Replacing Front Disks

[Wurm]

Hi all,

I was helping my buddy put in new front brake pads on his 92 Saturn SL1, and
while working, I found that his disks are completely dead and really need to
be replaced. My question to you all is what do I need to watch out for when
doing this?. From looking at how its all put together, and from reading my
Hayes book, it actually seems really simple, remove the pads and caliper
(being careful of the brake line so the solid part isnt put under too much
strain), pop the old disk, put on the new one, make sure its nice and
straight and doesnt wobble, replace caliper and pads, and done. Is there
anything im missing here?, is there anything hidden in there that we could
seriously screw up? (assuming that we are doing this slowly, carefully, and
sober ) or any special tools that we need which isnt immediately
obvious?

TIA!!!!

Wurm

 

[Mike®]

I did my 98 SC2 Monday. If your buddies is the same you will need to remove
the 2 slide bolts and hang the caliper from the shock spring using a tie
wrap or coat hanger. 2 more larger bolts will remove the assembly that hold
the brake pads and rotor in place. I used metric sockets as they felt like a
better fit for my car. I bought 2 new rotors from AutoZone for $19.95 each.
Do one side at a time, if in doubt you still have the other side to refer
to. Be sure to remove the cover on the bake fluid reservoir and remove as
much brake fluid as possible (do not spill on paint) and lay the cover in
place. I had to carefully press my calipers back in place with a C clamp,
replace rotor and pads, clean and lubricate slide pins and reassemble. When
both sides are done, pump the brakes to get a solid feel and make sure to
fill the brake fluid is up proper level with fresh brake fluid. Stay sober
until the job is done and tested ;-)

So maybe a large C clamp might be the only unusual item, along with a small
suction ball or turkey baster to remove the brake fluid from the reservoir.
Good luck.

 

[Kirk Kohnen]

1) Get a pad-pusher, or a c-clamp to push the piston back in.
2) Instead of pushing the center of the piston in, put the old pad over the
piston and push that in.
3) Are you going to remove and turn or replace the disks? If so, then a 1/2"
drive 18 mm 6 point socket and a 1/2" breaker bar will be helpful for
removing the rotors. 18mm is NOT a common wrench or socket set size (most
skip from 17mm to 19mm).
4) When you put the wheels back on, torque them to 103 foot pounds (140
Newton Meters). This will help prevent rotor warping problems.
5) Break the pads in as per the pad instructions.

 

[Napalm Heart]

Excellent advice on using an old pad as a base to push the piston back
in. I've done that in the past. I've just got a fair amount of metal
scraps around and usually just use one of them.

Ken

 

[Wurm]

Thanks to everyone for the advice!, we are going to be doing this tomorrow
morning so wish me luck .

Wurm