Changing my front rotors (brakes)
 

Well I changed the rear...and decided might aswell do the front at the same time.

I removed the 23mm nut that holds the bearing and all that jazz in, removed the 17mm long pivit bolt, and one of the 14mm bolts that hold the calipers on...but I cant get the last one off, cause the tir rod end is in the way...how do I get this last bolt out? My ratchet won't fit, and a wrench cant get in the area.

Crappy pics.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...Randomd003.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...Randomd002.jpg

in the last pic, that bolt to the left of the one that you have circled, has to come out. One of the joys of doing front brakes on an FB.

yeah thats what I thought, I hate bolts that havn't been removed in 23 years.

A wrench should fit in there. That's how I did mine.

I put the box end on, so it would not slip and gave it a hit with a hammer to start it. After undoing it a little you'll find the wrench is too big to get out so you'll need to pull the bracket to take the slack out of the bolt so that the wrench can slide in and out.

I did mine with an open end wrench too...just spray some liquid wrench or something of the sort on it to help loosen it up first..

I guess Ill have to stick the wrench in on an angle to get at it.

Ill have to soak it with some WD-40 too, amazing what a little penetrating oil can do. The good old hammer technique is also good on stubborn bolts.

Ya that bolt sucks. To make life easier, find a Cornwell Tools dealer and buy a 14mm X 15mm offset box end wrench from him - PT# BWP-1415MM

I have tried Offset Craftsman Professional, Bonney and Kobalt (the good ones made by Williams) offset box ends wrenches and nothing works as well as the wrench from Cornwell

Here is their web address:

www.cornwelltools.com

Once you have the bolt out and have removed the rotor you make this an easier job by taking the backing plate off and grinding off some of the material around the bolt. Doing this mod will make the next brake job cake. Remember to nstall with anti-sieze and torque correctly. Check these bolts frequently if you race your car.

I got tired of messing with it, and took my grinder and Dremel to it (before I read mustangs comment about grinding it.). Now the wrench fits! I got er off.

I assume the new calipers come with this bearing thing inside them, cause Mine won't come out. Looks like my dust shield is long gone!.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ndomd001-2.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ndomd002-1.jpg

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...ndomd003-1.jpg

If you can't get your bearings out, napa sells them. (Im sure other people have them too). You will also need new races then if you cant get the old ones out...you can find mosly everything you need on napas site..
http://napaonline.com/masterpages/NO...Id=400&CatId=3

those things look nasty! it should brake like a champ once you're done.

The races come with the bearings. And If you're changing the rotors, might as well change them all, inner and outer bearings and the oil seal...

I got the bearings out, I didn't notice that they were pressed in. The car had new pads in the glove box, when I bought it for the front, and the rotor are a little over $20 each.

The bearings ride on the races and come as a two part 'kit'.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...5&d=1184721887

Do I need to get the old races out of the caliper, or do the new calipers have the races in them?

You meant the rotor, not the caliper...lol. You could jsut leave them in there and just the new bearing in it. Take it out if you can though. A lot of pounding tho.

I had to order the races seperatly from the bearings, they do not always come together.

The new rotors do not have the races and will need them. I guess you could use the old races but for the price and time you've spent on this, you might as well replace them.

And remember to do the same thing on the other side of the car.

And don't forget the new bearing grease.

Ya, you could use the old races and bearings, and the old rotors and the old brake pads. But why even start a brake job if you're not going to do a brake job?

Yeah, I meant rotor ha!

I have new pads, and new bearing grease, I had just planned on re packing the old ones.

Don't mix and match old races with new bearings. The old ones have worn to each other and may not mate well with the new ones. They are cheap enough, replace all of them and be done with it.

If the old ones are still good, you can tap the races out of the old rotors and install them in the new ones. Be very careful not to damage the thinner edge of the races. This is where a brass drift comes in handy.