replacing pads & rotors

[mattyfo0z]

so i'm gonna be picking up some new drilled/slotted rotors & pads for my coupe in the next two weeks sometimes. my brakes have been squeeking a for a while so i'm not going to bother keeping the same rotors and resurfacing them or anything.

but was just curious.. do i need any special tool to push the piston back into the caliper ? i've only done the brakes myself on my parents cars, and my civic. two of them were easy, but my mom's mustang needed a c-clamp tool that pushed the piston back in a specific way.

i just want to make sure that the coupe is easier than that, or if i do happen to need any extra tool maybe i can pick it up or rent it from autozone.

thanks

[wade001]

a C-clamp should do it, there are vise grip pliers that bend out and back in that would be easier though. Both will have to be big enough to slip around the caliper back and be able to push in the piston. The red-neck way is to take a large flat screw-driver and pry against the caliper (while still on) using the rotor as an anchor point though lol :/!

[DJ_B_Easy]

You can buy a piston press from an auto parts store for under $10. But the C clamp should do the trick if you have one laying around.

[mattyfo0z]

^ yeah, i picked one up a while back to use on other cars. just wanted to make sure nissan didn't mess up and make things overly complicated *hint hint ford*

[DJ_B_Easy]

^Nope, its pretty straight forward.

[boston824]

No special tools needed, but remember to take off the cap for the break fluid so you wont need to bleed them. Put a rag over it to avoid fluid splash when you press the caliber.

[Blackmobile]

i just bought a set of brakes and rotors and tried to do the swap on the weekend. brakes were easy but i failed at the rotors. i could not get the caliper bolts off, they were on there ridiculously tight. i tried using some spray to loosen the bolts but it didn't help, i resorted to hitting the wrench with a hammer and still no luck. i guess i'll be paying someone else to do it

[DJ_B_Easy]

Were you using an actual solid wrench or a ratchet? I couldnt get them to budge with my ratchet, but my 14mm(I think) wrench popped them right off. I actually used a little hammer force as well, by way of a rubber mallet (which is also useful to get the rotors off if they are rusted in place).

[Blackmobile]

i used a wrench, i didn't have sockets in the sizes i needed. the bolts were different sizes, 22mm in the front and 19mm in the rear. i had to go out and buy 2 wrenches for the job since i didn't have the right size wrenches either, I only had up to 18mm.

i'm kind of considering using a torch, i'm just afraid i'll get too close to the brake line or damage something

[DJ_B_Easy]

That sounds awful large, I could have sworn it was 14mm. Either way, that doesnt matter when they arent breaking free. Id try again with the wrench, maybe put a pipe over it extending it so its more of a breaker bar?

[Blackmobile]

there were 14mm bolts to take off the caliper cover so that i could replace the brakes, but to get off the entire caliper i think the bolts i need to remove are bigger. i'm not very mechanically inclined, so i hope i'm trying to take off the right bolts here.

i followed the diy guide http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/altima ... otors.html

one of the pictures shows the rear caliper assembly, in my pic below, the bolt on the left is the 14mm bolt with another one below to change out the pads. the bolts i'm trying to remove are the larger ones on the right, which i'm pretty sure are the bolts holding the caliper on. those things are holding on for dear life!


my problem with putting a pipe over the wrench is that i don't have the space in the wheel well for a bar. and the caliper is in the way of placing the wrench so that it's not in the wheel well.

[DJ_B_Easy]

OK, your pic isnt working but I remember now. 14mm Removes the caliper, 19mm removes the caliper bracket.

Not sure what else to tell you, muscle that sumbitch outta there!

[Blackmobile]

yeah my photobucket account is acting funny,

anyways yeah i spent 2 hours trying to undo those bolts. i might take another stab at it before throwing in the towel. thanks for your help

[Blackmobile]

got it figured out. used a breaker bar and a hammer to finally knock the bolts loose. only did the front 2 rotors though tonight, i was losing sunlight. going to do the rears either tomorrow or on the weekend. my rotors were stuck on pretty good though, i had to bash them off with something heavy. i'll probly pick up a mini sledge to knock off the rears

[greekgod278]

what kind of pads and rotors did you go with

[Blackmobile]

blanks from ebay from r1concepts

[greekgod278]

blanks from ebay from r1concepts

Any squealing ??

[Blackmobile]

a tiny bit when i drive it right after it rains and only at very low speeds, ie. pulling out of the parking lot from work, slowing down for speed bumps.