04BlackMaxx

This isnt a 'Mod' but id like it to inspire other people who have never done this job to try it out.
Ive never done anything to the car other than rotating tires, so this job was pretty big for me. It took 1 hr for each side, and I was shocked to see that the inside passenger pad was paper thin. I guess the inside pads ride along the disk all the time because they were way more worn than the outside pads. Im at 64,000mi and next time im replacing them after more like 40k...I waited wayyy too long for this.

I didnt know the piston was hollow

Hardware is brittle and should have been replaced, ill spring for $25 for it next time

New pad on the right, middle pad is inner pad, left is outside pad


The rest of the hardware is ok, the disk looks good too


Got them in

The answer to my previous question in here, NO a 4" C-Clamp is NOT enough....I made do with it, thankfully the piston slid in straight.



The Master cylinder overflowed ALOT as i expected, I got in, pumped the brakes, tested it out, stops on a dime. I would get a C-Clamp about 2 sizes bigger next time for that big caliper. The screws all came off very nicely and the caliper just came right off, I thought it would be a pain to get off.
The pads were $70 shipped from courtesy nissan.
I think I just saved myself $250

Kevin

good stuff, I've been doing my own brakes and rotors for years now, it is an easy job and saves you tons of money.

04BlackMaxx

Few more shots



They are in, Voila!


Just as a sidebar, the inside pads were wayyyy harder to get out then the outside ones, which simply popped out. Further, the inside pads were extremely hard to get in, I needed to grease up the contact points and use the c-clamp to get them right in place..and I needed to get a screwdriver between it and the disk to nudge it out.

!PrjctMax!

iTrader: (38)

Sticky!

What pads did you get?

RHMax

Damn, anything left on that pad? How many miles? That disc looks like it's pretty worn down though!

04BlackMaxx

The car has 64,000 miles on it, and the outside pads on both sides had about 50% left on them id say, but the inner pads were terrible, the driver side atleast had the line left in it, but the passenger side, as yuou can see, the line is even gone completely...it would have been metal to metal soon. When I popped it off, the screwdriver actually chipped off all the brake pad material on the corner of the old inner pad, that thing was toast!

I tested them out and the car stops silently and strong. The pads are Nissan OEM.

I agree, this as a sticky would be nice

digitalfish

Just an FYI the inner pads sticking like that is why they were so worn down, they need to be free to move so they wear at the same rate as the outer pad.

AllBlackMax

You only did the fronts?

This is something I need to do. I'm at 47k and I feel a bit more travel in my brake pedal. You mentioned the brake cylinder overflowed. Do you mean it overflowed out of the resevoir? Did you have to replace any?

04BlackMaxx

Yeah it overflowed from the resevoir, no i didnt have to replace any, its just wht got displaced as the pistons needed to go back in so far. Only fronts yes, the dealer replaced my rear pads a few months ago to the tune of about $250.

Mr. Black

Hey great job man. I have to replace mine too and this is a great write up.

MaxFan

I'm sure it's a fun thing to do. I absolutely don't mind spending a few hours with my Max. But if just to save $$$ I just let the pros do it. I'm not gonna mess with safety. I have changed brake pads in the old days when $$$ was tight. Nowadays, I paid my mechanic $45 labor (plus $25 if I want to machine the rotors). I got to pick the pads. I have been using ceramic pads from tirerack.com for less than the Nissan's semi-metallic valuepads.

04BlackMaxx

My primary reason was because I like learning new things and saving money even though i make good money....most of these guys on here do things themselves because they want to. The new rims are coming next, then Ill prolly keep it for a couple more years, there arent many other things about the car id want changed.

DTinVA

Did you get the rotors surfaced while you were doing the pads?

04BlackMaxx

I did not get the rotors turned, reason being they were not producing any unusual amount of steering wheel shake, vibration, or noise under braking at any speed...now after new pads on, there is absolutly no shake or vibration, stops as new....rotors were not warped, I would have just replaced them if I had brake shimmy. The dealer didnt need to resurface or replce the rear disks either, Im pretty easy on the brakes as it is, thats why they lasted 64k.

I DO suggest you buy the hardware kit though, the shims were rusty from the Buffalo salt.


If they ain't broke, i ain't fixin 'em

jkjk15

I did rotors and pads myself this past weekend for the first time...took about 2 hrs at a leisurely pace...gotta love saving my money.

madmik

iTrader: (1)

good pics. You did not want to turn the rotors but you could have lightly sanded the surface to help the pads. Also, bleeding some of the old oil is for your safety. What's with all the rust!!

Nietzsche

iTrader: (7)

Pushing pistons back in is fun! When I did my wifes car the pistons were pretty much seized and a had to beat them back in with a sledge hammer.

04BlackMaxx

The car has only seen 3 winters, and is parked in the garage alot...All that rust is from roadsalt in the winter I suspect. I'll hit the calipers with another coat of black paint when I replace the rims this month.