gallilaw

Sorry if these questions are stale, but I'm exhausted from a long-term project that just got broken up by frozen brakes and I'm desperate for quick answers, and so far searching the forum hasn't paid off....

I have a 1998 Max SE with unusable emergency brake, and I suspected other brake problems beyond the EB. I popped off the rear wheels and it's clear that the rear caliper sets need replacing, and the right-side cable is frozen.

To make things simple, I plan to replace the calipers, pads and brackets. Please recommend a good manufacturer & model numbers for this type of "loaded" set. Almost certainly want re-manufactured, to keep costs down. The car is no beauty and is lightly used.

I'll also need a rear brake cable set.

Please recommend a good source for the parts. I'm hoping to get the kind of recommendation I can convert into a parts order right away.

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I've seen a lot of discussion about the need to "turn" the pistons. Am I right that there is no need to do that if I'm replacing the calipers with a new package?

Thanks!

surban1

iTrader: (17)

I just put on beck-arnley semi-loaded (bracket, hardware clips but no pads) from rockauto for ~ $75/each after returning cores and am very pleased with them. can't help you with cable but rockauto probably has that too. pads I have akebono (ceramic oe manufacturer ~ $40).

maximaxi

My recommendation is to get calipers and rotors that are coated

For the calipers, you should get either Cardone Ultra or Napa Total Eclipse. They are the same, both with powdercoating to stop the rust. The Cardone Ultra is silver, while Napa's is black. (Napa's reman calipers are done by Cardone)

Rock Auto has the Cardone reman at a good price, but you have to pay for the return shipping of the cores (however, Rock Auto lets you use their shipping discount to do so). The Cardone Ultra is also sold at independent auto parts stores (if any are near you)

And I think you know where to get Napa calipers

Napa part numbers
SE2551A and SE2552A

Cardone part numbers
19-P2000 and 19-P2001

The best pads for a daily driver are the Akebono ProACT, part number ACT540 for the rear set. They are widely available both locally and online. Rock Auto has a good price, and there's also Amazon, but if you prefer to buy locally, go to Advance Auto or Carquest (you can order them online with a promo code for like 20-30% off, and then pick up in-store within 30 minutes).

And you are correct, there is no need to turn the piston if you're replacing calipers, because they come with it already turned in

For the rotors, again, get a coated rotor. My first choice would be EBC Premium rotors. Buy them from Autoanything.
Part number RK7057

Other good rotors are Centric Premium and Wagner E-shield. Part numbers:
Centric 120.42059
Wagner BD125459E

jholley

iTrader: (13)

For parking brake cables I recommend OEM only. I installed Dorman right and left cables in February 2013 and the right one snapped 2 weeks ago. They cost $64 total from ebay but they only lasted 38,000 miles.

Last week I purchased the OEM cables from niisanpartsdeal.com for $120 total.

RIGHT 36530-1L005

LEFT 36531-1L005

Nearly twice the price but it's worth it. The OEM cables are thicker, cable is lined with protective black coating on the inside, lubricated with thick lithium grease, and an exact fit in length.

The dorman cables were thinner, naked on the inside, and 1/2" longer so I had to tighten the center cable handle all the way.

The hardest task in replacing these cables is dropping the CAT and B-pipe exhaust shields.

Another advantage the OEM have is the exhaust shields can be directly mounted onto the cable brackets.

Having previous experience it took only 2 hours to install the OEM cables last weekend.

As for the calipers 2 years ago I disassembled the originals, powder coated them, and reassembled with Nissan caliper kits. The front caliper is easy to tackle but for the rear caliper you'll need specialized tools and patience. The tiny rear calipers have 25 inner parts.

EDIT:

If you cannot afford the OEM cables then purchase this Motionpro cable luber

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141588643345

If I kept those cheap aftermarket cables well lubricated they might still be holding today?

KP11520

jholley, you are another impressive forum member for sure! Much admiration from Long Island!

I bought Centric remanufactured for something like $68 each for the rear calipers 2 1/2 years ago. Redid my backs a couple of months ago and one side turned in a little bit harder than I was happy about in a little over 2 years. So, I can't really say if that is the norm, but the Cardone or Napa sound like I should've gone that route.

While you're at it, Do the hoses as well. The Centric are holding up OK, but there might be a better value out there. Hopefully, the guys here will chime in!

I will say, I recently did all four rotors and pad kits with the PowerStop brake kits. Man do they BITE! Best I've ever had on the car and the backs were like $79 delivered. They've gone up a bit since. These: http://www.powerstop.com/product/pow...=To%203%2F1999

Shop price using the part numbers via Google for best delivered prices.

Napa lower end smooth rotors and their premium pads would have costed over $100 with tax. And they didn't grab anywhere as much! So it was a no brainer.

As far as cables..jholley is the man!

Just make sure all the hardware supporting the EB and cables is sound and corrosion free. Your cables might not be the culprit. Maybe the EB mechanisms on the rear calipers are rusted frozen.

I hope this helps!

jholley

iTrader: (13)

+1
Long before my OEM cables froze up the solenoid within rear OEM caliper seized up. To know if it's the cable or caliper seized over you just need to visually inspect if the parking brake lever spring is pulling back the cable fully when releasing the handle. If your rear disc dust shields are rusted away then you can visualize the caliper thru the wheel. I installed new dust shields 2 years ago when I replaced the rear torsion beam so now I need to crawl under the car to know if the caliper's parking brake lever and spring is properly functioning.

gallilaw

Thanks for the help so far. I have the car outside on stands and the wheels off, but it's been raining too much to work on it recently.

I was able to disconnect the cables and have someone push-pull the lever to test them. The left cable moves but the right is frozen. I have not had a chance to see if I can get the right cable moving too, with some tender loving care and a sledge hammer.

I live in Rhode Island and the usual winter hazards are compounded by the fact that I almost never need to use the emergency cable, so it doesn't scrape itself clean inside. If I had thought about this problem I might have worked it loose every once in a while, need it or not.

Anyway, even before I get the old calipers off I can see that the right side disk shows more surface discoloration than the left. Have not checked the pads yet to see if they are good enough to keep or if the left side is more worn than the right.

I'm trying to keep the cost of parts low because this is very much our "second" car. The body is a mess, but I bought it new in 1997 and want to keep the car operational as long as I am.

maximaxi

The coated rotors and calipers I mentioned are worth every penny. You know how bad the rust gets, so you know why the coating is so awesome!

The Wagner coated rotors are about $15 each from Rock Auto, and you can get a set of Bendix ceramic pads for $11.

Order the pads and rotors from Rock Auto, and the calipers from Napa
Wagner BD125459E
Bendix RD540

and use promo code 6071665954479039
(enter it in the "how did you hear about us" box on the order page)

The total for the pads and rotors is around $46

The Napa calipers are about $60 each, and brackets are included.

gallilaw

Status report:

No rain this afternoon so did some crawling. Found that the clips holding cables on both sides of the car had been crushed against hard metal -- probably by someone using a jack in the wrong locations. The cables had been worn away leaving a lot of corrosion and fouled interior wires.

I bent the clips outboard again to move the cables away from the hard metal contact points.

The cable on the left was still operational; on the right... I'm going to force it to move and see if it can free up sufficiently before I break it.

Before ordering any new parts I'm also going to re-mount the tires and see how the car reacts to having both parking cables disconnected.

Thanks again for the advice so far.

jholley

iTrader: (13)

The small brackets mounted onto the trailing arms are made to face the cable upwards. The other cable mounting brackets are hidden under the exhaust shields.

Try spraying lubricant into those cables from the caliper's side. Motorcycles shops carry that Motion Pro luber along with the best cable lubricant like PJ1. If no nearby motorcycles shops then purchase chain and cable lubricant at an auto store. Spray it down both cables from the caliper's side.

Next have a friend pull the handle while you watch the caliper. If cable doesn't move then remove it from the caliper and try pulling it out. If it doesn't budge then you need a new cable installed.