GTO Brake SWAP LOG. - Page 2

CateraMV6 · #11 (**permalink**) 06-25-07, 10:47 AM

BTW I Warned the guys from the GTO forums and told them that to pack their old 04 GTO brakes because I figured a lot of other people will be willing to do the brake upgrade...

elvin315 · #12 (**permalink**) 06-26-07, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CateraMV6

BTW I Warned the guys from the GTO forums and told them that to pack their old 04 GTO brakes because I figured a lot of other people will be willing to do the brake upgrade...

I hope they don't jack the asking price because of that.

CateraMV6 · #13 (**permalink**) 06-26-07, 04:40 PM

Well I didn't quite tell them that people will be going crazy for those but I replied to one of the guys that was offering me a set that someone else might be interested... by someone else I meant the guys around here... I sure as hell hope they dont jack up the price on these things because that would suck...

k0yla · #14 (**permalink**) 06-28-07, 11:36 AM

Great innovative thinking CateraMV6.
they look awesome, and I am sure do a lot better job than the stock brakes - i am not really a big fan of the stock brakes.

Quick question for you: when you changed the Tie-rd ends, did you change the whole unit, i.e. the sleeves, as well as the inner tie-rod ends?
i brought my car to the Dealership today, with the Tie-rod ends purchased online, they said that they cannot just replace the tie-rod ends, they have to replace the sleeves as well as the inner tie-rod ends.
is that true? because i'll change the tie-rod ends myself, if it's that easy to change.

CateraMV6 · #15 (**permalink**) 06-28-07, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k0yla

Great innovative thinking CateraMV6.
they look awesome, and I am sure do a lot better job than the stock brakes - i am not really a big fan of the stock brakes.

Quick question for you: when you changed the Tie-rd ends, did you change the whole unit, i.e. the sleeves, as well as the inner tie-rod ends?
i brought my car to the Dealership today, with the Tie-rod ends purchased online, they said that they cannot just replace the tie-rod ends, they have to replace the sleeves as well as the inner tie-rod ends.
is that true? because i'll change the tie-rod ends myself, if it's that easy to change.

Nope if your inners are ok you dont have to change them just unbolt the middle piece and unscrew the outer tie rod end... and reverse with the new one..

BTW lift the car up and grab the wheel with your hands on 3 and 9 oclock and pull back and forth and you will feel if the tie rods are bad... then you can have someone stick their head under and watch the ball joints the one that is bad will move...

If everything is tight and there is no play dont bother changing them...

What ever you do dont take it to the stealership cuz they will charge you for laber and then they will force you to do alignment whcih can worsen things because apparently they dont know how to fix our cars... go figure.

k0yla · #16 (**permalink**) 06-29-07, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CateraMV6

Nope if your inners are ok you dont have to change them just unbolt the middle piece and unscrew the outer tie rod end... and reverse with the new one..

BTW lift the car up and grab the wheel with your hands on 3 and 9 oclock and pull back and forth and you will feel if the tie rods are bad... then you can have someone stick their head under and watch the ball joints the one that is bad will move...

If everything is tight and there is no play dont bother changing them...

What ever you do dont take it to the stealership cuz they will charge you for laber and then they will force you to do alignment whcih can worsen things because apparently they dont know how to fix our cars... go figure.

yeah, you're right. they said it will be 4 hours labor, plus the alignment and the remaining parts.
i just had them do the idler arm, which they finished in 10 mins but charged me $136.
see, the reason why i've been thinking it is the outer tie-rod ends that are bad is because the steering wheel gets a violent shake in between the speed of 43.5mph and 49.7mph. right after i pass 50mph, the shake stops. or if i drop the speed to lower than 43.5 mph, the shake would also stop.
the car vibrates at high speeds, but not as violently as the aforementioned speeds.

CateraMV6 · #17 (**permalink**) 06-29-07, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k0yla

yeah, you're right. they said it will be 4 hours labor, plus the alignment and the remaining parts.
i just had them do the idler arm, which they finished in 10 mins but charged me $136.
see, the reason why i've been thinking it is the outer tie-rod ends that are bad is because the steering wheel gets a violent shake in between the speed of 43.5mph and 49.7mph. right after i pass 50mph, the shake stops. or if i drop the speed to lower than 43.5 mph, the shake would also stop.
the car vibrates at high speeds, but not as violently as the aforementioned speeds.

I had similar vibrations but mine was from the tires which were out of shape... new tires fixed everything...

I can feel some sort of looseness in the steering and actual tapping when I go over bumps thats why I changed the outer tie rod end now it feels stiff as new...

CateraMV6 · #18 (**permalink**) 06-29-07, 10:49 AM

Some of the latest photos. Also now that the brakes have broken in... the car has changed entirely, coming to a dead stop is no longer a challenge... I love them.

GTO Brakes
The other day they got me out of a 4 car pile up... the trafic up ahead all the sudden stopped and the 4 cars in front of me nailed each other , i managed to stop 4 feet from the other guys bumper all thanks to these monsters..

todd2fst4u · #19 (**permalink**) 07-01-07, 11:01 PM

wow the v emblems are nice and tacky. you dont own a v....you own a catera

k0yla · #20 (**permalink**) 07-03-07, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CateraMV6

I had similar vibrations but mine was from the tires which were out of shape... new tires fixed everything...

I can feel some sort of looseness in the steering and actual tapping when I go over bumps thats why I changed the outer tie rod end now it feels stiff as new...

Thanks Bro.
You were right, changing the Tie Rod ends was a joke. The only complication that I ran into was the tie-rod being seized. I brought it to a local guy and had him torch 'em to pop 'em out. but needless to say, had it done in less than 10 minutes without throwing off the alignment.
The shake in the steering is gone, as well as the feel of the ride is much more firmer.
Again, thanks for the help. I think your DIY should be a sticky for those who get conned by the dealerships.