Im getting ready to change the rotors on my 97. What I wanted to ask is, do I need to remove the whole caliper , or can I just remove the bottom bolt swing caliper up and put the rotor on? Or does anyone out there have a better way to do it. Thanks .....

 

I tend to be a bit more thurough when it comes to the device that will stop the car and keep me from plowing into unknown obstacles inducing certain death.... now that I am off my soapbox...

I would suggest replacing your pads at the same time - this is how I typically would do the whole thing...

- Wheel off
- Remove the two bolts that connect caliper sliders to caliper mounting bracket.
- Slide the caliper off the rotor - may take a little work if there is a lip on the rotor face.
- Hang the caliper with a coathanger so you don't damage the line from the weight of the caliper hanging.
- Remove inner and outer pads from caliper bracket.
- Remove the two bolts holding the caliper mounting bracket to the spindle and set bracket to the side.
- Remove the rotor - may need to smack with a hammer if it's rusted in place.
- Wash the new rotors with soap and water, then spray down with brake parts cleaner.
- Place rotors on spindle and hold in place with a single lug nut hand tightened.
- Remove caliper sliders from bracket and clean off all old grease, replace with new grease and place back in bracket.
- Take wire brush to all sliding points of bracket until rust is gone.
- Clean threads of caliper bracket bolts and caliper slider bolts, then add a dab of lock tight.
- Mount caliper bracket and torque to spec.
- Place caliper compressor in caliper, brake bleeder and compress caliper.
- Once pistons are fully compressed close bleeder and remove press.
- Place pads in bracket and slide caliper over pads.
- Insert slider bolts and torque to spec.
- Bleed brakes.
- Wheels back on.
- Bed in pads.

Wow, that got pretty long-winded.. oops...

If you are doing the rears don't forget to clean and adjust your parking brake...

 

Best thing to do is remove the whole caliper. Just have some way to compress the caliper pistons to fit back over your brake pads. What I have used to do that is a C clamp, a thin peice of wood, and a cloth so I wont scratch the paint on my calipers.

 

that's a 4 inch C clamp or bigger

 

you can also slip a screwdriver in between the pad and rotor then pry them apart - this is my preferred method...

 

To replace the rotors ... you MUST remove both the calipers AND the caliper mounting brackets. No other "trick" way to do it.

jbauch357's description of what to do should work very well for you. Be aware the Caliper mounting bolts are REALLY torqued on there (125 lb/ft) so don't be too surprised when you struggle to get them off (and on)

 

use loctite when you put it all back together.

 

Lookee here, Rickko will show you how to do it.

 

I got the how to part. But alls I get for Pics is a little red Boxes......

 

I use FireFox and I can see the pics. I tried Internet Explorer and all I got was Red Boxes. Go figure. Sorry bout that.

 

If you do this without clamping off the brake line and opening the bleeder valve, you risk damaging your master cylinder and more importantly, your ABS valves and pump.

It is much more difficult but I think the ABS valves are somewhere around $1000. Word to the wise. These are real sports cars, not 60s muscle cars. And considering the manual that came with my friend's 66, they never have been simple maintenance, just GM trusts the average owner less.

I have braided lines so every time I do a pad replacement, I wind up doing a complete flush and bleed (because I open the bleeder and allow the old fluid to run out rather than pushing it back into the system.)

Rad

 

Won't worky by swinging the caliper out of the way

 

Opening the bleed valve is a good technique whenever you're compressing pistons back into the calipers, but....


Never, Ever, EVER clamp the brake line. I know of no one tracking their cars that are clamping their brake lines. The risk of crimping/cracking the line where it's compressed is just too great.

Have a good one,
Mike

 

No need to bleed the brakes in a sealed system. If you get air in your system, you've got other problems. Very little fluid is returned to the master cylinder by compressing each piston.

 

Compress all 4 calipers back down from extended and you can make brake fluid spew out the top of what was previously a low master cylinder reservior.... I've seen it happen many times (not specifically on a C5 I have to admit) on sealed systems... better safe than sorry, brake the bleeder and compress. if nothing else it will get rid of the majority of burnt fluid inside the caliper...

 

A. The brake system is *not* sealed, the cap on the MC is vented
B. You must not have compressed the pistons on a C5 system; there's a fair amount of fluid in the calipers. Couple that with "servicing" of a brake system that amounts to nothing more than filling the MC reservoir up to the full line, and you can easily overflow the MC.
C. Brake fluid is hygroscopic (it absorbs water vapor). This migrates throughout the brake system, which is why the brake fluid should be flushed every two years. Don't, and not only will the boiling point of the brake fluid decrease significantly, you'll also be subjecting the MC, ABS, and steel brake lines to corrosion.

One easy way to check to see if your brake fluid needs to be flushed is to look at the color in the MC; it should be clear or amber. If it's dark or black, it's way past time.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

 

Question: The factory service manual srtongly suggests replacing the caliper Bracket Bolts with new ones when servicing the brakes. How many members actually do it? I'm looking at doing my brakes in the near future (2004 C5), and am trying to do my homework.

 

The reason is that GM wants to make sure there's some red loctite on the threads (new ones come with it). They are not torque-to-yield bolts, and many autocross/roadracers (including me) do not replace them unless they're damaged in some way (rounded heads, in most cases).

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike