I'm starting a new thread, because I'm in the middle of working on the brakes right now and I need to know something ASAP. I'm trying to compress the piston with a C clamp but it won't budge, is there a trick to doing this? The only experience with brakes I have is on a 74' vette, so I was just doing it in a similar way. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

 

If you are doing the front brakes, pushing the piston in with a C clamp should do the trick. If you are doing the back brakes, however, they need to be screwed in. You can use a special tool, or a good wrench to turn the piston in a clockwise direction. Just dont mess up the rubber seal around it. If that doesnt seem to work, a little pressure with the C clamp while you screw it in should do the trick (thanks Matt).

 

yeah, I'm doing the back brake right now. No such luck yet.. but I'm working on it.

 

Ok, I finished with the back brakes, and I'm going to do the fronts tomorrow when there is more light. The only question I have now is are the brakes going to self adjust and know how much to apply. The reason I ask this is because I would spin the wheel with my hand and hear the sound of metal on metal, so I'm trying to figure out if the brakes are actually partially applied when I put the assembly back together. I hope this is a good discription, I think so far everything has gone well for a first time brake job.

 

after u complete the job, u r supposed to pump your brakes a few times b/f rollin down the road...that will seat the pads in the right spot

 

Thanks for the advice. Everything felt normal with my 5 mph stop in the drive way as I was putting the car away for the night. Oh, the brush attatchment on the drill worked well to get the calipers shiny again, it also works well to bloody your knuckles if you get your hand to close to the drill. I can't wait till I have something besides these stock rims so people can actually see the rotors too.

 

Just as an update, everything works fine and I noticed my next weekend job while I was working in the wheel wells. The axle boot is ripped on both sides in the front and there was axle grease thrown all over the place under there. Time for me to start researching how I'm going to fix this problem.

 

Lots of info on the axle stuff. SEARCH!

 

on the rear discs, apply the parking brake a few times to seat the rear calipers. that's all the adjustment you need back there.

also be sure to bleed your brakes. if the fluid is more than a couple years old, you'll see a huge improvement in braking by doing that.


also time to buy new CV joints. you could buy the boots alone, but a complete new set (4 boots- 2 inner and 2 outer) will run about about $70. reman axles are about $60 each with lifetime warranty.. simple decision there. another $50 to get a lifetime warranty on both axles? go for it.

be sure to buy enough tranny fluid to change everything over and also replace your axle seals.
entire job should cost around $150 for parts.

 

thanks matt, I'll be working on that next. I guess I'll have to hold off on the CAI and fix this problem first. How hot are rotors supposed to get? Maybe I was just being dumb, but when I got done driving through town today I was trying to inspect them and I touched my front rotor and it burned my finger really badly... like 2nd degree burn badly. Does this sound normal? If so, don't ever be dumb enough to touch your rotors after driving!