How hard is it to do brakes & calipers?

[dmurray14]

Hey guys,

My front brakes are shot, and the front left caliper is completely screwed, it ripped apart the rotor. So I need to do 2x brake pads, 2x rotors, and 1x caliper. Is this something a mechanically inclined person could do on their own? I was going to take it to my mechanic, but now that I have an extra car, I might try and do it on my own. Any comments?

Thanks!
Dan

[tbreihan]

Pads and rotors are cake. I would say that doing those is about as hard as changing oil. Are you going to replace the bad caliper outright or rebuild it? I rebuilt the calipers on my old E30 and it was not difficult, but if you don't feel comfortable doing it, then take it to a pro. If you are simply replacing the caliper with a new one, remember that you'll need to bleed the brakes. Again, this is not hard but some people are averse to doing it and, if this is you, then take it to a pro. But, it is not hard; it is critical, however, that you do everything carefully and correctly.

[dmurray14]

Pads and rotors are cake. I would say that doing those is about as hard as changing oil. Are you going to replace the bad caliper outright or rebuild it? I rebuilt the calipers on my old E30 and it was not difficult, but if you don't feel comfortable doing it, then take it to a pro. If you are simply replacing the caliper with a new one, remember that you'll need to bleed the brakes. Again, this is not hard but some people are averse to doing it and, if this is you, then take it to a pro. But, it is not hard; it is critical, however, that you do everything carefully and correctly.

I'm just going to replace it. It has to be beyond repair - it's all seized up and has been grinding against the rotor for a week. Is it difficult to bleed the brakes? Never done it before, and I'd be scared I'd screw up and not be able to stop. But if it's pretty straightforward, maybe I'll give it a shot.

[CoolJoe]

Swapping caliber & installing pads/rotors is a piece of cake. When bleeding make sure to go in this pattern as you bleed.
1. Rear right
2. Rear left
3. Front right
4. Front left

This way you'll be sure all airbubbles are out of the brake lines. This is the way I do it & works for me. Have fun !! :alright

[tbreihan]

Swapping caliber & installing pads/rotors is a piece of cake. When bleeding make sure to go in this pattern as you bleed.
1. Rear right
2. Rear left
3. Front right
4. Front left

This way you'll be sure all airbubbles are out of the brake lines. This is the way I do it & works for me. Have fun !! :alright

+1

You need to start with the caliper that is farthest from the master cylinder and then work you way to the caliper closest to the master cylinder.

Also, there are a number of gimmicky items that supposedly allow you to the bleed the brakes by yourself (Mity-Vacs, pressure-bleeders, SpeedBleeders, etc.) In my experience, none of these work worth a damn. You need a helper to it. Read this writeup (http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_howto_bleedbrakes.shtml) on Stoptech's site--probably the most comprehensive and easy-to-understand explaination available.

One final thing; since you are bleeding your brakes, you might as well flush your old brake fluid. Open your master cylinder reservoir and see what color fluid you have. Chances are, it will be gold. If so, buy a litre of ATE Super Blue (which is blue!) and bleed your brakes until you see blue fluid coming out of each caliper. If your brake fluid was already replaced with Super Blue, get the ATE Type 200 (which is the same thing, but gold) and bleed until the gold fluid comes out.

[autocross97]

i would sagest painting the calipers while you you are in there messing with stuff. you may also want to upgrade to stainless brake lines while you are at it. those will add a little time to the project, it may take 2 days instead of 1/2 a day but it will look and perform better. make sure you torque all the bolts holding the caliper on i didn't once and well that was a pain in the ass. go for it, it will be fun.

[Mr. White]

It's really easy. If I remember correctly, it's 4-5 bolts and the caliper & rotor are off. You don't need any special tools either.

Just be as clean as possible. Clean everything.

[andreyiv]

As far as I know, the longest stell braided lines last is 2 years. Not sure you want to do that.