For the past couple of weeks my right rear brake has been grinding. Especially when I am making left turns or bearing left. The noise sounds like dragging a metal rod accross pavement basically. The smart thing to do is to just take off the wheels and brakes and see what the hell is going on. I don't have time...I know I need new rear brakes as it is so I am ordering new brembo blanks and pads this week and will see what it was when I tear it apart to install them. Just a heads up though of what it might be? Also, does anyone have a write up on changing rear brakes? I did the fronts no problem, should I assume it's all pretty much the same, probably easier?

Thanks guys.

 

Read the stickies, try motorvate.ca. Buy a Haynes manual. You will need a caliper tool to compress the rear caliper. You are probably down to the wear bars on the brake pads.

Make sure you clean and bleed the brakes.

 

Its not easier, but its not too hard. Here is a write up I did.

The rear rotor is a DIY job. Go ahead and replace both of them while you are at it.

Tools needed:

Jack & Jack Stands
Four-way or another way to get lugs off
10mm, 12mm, 17mm sockets and ratchet
rear caliper compressor (AutoZone $10)
wd40

Instructions:

1) Loosen rear wheel lugs with car on the ground.

2) Jack up rear end of the car and place jack stands in appropriate places.

3) Finish taking off rear wheels.

4) Remove the E-brake line from the rear caliper. There is a 10mm bolt on the trailing arm that you will need to remove. Just follow the E-brake line back to the front of the car and you will see it in the rear wheel well area. This will give you some slack in the line to make unhooking the cable a lot easier.

5) Remove the caliper. There are 2 12mm bolts holding the caliper in place. They are sort of tough to break free. After the bolts are out, lift up on the caliper. You may need to use a seesaw motion to get the caliper off. Just be careful with the brake fluid line. Once it’s off place it on the ground.

6) Remove the brake pads. Pay close attention to which on was on the inside and which was on the outside.

7) Remove the torque member. The TQ Member is the final piece holding the rotor on. There are 2 17mm bolts holding the torque member on. These are a son of a b---- to break free. Don’t be afraid to use some force. Once the TQ member is off lay it on the ground.

8) Finally take off your old rotor and put the new one on. Then start reassembling.

9) When you put the caliper back on you will need to compress the piston with the rear caliper compressor. Spray wd40 around the piston boot so it does not bind. While the wd40 is penetrating, loosen the master cylinder reservoir cap but leave it on. This is to decrease backpressure in the brake fluid system. Backpressure can blow a seal. Turn the piston clockwise as far as it will go. Make sure that one of the grooves on the piston will line up with the alignment pin on the back of the inside brake pad. I am not sure if yours will have these, but mine did. Now just slide the caliper in place and put the bolts in.

Notes:

Make sure your parking brake is off.

Work one side at a time. This way you have a control to look at if you get lost on reassemble.

10mm bolts are not strong. They only need be tightened a little bit past snug.

After everything is put back together you need to set the rear brakes. Do this by engaging and releasing the parking brake about 10 times or until it feels normal again.

Total time for some one not familiar 2 to 3 hours.

I take no responsibility if you trash your car or hurt yourself.

 

FYI changing brakes are a *****... but it's not too difficult. Hardest part will probably to remove the rotors, especially the rears.

 

IMO the hardest part of the rears was removing the ebrake line and screwing the piston back in. Other than that is really quite simple. I can get my rotors off in about 30 minutes now on the rear.

 

I just change my rear caliper for right rear brake. the left one need to be replaced too but still workable for a while.

 

I had a similiar noise after replacing the pads on the rear. It turns out one of the little metal guiding shims was worn on the rear left; so the pad was loose and dragging every once in a while. So, if you get to looking at it and find the pads are still okay, try replacing the those. They were $14 per wheel at Napa. Ask for the hardware kit.