cbrinega

(Originally posted in the 2nd gen. forum, but no one there seemed interested. People who read this section actually seem to work on their cars, so here it is for what it's worth.)

I have learned a lot reading posts over the last year or so, and I wanted to contribute some information back. I just completed the replacement of my brake system, and here is a short description of lessons learned and such.

Disclaimer: I do not recommend that inexperienced people attempt this repair. I also cannot take responsibility for any mishaps that result from taking my advice.

The New Parts:
4 Remanufactured Calipers
4 Drilled and Slotted Rotors
Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines
Bonez Front Pads
Raybestos Rear Pads
ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid

Fuel Filter

Stock Wheels

-------------------------------- Brakes

The brake system on this car (1990 GXL) had a lot of miles on it, the brake rotors were scored, and the rear pads were about as thin as two sheets of paper. In other words, it was in bad need of repair. The scary part is that this car still stopped better than my 1999 Dodge Ram even with crappy brakes. Go figure.

The disassembly was the most difficult part of this job. Many of the bolts were rusted in place, because the car still had the original brake rotors on it (140k miles!). I had to devise a brace to hold my torque wrench into the head of the brass screws that hold the rotors in place:
http://my.erinet.com/~cbrinega/photo...aption-001.jpg

I used a flat head screw driver bit that was mounted in a socket to fit on the end of the torque wrench. These bits can be purchased at Sears. Liberal use of a hammer to wedge the flat head into the brass screws was required, because the brass was too soft to hold up to the torque needed to break them loose.

The wrench brace was made using angle steel and 12 inch threaded rods from Lowe's. The total cost was around $25 for the brace. The torque wrench can be purchased from Sears for around $25 too. It is the mechanical type and not the fancy digital kind that are $100 or more.

I also recommend the use of 6 point sockets rather than 12 point. 12 point sockets tend to round off the corners of bolts easier.

Each caliper is held in place by two bolts. Some leverage was needed to break the fronts loose. I used an extension bar. The front is not so bad, because you can turn the steering wheel to gain access to the bolts. The rears can be difficult to reach. I have a wrench with a pivoting head that makes it easier to work with these bolts (especially the bolt holding on the emergency brake cable bracket).

I recommend removing the emergency brake bracket and brake line before removing the bolts holding the calipers in place. These bolts are easier to remove if the caliper is held solidly in place. Also, I recommend using a brake cleaner while wearing eye and breathing protection to remove brake dust from the area before working on anything.

Here are some pictures of the new calipers:
http://my.erinet.com/~cbrinega/photo...e_finished.jpg
http://my.erinet.com/~cbrinega/photo...r_calipers.jpg

The master cylinder bolts can be tricky. If you have to remove the spark plug wires, then tag them first so you know where they go. Unplugging the wires from the ignition coil can give you some extra room.

The fuel filter is easier to reach while the master cylinder is off, so I replaced it then. I do not know the last time it was replaced. Make sure you have something to plug up the fuel line from the gas tank. I found that one of the brass screws from the brake rotors with about 4 layers of electrical tape around it made an excellent plug for the fuel line. Lucky concidence?

In case you destroy one of the brass screws that hold on the brake rotors, you can buy replacement screws. I picked up some (non-brass) from Lowe's. They are metric with a diameter of 8 mm and thread pitch of 1.25. I used oval headed ones.

The brake lines can be tricky too. My front passenger side ones were very tight. I used lots of Liquid Wrench (on many bolts), and this solvent is essential for doing this type of repair.

If the rear brake rotors are stuck, there is a screw hole that you can use to remove them. For the fronts I used the caliper mounting bolts to press the rotors off. Tighten them until the rotor moves a couple of mm, then loosen them. Rotate the rotor 180 degrees and tighten them again. This method lets you remove the rotor without letting it become crooked on the hub and damaging the hub. (This approach may score the rotor, but I was replacing them anyway.)

Assembly should be straightforward at this point. The only odd part is that I needed to use the lug nuts to press the front rotors all the way onto the hubs.

Brake bleeding takes a while. I recommend following the Haynes or factory manual (and having a friend help). I used the pump and hold the brake pedal method first, and then I used a hand held vacuum pump (Mityvac). A silicone vacuum hose makes a great brake bleeding hose by the way.

The result has been amazing. The stopping power is much better than before, and the brake pedal feel is great. I'll have to give an update after I have more miles on the system.

I am also surprised at how much of a difference that changing the fuel filter has had on the engine. It runs much better now (especially below 3k RPMs) and idles much more consistently.

A picture of one of my new wheels is here:
http://my.erinet.com/~cbrinega/photo...BFR-37-600.jpg

Feel free to check out my site for links to the vendors I used:
http://my.erinet.com/~cbrinega/

---Enjoy

noah419

you are a god among men. thank for this post, and thank you for your website. your information has been very valuable to me.