Chinski Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 I took my 90 Lumina in today to get the tranny flushed cause I don't want to deal with the mess and I told 'em to check my breaks too. I knew I was going to need to replace my front calipers, they also said my rears were froze up and all 4 of my rotors are rust pitted and need replaced. And they'll do it for just over $800. hah. I have no money for that. A buddy of mine is doing his breaks on his Explorer tonight so I am going to go help him and then we are going to do mine tomorrow. This is the first time for both of us doing breaks, his dad is helping out tonight. I am kicking myself for leaving my manual at school, hope the library has one. Any tips/best way to do something or tricky things pionted out woud be wonderful. How about a good way to bleed the breaks? How much break fluid do I need? What about grease for re-packing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toastemcutlass Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 not at all the fronts are pretty easy but you need a big torq bit if i remember correctly and some thing to push in the dual piston caliper. and for the rears, they are even easier If you use the same calipers remember that they turn in not push. but the rears freezing up is common after new ones are installed make sure to "exercise" the parking brake, that is supose to help that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambone Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 as said, i think the only 'real' problem will be the rears... but if you are getting new/rebuilt turning in the pistons should be easy... they do sell a little metal box type thing ( ~$20 CAD ) that sits on the end of a rachet (that i bought for using on old brakes... ( needed it 'cause the emerg. brake had seized ) does anyone know the micrometer sizes for the rotors ? i have been told that you can not turn them because they will be too thin but i have replaced far to many off these on my car to keep replacing them... i think they are all sold ith 'bi-metal' bushings now but make sure just in case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89BuickRegalGS Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 yeah, you need to turn the rears in carefully or they will be damaged, as i did myself. make sure you use the right tools. I bought new rotors, it was not that exspensive at autozone. BE CAREFULL DOING A BREAK JOB. It doesn't matter how fast your car goes if you cannot safely stop it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPRACER Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 you need a #60 torx bit for the front caliper bracket, and it wouldn't hurt to have the correct tool for turning in the rear caliper pistons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arvetus Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 Hey, I have the same problem with my 91 regal. Your best bet would be to buy those cheap $40 calipers at autozone. They have a lifetime warranty. I have to replace my rears about once a year so it works great for me. I never take my car anywhere to do brakes anymore because it's rediculously expensive to do the rears at any shop, and most of those calipers only have a 1 year warranty anyway. The parking brake cable is a pain to get out of the caliper, but just fight with it and it will come out. It would be good to do the rears with a friend because you might need 2 sets of hands to get that cable out. Using a couple hands with a flat screwdriver in each hand, you'll figure out what to do. Also the rear rotors are only usually around $12 at autozone as well, cheap enough to replace. I replace rotors every time I do my brakes. Just make sure you clean the new rotors with brake cleaner before you put them on. I also wouldn't put expensive pads especially on the rears. Your calipers will rust out again before the pads will wear out. I buy the cheapest pads I can get for the rears. On the fronts, if you're careful, you can use the old pads to push the dual pistons back in with your thumbs. Watch the rubber boots so that they don't rip. As far as bleeding, You'll need 2 people. Pump the brakes about 5 times and then hold the pedal down as far as it will go. Loosen the bleeder screw and let the air and fluid come out. The pedal will then go to the floor. Tighten the screw and then release the pedal. Repeat the process until you get only fluid coming out, with no air. Start with the Rear-passenger, then go to the rear-driver. If you have to replace front calipers too, then after you do the rears, then go the front-passenger, then front-driver. Theory is to start with the caliper furthest away from the master cylinder and work your way to the closest. You only have to bleed if you replace the caliper or in any way disconnect the brake line. Oh, and make sure you use the bronze washers that come with your new calipers. They go on where the brake hose connects to the caliper. The old ones will probablly leak fluid. It might not be a bad idea to replace the brake hoses too. I just did mine a few weeks ago and I still have the stock hoses. I ripped one in the process of changing the caliper. But that's not bad since the car is 12 years old. The hose will come off the metal brake line and run to the caliper. It's rubber and maybe about 8 inches long. Oh, and another bit of advice. As I think that your calipers are the same as mine even though you have a lumina and I have a regal, all bolts are metric. I believe you'll need an 18mm to get the rear calipers off and I think a 10mm for the bleeder screw. Not sure of the bolt sizes for the fronts as I don't change them as often so I don't remember. I can change my rears in my sleep just about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 yeah, you need to turn the rears in carefully or they will be damaged, as i did myself. make sure you use the right tools. I bought new rotors, it was not that exspensive at autozone. BE CAREFULL DOING A BREAK JOB. It doesn't matter how fast your car goes if you cannot safely stop it! when i put the '94+ rear brakes on my car, i turned the piston back into the caliper with a long-nose pliers as a spanner tool. worked great! you just need to be really carefull you don't slip and scratch up the piston face. the Haynes manual i have even has a picture of them turning the piston back in using a long nose pliers. otherwise you can get a spanner tool set from Harbor Freight for like $10-$20. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPRACER Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 does anyone know the micrometer sizes for the rotors ? i have been told that you can not turn them because they will be too thin Minimum GM discard spec for front rotors is 30.70 mm Minimum GM siscard spec for rear rotors is 9.00 mm I have machined my rotors 2 times for pulsations before they went below spec. In most cases it's cheaper to buy a rotor than pay to have them cut. I buy the cheap rotors and have access to the machine shop at work, makes it easy for me. Use good pads though, Delco or equivalent, worth the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambone Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZMonte Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 if you do new calipers you should do new brake lines as well. they are cheap and you can get the at any parts store. Brakes are actually very easy to do. just remember to properly bleed the brakes before driving anywhere. RedZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinski Posted January 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2003 Thanks for the help. Once we started it seemed like it should be easy. Too bad everything was held together by rust. Had to bust out the hot wrech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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