Jul 10, 2016, 2:05 am · #1
Last weekend I went through the process of replacing the rear brakes and, although I underestimated the difficulty of dealing with that pesky emergency brake cable, I got it done in a very long, hot, sweaty fucking day. Praise gawad. After a half day at work I decided to take on the front brakes not really expecting to find that the nut holding the hub on was going to be so...weird. Question 1: What type of nut is that? Tis not in my FSM. Question 2: What tool or extension do I need to remove this so I can change the rotors? I haven't seen this information posted anywhere. Once I get the tool I need, I'll be able to replace my rotors and I can go through how that worked on this thread for those that are interested!
Now that I'm done groveling, I'll get to the informational side of the thread: Part 1 - Duralast Caliper Replacement - What you need, What you need to do, Pro (laughter from the background) tips, Ass, Titties, Ass and Titties!
What you need-
- Your new calipers
The brackets for those calipers
DOT 3 brake fluid
New Pads
10 mm open wrench
Ratchet
12 mm socket
3/4 socket
14 mm socket (in case your brackets aren't pre-installed)
Hammer (in case your old calipers need encouragement to get the hell off the rotor)
Aquarium tubing to go and water bottle
Lighter to melt the hose to the bottle
Wire hanger to hold the caliper x2
What to do-
1. Jack the car up under the frame, jack stands, leave the jack under for safety, don't leave anything under the wheels.
2. Take the wheels off and don't "oh fudge" the lugs...or dad's gonna kill Ralphie.
3. Because you're straight up replacing the whole calipers, don't bother separating the caliper from the housing. Using a 3/4 socket and some effort, break the bolts holding the caliper to the car.
4. Protip! With your wire hanger and big strong muscles, bend the support portion of the hanger into hooks to claw the caliper and hook it onto the coil so it's out of the way.
***ENSURE THE BLEEDER HOLE OF YOUR NEW CALIPER IS AT THE TOP***
5. If you're lucky and your calipers had the brackets installed skip to the part where we put the pads in. If no, pay attention. Bolt the new caliper to the car in the factory location with MINIMAL torque and grab your 14 mm socket to separate the piston housing from the bracket by removing the two outward facing bolts that mate them. Hang the piston housing the same way you did in step 4.
6. Unbolt the bracket from the car.
7. Using the factory caliper as a template, mimic the little metal bracket placement. If Duralast screwed you the way they screwed me by giving me those little metal brackets that were "close" to the right size, the next step will piss you off because you literally have to hold them on the whole time.
8. Insert the pads making sure the one with the metal thing goes in on the side where the bracket bolts to the car.
9. Now that you've done the most irritating part, GOOD JOB. If you're reusing the old rotors, spray them down with a solvent to remove any rust on the breaking surface if you like. Now, bolt the bracket back to the car making sure there's enough space between the pads but make sure you don't separate them too much. Torque the bolts down with your 3/4 socket.
10. Now, bolt the piston housing back to the bracket with your 14 mm socket. Torque the bolts and squeeze the brake with your hands to ensure the bolt went in correctly.
11. There is a green plug on the back of your newly installed caliper which you need to remove prior to your next step but DO NOT THROW THIS AWAY. After the next step you'll need to use this plug to go into the same hole on your old caliper. You may need to overfill the master cylinder with your brake fluid in case you might drop something.
12. With your 12 mm socket and quick hands, unbolt the brake line from your old caliper and be sure that you retain your washer as it WILL fall off.
13. Quickly align and bolt the line to your new caliper and plug the old caliper with the green plug mentioned above.
14. Make sure everything is torqued down and clear the wheel-well.
15. Repeat the above for the other side.
16. Grab your water bottle and either drill a hole in the cap or burn a hole in the side of the bottle the size of your aquarium hosing.
17. Protip! Run the hosing through your new hole and make sure there's plenty of slack in the bottom of the bottle and lightly melt the plastic of the bottle to the hose. Put enough brake fluid in the bottle to cover the end of the hose in the bottle. This will ensure that when you begin bleeding and pull your foot off the petal the hydraulic system doesn't suck air in through the hose.
By now, the caliper should be full of fluid so bleeding aught to be quick. Give your master cylinder another shot of brake fluid.
18. Connect the loose end of the hose to your bleeding hole. As I mentioned above, the bleeder should be at the top.
19. With your 10 mm wrench, crack the valve.
20. You may or may not get fluid immediately. If you do, pump it a bit anyway and close the valve. If you don't, pump the brakes a few times and check the hose/bottle for bubbles. Continue this and be sure to keep your master cylinder from running dry. If it dries up on you, you're gonna have a bad time. Continue this exercise until you don't see bubbles coming out.
21. Go to the other side and repeat step 20.
22. Remount the wheels, set the old girl down and torque the lugs with the car on the ground. Give your brakes a few pumps and your petal will firm up.
23. Once you're satisfied, check the master cylinder and brake fluid level. If it is acceptable, mark it with a paint stick of sharpie and cap it.
There it is! Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures...rain was coming in and I kept getting shit in by eyes every time the wind would gust. Wamp wamp.
