I am seriously thinking of getting a set of slotted / drilled rotors. Initially the plan was to get the rotors from sportbrake.com and take them to my tech and have him put them on but wanted to get your opinion on whether or not it is something I could possibly do. I consider myself to be relatively intelligent (college education...go UW Cowboys!!) but when it comes to cars...forget about it. Changing the headlight bulbs took me an hour. So is this something you think I could pull off? I would venture a guess that you would have to take off the caliper, but I don't know how the rotors are attached.

Thanks for any help. I appreciate it. I do not have a service manual and my car did not come with an owners manual either....not that really matters.

Scott

 

It's simple enough. Jack up the car. Remove the wheels. Remove the bolts holding on the caliper. Gently tap rotor off with hammer. The hardest part for me was breaking the rear bolts loose. I had to jack it up really high and use a long breaker bar to get it loose. Be sure to use Loc-tite on the bolts when re-installing.

 

So there really isn't anything holding the rotors on the car (except for the obvious calipers and lugs)? Once I get the caliper off all I have to do is "tap" the rotors off?

What about putting the rotors back on? Just slide them on and call it good?

Thanks.

Scott

 

Rather than trying to get a long breaker bar under the car to loosen the caliper bolts(they are secured at the factory with loctite) use a sturdy box socket wrench and a small hand sledge to whack the wrench with. Works without the hassle and no bruised knuckles.

 

Be prepared for some serious headache with the rear rotors if they have never been off before. I can't say that you'll definitely have problems, but my rear rotors required some serious pounding. In the end, I also dislocated my parking brake drums which sit just inside the rotor hub. Getting those pinned back together is a royal pain in the azz.

I made a frantic post looking for assistance with this issue about a year ago and received some good responses. I'll try to search for it later.

 

Whoa, there cowboy! There are some things that you need to do and look for. As was stated it is simple, but you should check some things to be sure it is right.

First you need a good Torque wrench. Second you need some locktite to set the caliper bracket bolts.

Take the wheel off, and followed by removing the caliper bracket bolts. Fashion a hanger from some old coat hanger wire and hang the caliper out of the way. Do not let it hang from the hose.

Next remove the disk. On the rear you may have to adjust the e-brake shoes down to get the rotor off. There is an adjuster just like the old drum brakes that you can get to from the rear.

Use a good cleaner such as brakeclean and clean the new rotors really well. take off any stickers etc. (the rotors should be labeled as to what side they go on. they are directional) Clean the wheel hubs and wire brush off any rust or residue. Then you can reassemble. Torque the bracket bolts to spec. (I can't remember and don't have my manual handy) when you put the wheels back on it is important that you tighten the lugs to spec (100Ft lbs) and do it in a star fashion.

I usually do a wheel hub run out test with a micrometer and check the spindles for wear, but if the car has been driving ok, you don't really have to do it. I get real **** when working on the car.

It is not hard but you would not believe the number of guys who can't figure out why they can't get the rear rotors off!

 

I need to do the same and I was going to use this link. I got it from the forum somewere, so whoever posted it originally deserves thanks. Very good pics.

http://dana60.com/rickko/corvette/rotor-rr.html

 

Although not a difficult project I would not suggest that someone without some automotive experience attempt this on his own. The Brakes are something you should not fool with if you do not know exactly what you are doing as the consequences of doing it incorrectly can be disastrous. For example no one here has mentioned removing the retainer clips that are placed on the wheel studs after the rotors were installed by the factory.

I assume you would be changing the pads as well. Not a good idea to put used pads on new rotors. Now you would also need to compress the caliper pistons when you put the new pads on to clear the rotors etc....

Get the new rotors and pads and take to a good brake shop for the install. Should be less then $100...OR...Have a Forum member who is familiar with this type of work to give you a hand.

 

That's how I learned.

 

I have a question. How do you know when the new rotors are fully seated??

 

When it is tight against the axle or spindle. You can also measure the exposed wheel stud before you take off the old rotor and then make sure you have the same exposed after you install the new one. Basically you will know when it slides over the studs and you press it firmly into to place. (NO tools required)

 

you can do it yourself, but if you've never done brake work before, I would recomend finding a friend (maybe someone from the forum) to help you out and make sure you don't do something dumb. Once you do it once, it's easy to do on your own from there.



oh and...http://www.klh-racing.com/brakes.htm...cement%20Front

 

On this link it says to bleed the brake lines first. No body else mentioned this. Is this a completely necessary step???

 

If your'e only changing the rotors, no need to bleed brake lines.

 

Dont put those little star washers back on. They should have been removed with dealer prep. Their only purpose was to hold the rotor on during manufacuting.

 

I used this how to thread when installing my Baer 2pc d/s rotors. One reminder, be careful with the rears, the parking brake assembly is delicate and will pop out if not careful. Good luck

http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/1...akes_upgrades/

 

What if you are changing the brake pads??

 

Still no need to bleed the brake lines unless you are changing the calipers.

 

If you have a lot of miles on your current brake fluid and it is totally black, it would not hurt to bleed the brake lines.

It is a simple task you will need either a vacuum bleeder tool or an extra person.

For this I would suggest you getting a friend with some experience to help. There is a sequence to bleed. Start from the wheel farthest from the reservoir.

The problem is that if you do it wrong and get air in the line, you have to start all over. I bleed mine once a year or with new pads or rotors whichever comes first.

None of this is hard, but there are little tricks to make it right.

Good luck

 

Sounds like it could be a good thing to do once in a while. Do you know of any write ups on this? I do not know of anyone that could help me do this.