We recommend Internet Explorer set to 1024x768.

© 2000 Brian F. Schreurs
Even we have a disclaimer.

Fortunately, the job's not that hard. One thing you'll definitely need, and probably don't have, is a 3/8" Allen-head socket. Curiously, it can't be had through Craftsman (at least not ours, so no gloating if your Sears is better stocked), but Lisle sells it individually or as part of a set. Lisle tools are getting pretty easy to find these days so check your local parts store.

When we buy brakes, we buy good brakes. It's one of those things where going cheap can kill you. So we bought the best brakes we could find at the lowest prices. As it turns out, the best price on rotors was from Van Devere Oldsmobile for a set of Durastop rotors (GM #18028159) and the best price on brake pads was NAPA United Premium (#AE-7384M). These pads come with a lifetime guarantee, so when they wear out the next set is free. Hard to beat that!

Here's the front brake assembly, ready for service.

Loosen the lugnuts on the wheels; they take a 3/4" socket. With the lugs loose, jack the front of the car up. Finish removing the wheels.

The first thing to do is bleed the brakes. Bleed them? First? Yes. The service manual is quite emphatic about it and repeats the instruction several times. Apparently the theory goes that the most likely place for crud in your brake line is at the caliper, and you don't want that stuff getting pushed back to the ABS modulator when you compress the pistons later on.

To bleed the brakes, get a cheapo bleeder kit from your friendly parts store. Our buddies at Lisle sell an adequate kit for the job around $10. It's basically a hose with a jar at the end. Start with the passenger side as it's furthest from the master cylinder. Put a 10mm line wrench over the end of the bleeder valve -- if you don't have a line wrench, get one. But for now you can use a normal wrench. Then put the bleeder hose over the nipple.

You'll need an assistant inside the car. When the wrench and the bleeder kit are all ready to go, tell your assistant to push on the brake pedal and hold it. Open the valve and let all that old brake

Extracting a caliper pin from the back of the caliper.

juice out. On your assistant's end, the brake pedal will hit the floor. After that happens, close the valve and tell your assistant to let up. Then repeat. And repeat. And repeat.

Our fluid was some kind of nasty. The service manual's theory did us little good; no matter how much we pumped out, it was still disgusting. The system clearly needs to be fully flushed but we didn't have time for that, so we just filled the jar and got on with the project.

Now it's time for the fun stuff. Start with the right front caliper (you'll be bleeding it again later). The calipers are held on by two 3/8" Allen bolts. These are weird bolts that you're not likely to ever see again, but there's no substitute for having a 3/8" Allen-head socket. We had to put ours on the end of a breaker bar. The bolts don't thread all the way out; they're actually part of a pin assembly. After the bolts stop backing out, grab 'em with the pliers-like device of your choice (Vise-Grips, Robo-Grips, channel locks, whatever) and wiggle them out the rest of the way.

With the caliper tied to the suspension, getting at the pads is really easy.

Before that caliper comes all the way off, have some mechanic's wire or a coathanger handy. It's very bad form to suspend a caliper by its hose; the hose might get damaged. As soon as the caliper comes loose, thread the wire through it and tie it off somewhere. We used the A-arm.

Even with the bolts loose, the caliper is going to need some coaxing to come off. That's fine; wrestle with it until it caves to your will. The caliper has an exact fit so it needs to come straight off (and will need to go straight on as well). Once it's in your hand, tie it off as above.

Now the rotor is really easy. Simply pull off the old one and put on the new one. If the old rotor still has little retaining clips, that means it's the original rotor; you don't need them with the new rotor. It's an assembly thing.

The pads aren't too hard either. The inboard pad simply pulls out; the retaining clip doesn't put that much tension on it. In fact it might have fallen out while you were wrestling with the caliper. The outboard pad must be pulled straight up. It has the retaining clip which is plainly

Top, new pad; bottom, 2-year-old pad. Checked yours lately?

visible, but it also has two positioning dimples. That's why it's harder to pull off. Bending the clip a little might help.

For reassembly, place the inner pad first. Then use a brake caliper piston compressor to push the piston into the bore. Don't have the right tool? Go get it. It's cheap and works much better than the alternative, a C-clamp. Finally, snap the new outboard brake pad into place.

With the pads in place, it's time to wrestle the caliper back into position. It's not gonna want to go, but it must, and it will. It has to be fit just so but when you get it, it'll snap in like a Lego brick. Perfect.

It's as easy as it looks.

Before reinstalling the caliper pins, lube them up real well with some caliper lube. Permatex sells some in little packets; each packet can do two pins. Don't worry about putting too much on; any excess will squeeze off when you reinstall the pin. After they're nicely smeared, put them back in.

Now bleed the caliper again. This time the mission is simply to purge any air that might have somehow gotten in the system. There shouldn't be any, so this shouldn't take long.

The driver side works exactly the same way. Once both sides are done, top off the master cylinder with fresh fluid, put the wheels back on, and test drive!

You're not quite done yet. Break in the pads by whatever method the pad manufacturer says is required -- it varies, so we can't offer any advice here. Ours didn't seem to come with any advice so we went straight to seasoning the rotors.

Get that caliper lube glop all over the caliper pin.

The rotors must be seasoned properly to avoid warping. There is no faster way to warp rotors than to "baby" them. Brake rotors are not meant to be treated nicely! The procedure is simple, although it seems everyone has their little pet method that is better than anyone else's. They all accomplish the same thing. Here is ours.

Find yourself an empty road. Do two to three moderately hard stops from about 25 mph. If you have ABS and it's kicking on, you're braking too hard. Brake like for a yellow light, not like for a deer. Then get up to about 40 mph and do a couple more stops in the same manner. Finally, get up to around 60 mph and stop. But don't sit there with the brakes on, thinking about it; stop and get moving again. Now go for a short drive with little braking to let them cool off.

What a difference! Our pads were about two years old, the rotors warped and who knows how old. The fluid remains scummy but that will be handled later. The new pads and new rotors made a world of difference! The car stops faster and feels better. It is day and night. There is no better satisfaction in car work than making a difference you can feel immediately. And brake work is neither too hard nor too expensive so it's a great way to kill an afternoon.