston with the C-clamp. Make sure you put the calipers on with the bleeder screws pointing UP.

As brake fluid is Hygroscopic--it pulls moisture out of the atmosphere--it should be fully replaced every 30k miles. So, bleed the system using new fluid, RR/LR/RF/LF.

Good luck.
 
Will it be necessary to bleed if I don't open up the lines at all? I just flushed in new fluid 1k miles ago and probably won't have a helper to push the pedal.
 
I've found through the years that grabby brakes when damp are quite often drum type brakes. After you're done with the fronts, before you clean up the tools, at least eyeball the rears. Make sure there's enough lining left, that the shoes are wearing evenly, check the condition of the drums (grooving, etc.). At least blow the dust out carefully with compressed air. Good advice to bleed them all out. I've seen not-too-old cylinders fail because they were full of crud, yet older ones survive because of regular maintenance.
 
HenryKrinkle said:
Will it be necessary to bleed if I don't open up the lines at all? I just flushed in new fluid 1k miles ago and probably won't have a helper to push the pedal.
Click to expand...

No need to bleed unless you break the lines, so you are good to go--I thought I read calipers in your original post, hence the comment to make sure the bleeders are UP!

Good luck.
 
If you use a C clamp to compress the pistons make sure that either your pistons are metal, or phenolic (OEM) with the backing plate from an old brake pad in between. Don't want to punch a hole in the back end of the piston cup with the C clamp!
 
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