Brembo front rotors installation, how to... Options

[malpaso]

I have decided change my brake rotor to better ones and here is my story

1. Brembo max disc ordered...

not cheapest but reasonable price for "plug-and-play" part.

2. removing wheel
nice to have tools...
- usual tools for wheel take off
- something for stubborn screws (like WD-40)
- hammer (handy every time )
- wrench 17 and 14


3. removing caliper
by those two screws remove caliper away...

...by two wrenches (like picture below showing... one for holding, and second for un-screwing... sorry I can't describe that better )


4. removing brake pads and caliper mounting
remove pads is easy, that hardest part are caliper mountings held by two screws...

those two bolts were rusted and stubborn unbelievably!!! W/o WD-40... (and hammer help sometimes) it could not be done... my car almost fell off the lifting jack during that .


5. removing rotor

nothing but rust holds that disc -> just gently knock on and it fell off...

you can see all that rust (after hammer work ) and really bad condition of inner part of rotor.

6. just make it look good and re-assemble everything...
now it's done... just put everything back on (plus in my case use some direct-to-rust-metal-paint for rusted parts).

note: you maybe would need push back caliper piston if new rotor is wider or you change brake pads (recommended) by some pliers like this:

(I don't know how you call that)

plus:

...just as a tip, lubricate the inside of the pistons inside the rubber seal.

And results you can see below :




enjoy

This post has been edited by malpaso: Feb 20, 2007 - 1:56 AM

[Slick]

Nice!

What made you go with these rotors rather than the slotted/grooved type?

[malpaso]

Nice!

What made you go with these rotors rather than the slotted/grooved type?

I just followed comments here

[6strngs]

ah, you beat me to it. I was gonna do a write up when I did my brakes, I have the pads and rotors in my garage I just need to get my darn wheel locks off!

anyway, you forgot to mention that when compressing the caliper piston you need to pull the cap off the brake fluid resevoir in the engine bay, otherwise it won't compress.

[Slick]

I just followed comments here

Aah, i see. Good choice!

[azian_advanced]

ah, you beat me to it. I was gonna do a write up when I did my brakes, I have the pads and rotors in my garage I just need to get my darn wheel locks off!

anyway, you forgot to mention that when compressing the caliper piston you need to pull the cap off the brake fluid resevoir in the engine bay, otherwise it won't compress.

and just as a tip, lubricate the inside of the pistons inside the rubber seal.

[malpaso]

...
anyway, you forgot to mention that when compressing the caliper piston you need to pull the cap off the brake fluid resevoir in the engine bay, otherwise it won't compress.

Not necessary. There is relief valve which can handle that w/o pulling cap off

...and just as a tip, lubricate the inside of the pistons inside the rubber seal.

Good tip... thanks

[DeW_H0e_GT]

vote for sticky!!!!!!

[hurley97]

looks good.

I want to know how you like those rotors (not that they make them for us in the US cause they probably don't, but in case they eventually do I would want to get them)

[malpaso]

looks good.

I want to know how you like those rotors (not that they make them for us in the US cause they probably don't, but in case they eventually do I would want to get them)

IMO everything is just about your choice You may try contact Brembo branch in US here:
27280 Haggerty Road, Suite C-20
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
Phone: (248) 489-9197

...and order Brembo max rotors part number 368 2528 cuz Euro and US STs has the same rotors.



If any problem occurs :
- Price in my country is $170 for pair
- Insured shipping CZ-US for package up to 10kg: $125 priority air mail (3-5days), $50 economic air mail (5-10days)

that means: $220 + two weeks and you have them home

[wind]

i hope you replaced the brake pads as well....

[trdcelica94]

how much did those brembo cost at the dealer?

