[S10xGN]

Hi All,

Car's got 45k on it now, will be looking at brakes soon. I priced pads (& rotors, if needed) from GM Parts Direct. All OK for factory stuff. If I were to do this myself, is there any "need to know" monkey business or is it as simple as an old-timey brake job? I can't and won't do any electronics/recoding if that's required...

TIA!

Russ

 

[Tripwire]

well i would tube any diy videos for a start... if the pads are thin i would have a pint new fluid on hand as you may want to turkey baster some old stuff out beforehand ? ( when you compress the calipers you may overflow the tank)

 

[S10xGN]

I'm OK with what used to be considered a standard "brake job". At almost 70, I've done better than a dozen. Not sure if there'll be any electromagical codes set if I just replace pads at 4 corners (rotors possible but not likely at this point). I really hate my stealership for anything other than oil changes and tire rotation, they pretty much raped us on our coolant system "squirrel damage" last year...

Russ

 

[DriveOn]

Standard brake job, front and rear. Don't need to disconnect any eltro-thingys. Front calipers are heavy. Rotors seem to wear well. From one 70 year old to another, take some Ibuprofen first.

 

[S10xGN]

Standard brake job, front and rear. Don't need to disconnect any eltro-thingys. Front calipers are heavy. Rotors seem to wear well. From one 70 year old to another, take some Ibuprofen first.

Yup! With my L3/4/5 discs about gone, every time I go out and do any heavy lifting I take something first. Glad to hear the work'll be normal, thanks. Rotors are $100+ each, pads are $285 front and rear from GMPD. We don't drive (too) crazy, but the wife prefers to run 10-over, then slam on the brakes as opposed to coasting. Gotta love how the factory stuff lasts and doesn't coke up the wheels with brake dust!

Russ

 

[DriveOn]

Along the lines of "anything I need to know about", the front caliper mounting bolts are tightened to something greater than 110 foot pounds, with loctite. You'll want an impact wrench with a lot of breakaway torque or a half-inch drive socket with an extension on the handle. Even then it's a little awkward due to lack of room inside the wheel well to pull/push the wrench. it's not like we are young and strong anymore.
And of course, simply getting the car up in the air and secured safely is usually a hassle because of the small narrow pinch-weld lifting points.
Have fun.

 

[S10xGN]

Along the lines of "anything I need to know about", the front caliper mounting bolts are tightened to something greater than 110 foot pounds, with loctite. You'll want an impact wrench with a lot of breakaway torque or a half-inch drive socket with an extension on the handle. Even then it's a little awkward due to lack of room inside the wheel well to pull/push the wrench. it's not like we are young and strong anymore.
And of course, simply getting the car up in the air and secured safely is usually a hassle because of the small narrow pinch-weld lifting points.
Have fun.

Yeah, putting the front-end on jackstands wore me out. This was last year when I had to replace the windshield washer tank and filler neck after squirrels ate holes in them. I've got all the tools, not so much on the endurance...

Russ

 

[Lifespeed]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have new rear caliper pins on hand, along with the correct grease. It's what makes the difference on a long-lived brake job. And grease the pad/caliper interface points at the pad sliding tabs and piston/pad.
Definitely bleed the fluid, taking car not to run the master cylinder and ABS dry. Some cars need the ABS valves cycled with a scan tool to properly bleed if they've had air introduced, I don't know if the VSport is such a car.

 

[S10xGN]

We got our oil change, tire rotation, and multi-point inspection today with no mention of brake wear. I'll still check for myself, but the assumption is, I'm good for the time being...

Russ