So I bought the chilton's book on my car which basically makes my car look like a Lego set. I need to change my brakes but the GM dealer wants $365. So would it be way easier to do it myself? If so do you guys have any advice?Please remember, I'm new when it comes to cars. :helpless:

Brake replacement is a pretty easy job if you understand

the "basics" of it. Your manual should explain how to do it.
You have a rotor, the caliper applies pressure on the rotor to stop the car.

#1 Jack the car, support it with wooden block or something, not the floor jack!
#2 remove the wheel and spray everything with brake cleaner so the area is clean and free of asbestos (some recommend wearing a mask)
#3 loosen up a bit the caliper by inserting a pry bar, just enough to loosen it from the rotor so you can slid it over the rotor, be carefull not to damage the rotor!
#4 Loosen the HEX bolt behind the caliper, there is one or 2 bolts
#5 Slid the caliper off, do not let it hang by the brake line! Now you can remove the pads and rotor
#6 Have the rotor ressurfaced at a local shop or buy new one if they are too thin (your local shop should tell you this
#7 Put rotor back in place and lubricate behing the rotor with high tempereture copper grease so it wont seize in place, Clean the surface of the rotor with brake cleaner
#8 Push the piston all the way back (rotate on the rear brakes) while opening the bleeder on top of the caliper. Usually a large C clamp is usefull to push it back. Only open the bleeder when you are pushing on the piston or air will get into the system (this might be a good time to bleed your brake system if you feel like it), if you do not open the bleeder you may damage the ABS sensor
#9 Replace the pads making sure they are the same model as the one that came off, dont forget to put back the metal thinghy on the rear brakes (there may be some on the front brakes... depends)
#10 clean the bushing that are on the bolt that holds the caliper
#11 put the caliper back in place and bolt it down
#12 pump the brake pedal until you get a solid feel, this will bring the caliper in the righ position with the rotor.
#13 Repeat for the axle, always change brakes in pair (front or rear) or the car may pull to one side when braking
#14 Once everything is reassembled you have to warm up the brakes. There are different theory on this... Personnaly i bring the car to 25 km/h the brake to 10 km/h, then 40 back to 10, 60 back to 10, 75 back to 10. Now your brake should be good for regular useage. Just try not to STOP completely when doing this


The only special tool you will need should be a brake block or brake square to rotate the piston on the rear brakes

#8 Push the piston all the way back (rotate on the rear brakes) while opening the bleeder on top of the caliper. Usually a large C clamp is usefull to push it back. Only open the bleeder when you are pushing on the piston or air will get into the system (this might be a good time to bleed your brake system if you feel like it), if you do not open the bleeder you may damage the ABS sensor..........

.....
The only special tool you will need should be a brake block or brake square to rotate the piston on the rear brakes

Can anyone shed a bit more light on this? Do you have to rotate the rear piston to get it in (ie you can't just use a C-Clamp?) or do you rotate for maintenance purposes?

I'm not sure what a brake block or brake square is or how it would assist to rotate the piston.

-jadz

The rear piston is threaded and "screws" in as opposed to the fronts that are pushed in with a C-clamp. The face of the piston has two opposing recesses that will accept the nipples on the brake cube to assist in rotating it (somewhat like a spanner wrench). The brake cube is just that, a hollow cube. Each of the six sides has to two nipples on it in different positions for different applications. There is also a square hole in the center of each of the six sides to attatch it to a 3/8" drive ratchet extention. This will all make much more sense when you see it. You can srew the pistons in without the brake cube by using pliers but it is much more difficult and you risk tearing the rubber dust boot on the back side. The brake cube is about $8-$16. Tip, it is much easier to rotate the piston back in if you open the bleeder valve on the rears.

The rear brake you have to turn them, doing it with a large pair of plyer is a PAIN in the @SS!!! trust me, and i tore both rubber dust cover when i did it :(

The front brake you do by pushing with the C-Clamp.

