Brakes
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Brakes
I have a 2003 and I am thinking of putting on brakes myself.,front and rear..
Have any of you done this yourself?
Any special tools needed?
Any info would be appreciated
I do have general knowledge of putting on brakes but on up to a 1990 model that I owned.
Have any of you done this yourself?
Any special tools needed?
Any info would be appreciated
I do have general knowledge of putting on brakes but on up to a 1990 model that I owned.
RIP
True Car Nut
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 4
From: Grand Rapids, Mi
DINOSAURUS BOOSTUS
Expert Gearhead
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 41,391
Likes: 30
From: Enfield, CT
You will notice the Rear Brake article mentions not using a C clamp for anything more than 1mm. This is very important. The caliper piston is compressed back in with a special tool. They call it a spanner wrench/tool, Sears and most autoparts stores sell the tool for rotating the pistons back into the bore.
Senior Member
Certified GM nut
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,606
Likes: 2
From: West Point, Utah - Village Idiot
I think someone (the resident lazya$$) was going to do a Tech Article on this. 
If you've done brakes before, the fronts are pretty straightforward - no surprises there. I didn’t use a C-clamp to free up the caliper from the disc, I just grabbed it and jiggled it a bit and the pads released enough to clear the disc (both front & rear).
The rear disc brakes are a little different in that, as mentioned above, you don’t push the puck back into the caliper like you do the front. This is important. It actually threads back in. You can purchase a tool from Sears or wherever, or you could build your own. As the resident tightwad, I grabbed an old cheap socket out of the toolbox and, using a Dremel, fabricated my own:
Here it is in action
:
It doesn’t take much effort to screw the puck into the caliper, so the tool doesn’t have to be made of titanium or anything – it just has to fit into the slots and have means of turning it.
Follow those instructions Archon provided and you'll be in good shape.
If you've done brakes before, the fronts are pretty straightforward - no surprises there. I didn’t use a C-clamp to free up the caliper from the disc, I just grabbed it and jiggled it a bit and the pads released enough to clear the disc (both front & rear).
The rear disc brakes are a little different in that, as mentioned above, you don’t push the puck back into the caliper like you do the front. This is important. It actually threads back in. You can purchase a tool from Sears or wherever, or you could build your own. As the resident tightwad, I grabbed an old cheap socket out of the toolbox and, using a Dremel, fabricated my own:
Here it is in action
:It doesn’t take much effort to screw the puck into the caliper, so the tool doesn’t have to be made of titanium or anything – it just has to fit into the slots and have means of turning it.
Follow those instructions Archon provided and you'll be in good shape.
Senior Member
Certified GM nut
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,606
Likes: 2
From: West Point, Utah - Village Idiot
Re: thanks
Originally Posted by afbryant
wow,thanks guys,could not get a better answer than that
Originally Posted by Archon
Hmmm.....Stan. Who is that masked "resident lazya$$"? 
This is a picture of the tool that you can buy.
This is a picture of the tool that you can buy.
That thing frightens me.The resident lazy a$$ has chosen to remain anonymous.
Senior Member
True Car Nut
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 8,029
Likes: 1
From: NEBF:06,07 | NYBF:06,07 | ONBF:06,07 | CNBF:06 & more............
Originally Posted by Archon
Hmmm.....Stan. Who is that masked "resident lazya$$"?
This is a picture of the tool that you can buy.
This is a picture of the tool that you can buy.