[Rockford]

Malpaso what kind of brake pads do you buy??? for which model???? i got problems with mines

[6strngs]

I did my front and rears today. sorry, I didn't take any pics during the whole thing. but basically, if you want to change your rear discs:
1: make sure your emergency brake is not set!!!
2: jack the car up and remove the wheel
3: remove the one 12mm bolt on the bottom of the caliper (you don't need two wrenches like you do on the front, and there is only one bolt, not two)
4: remove the two 14mm bolts holding the caliper onto the rotor (pretty tightly on there, and kinda hard to get to. I had to use a deep socket to get the top one, and a short socket to get the bottom)
5: pull the caliper off, it kinda flips open instead of coming apart in two pieces like the front
6: pull the rotor off. if it doesn't want to budge you can take the long 12mm bolt you pulled out and screw it into one of the two holes that are near the center of the rotor to push it off.
7: compress the caliper, it's easiest with a c-clamp, but a big pair of pliers will work too. or whatever other tools that you have laying around that you think could push the piston back in. just make sure you either open the lid on the brake fluid resevoir or open the bleeder valve on the caliper first.
8: put your new rotor on
9: put new pads in
10: put the 14mm bolts back in
11: put the 12mm bolt back in
12: put the wheel on and lower the car
13: break the new pads in with 2 or 3 hard stops (I think it is recommended you go 45mph and brake to a complete stop, at least with hawk pads)

enjoy!

[malpaso]

Malpaso what kind of brake pads do you buy??? for which model???? i got problems with mines

Pads from one German manufacturer (http://www.textar.com/). Direct replacement.



This post has been edited by malpaso: Mar 19, 2007 - 2:06 AM

[TomPoz]

Good write-up, Martin. I will use it when putting my spacers on.

[Alan]

Nice Martin. Did you Do it alone? Nice one man

[malpaso]

Nice Martin. Did you Do it alone? Nice one man

yes Alan, all alone .

Good write-up, Martin. I will use it when putting my spacers on.

Thank you Tom .

[6strngs]

Malpaso what kind of brake pads do you buy??? for which model???? i got problems with mines

I used Hawk HPS pads front and back and had no problems.

[kamax]

thanks for the write up... was so easy, i decided to give it a try. except i did it when it was cold and snowy... no garage sucks =p

[Rockford]

Malpaso what kind of brake pads do you buy??? for which model???? i got problems with mines

I used Hawk HPS pads front and back and had no problems.

For the Celica GT???

Here in Venezuela the rear pads fitted perfectly but in the front calipers the pads didn't fit at all they were bigger than mines stock, i saw in the HAWk page, so i have to buy the front pads for the celica ST

[6strngs]

Malpaso what kind of brake pads do you buy??? for which model???? i got problems with mines

I used Hawk HPS pads front and back and had no problems.

For the Celica GT???

Here in Venezuela the rear pads fitted perfectly but in the front calipers the pads didn't fit at all they were bigger than mines stock, i saw in the HAWk page, so i have to buy the front pads for the celica ST

yes, both front and rear were hawk HPS pads for the celica GT. I'm pretty sure the front calipers are different from ST to GT. so, perhaps they sent you ST pads to begin with? double check that you recieved the right part number. I got mine from tirerack.com and they were perfect, plus they had some super fast shipment!

[malpaso]

For the Celica GT???
Here in Venezuela the rear pads fitted perfectly but in the front calipers the pads didn't fit at all they were bigger than mines stock, i saw in the HAWk page, so i have to buy the front pads for the celica ST

yes, both front and rear were hawk HPS pads for the celica GT. I'm pretty sure the front calipers are different from ST to GT. so, perhaps they sent you ST pads to begin with? double check that you recieved the right part number. I got mine from tirerack.com and they were perfect, plus they had some super fast shipment!

Euro ST has the same rear rotors and pads as GT. Front is different of course...

[beno]

Is there any noise from the slotted rotors?
How much difference did you notice?

[malpaso]

Is there any noise from the slotted rotors?
How much difference did you notice?

No noise from rotors and maybe is just placebo but I have feeling braking is really better (brakes are "harder"). However I have also changed brake fluid for DOT5.1 (more info is here if needed).

[6strngs]

braking is better, though that may be due to the hawk pads more than the rotors. they have squeeled a couple times, but it's not often. my main thing is, after having installed them, from my left rear wheel I can hear this sound that kinda sounds like something is in my wheel, cause the sound speeds up when I speed up. I don't know, but one guess I had was the slots in the rotor were hitting the pad.

also, after only a few moderate power brakes, I can seriously smell my brakes. so, pad life may be greatly reduced, but we'll have to see. I'm just worried about that noise, cause I don't know what it is.