Opening the bleeder valve is not a suggestion, its a must! or you could damage the ABS sensor! Im sure you prefer speeding 3$ on a can of brake fluid then troubleshooting electronic brake sensors!

sounds like if he doesn't have someone there with him while he's doing the brakes to walk him through it he might be better off taking the car to the dealer.........and I'm not trying be be funny.......sometime when you try to do a job you really don't know how, in the end most of the time it may cost you more to fix something you have mess up by mistake.

Thank you all for your insight. I will get a brake block, some extra fluid and some brake cleaner and give it a try.

To say the least, I usually would agree with Jerome about having some with the person. BUT, I have done as much research as possible and feel rather confident about doint it myself. Plus it's my car and I should know how to do it unless I plan on paying out the wazoo every time. Thank you all for the great input and wish me luck!!! I'll let you guys know how it turns out, it might be a week or two though!

I hope you don't mind jumping into your thread here kingofthe501, but I do have a question that someone reading this may be able to help ie looking in the direction of JSMeloche :rolleyes2 .

A few months back myself and my brother, who is a ( suposedly )competant mechanic replaced my rear brake pads on my 95 SLS. We wound the piston back luckily as desrcibed but all we did do was release the cap from the Brake fluid reservoir in the engine bay not from the bleed nipple on the caliper. Since then my ABS light has been on full time rather than the intermittent as before also my rear left park brake gets stuck on which means I have to jack the car up, remove the wheel and release the park cable manaully.

Have I been a complete retard and done some serious damage here?

sorry once again for jumping your thread Kingofthe501

Diefer

The reason you open the bleeder to reset the caliper on ABS systems is to prevent sludge, dirt, and contaminants from being forced back into the ABS system. You can damage the seals and bind the moving parts.

Diefer, see what ABS codes you have.

The sticky caliper may need to be rebuilt or replaced. Hard to tell without seeing it.

Zonie77, the only error codes it's throwing is the
T037 ........................................ LR Wheel Speed Sensor Continuity Fault

which is the side I'm having all the problems with :annoyed:

Do you have a manual? I don't have one here.
A sensor continuity fault sounds like an open circuit. Check the connector and wiring. Check the sensor for continuity.

I would say its either a bad sensor or bad wiring. I think you need to replace the wheel bearing to replace the sensor. Check your connection to see if they are clean and rust free. Make sure the seal is still good on the connector.

Maybee you should try to bleed your brake lines. Removing the cover on the brake reservoir does not do much at releiving the pressure when you back up the cylinder. The pressure is held by the master cylinder and the reservoir is sitting on top of the master cylinder. Its hard to explain... i think you can see a diagram at howstuffworks.com.

I think the main problem is when you back up the piston without opening the bleeder you "over" pressurized the system and this can affect the ABS sensor in some way. And also it can dislodge sludge held in the caliper and contaminate the sensor. Sludge and debris can acumulate in the caliper because it is the lowest part of the system and its where the brake fluid becomes hot etc...

Please allow me to throw in my 2 cents. When I buy a used car I assume the brake fluid has never been flushed. Invariably when I pop the pistons out there is black , sticky spooge that wipes out. I usually don't replace the dust seals and O rings. The pistons slide right back in and I drain the fluid until runs clear- usually a quart for the whole car. I swear I can feel a difference in the feel of the brakes. Screwing the rear pistons back in is easy once they are cleaned. Messy job but only needs to be done once. After that , drain the fluid once a year and the pistons move right back without much force. I usually replace front brake pads when half worn- new pads give a better feel than thin old ones
Doug

Yeah so I guess you can always tell when somebody is new at fixing cars or anything for that matter. :madtalkin I went and bought my brake pads and everything I needed(well at least I thought) and ended up taking it all back except for the brake quiet lube. I was so pissed at myself for not thinking "Well I might want to inspect my brakes beforehand." :suspense: I practically have new brake pads and the squeking is coming from the dust that accumilates from the fact that I live on a dirt road. So that made my day but at least I already have the tools needed and a bad ass 2 ton jack and stands for the next time. Damn I felt so stupid! :banghead:

Well, at least you'll be in good shape to change your pads in 40K!

Enjoy,

Chris
99sts 95K

Amen to that!!!

Cris G.
97SLS 89K