I know this may seem novice but I have never changed rotors and pads on a Vette. The last time I did brakes was with a friend about 12 years ago on my 76 Camaro.

My 82 has 122k on the clock. I believe the rotors are the origianl ones on the car. The front rotors have heat spots and the rear rotors have heat spots and have slight grooves in them.


I have a set of AC Delco drilled and slotted rotors and Pads for front and rear. I am going to go ahead and attempt to do the fromt myself before I do the Rear. The rear brakes will be done when the trailing arms are replaced.

I have the shop manual for my car and it is fairly detailed. However, are there any special tricks you guys know that may make it easier?

I beleive the sequence of events is:
Remove the caliper from the rotor.
Remove the rotor from the HUB/Spindle
Install the new rotor
Drain a little fluid from the resevoir
Remove and replace the pads and shims (not sure how to do but it cant be that difficult)
Reinstall the caliber on the rotor
Fill the resevoir back up.

Anything I am missing here?

Now when I remove the rotor do the front bearings alsoe come out? I seem to remeber tha being the case when I did the brakes on the Camaro years ago?

Also are the front rotors riveted like the rear rotors?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

The front rotors are riveted on just as the backs and must be removed (drilled out) to pull the rotors. The new ones do not need to be riveted on as the wheel assembly holds the rotor in place. I doubt you'll have any trouble.

 

I would not drain the master cyl.

If your calipers are in good shape and not leaking, and you don't plan on rebuilding them, you don't need to mess with bleeding. Since you are doing the rears later, it makes sense to bleed them al at once if you just want to change out the fluid.

However, you might consider lowering the level in the master before you start because when you put new pads on, the pistons will be farter back and that will push fluid back up into the master . . which might overfloe if you're not careful.


The only real pain I ran into was that the calipers are hard to get back on the rotor because they are 4 piston and the pads do NOT want to stay back. You can check around for an inexpensive tool that holds the pads back so you can get the caliper slipped over the rotor.

I'll definately have one of those if I ever pull those calipers off again.

 

You can keep the pads separated when lowering them onto the rotor using a socket or similar object. Works like a champ!

 

Thanks guys. I own a cordless drill! and a few sockets... How long should this take to do?

 

Be sure to use a sharp drill bit or you'll be at it quite a while. Someone experienced at this job could probably do it in a couple of hours. However, since it's been a while for you, take your time and do it right. Don't forget to check and replace or repack the front bearings and install new seals. Have fun.

 

Awesome idea! You just saved a lot of people some bucks!



A tip on drilling by hand. Drill a small hole first. Then the final size. THat will significantly reduce the amount of pressure you have to exert to get the bigger drill to cut.

 

Beat me to it, as that was the only thing I saw missing from the list. Replacing calipers, pads and rotors was the first repair/upgrade I did on mine. Not difficult at all - with the exception of the rear e-brake pads.