geartooth94
08-25-2003, 12:55 PM
Well I just did this yesterday and I can give a step by step as well as a few tricks.
This was on a '94 SL2 with rear discs. However I think that all S-series brakes will be very similar. This job was done in my driveway with simple hand tools and torque wrenches. I will warn you now to crouch with your knees and not bend over with your back or you WILL feel pain the next day. I learned the hard way.
1) Loosen the brake fluid reservoir cap but leave it on there.
2) Jack up the front side of the car, preferably with an adequate floor jack and jackstands. Use a block of wood to go between the jack lifting point and the frame of the car. The correct area to jack is just behind the stock jack point, just aft of the front wheels. By behind, I mean width of the car, not length. You will see what appear to be gray rails that run the length of the car, this is where you jack. Make sure to leave enough room for the stand. Also make sure you jack on a solid concrete or asphalt surface. You don't want the car falling through the wooden floor on your garage.
3) Remove both wheels and inspect the rotors and pads. My rotors had a big groove in it that ran the circumference of the rotor. I replaced them with standard "white box" made in China rotors. There is lots of discussion on this topic elsewhere on this board. Search for 'cheap chinese' .
4) Get a socket wrench, preferably a long one for the maximum torque. I was able to comfortably use an 18" long wrench. The caliper lock and guide pin bolts are both 14mm and the caliper bracket bolts are both 18mm
5) Remove the lock pin bolt at the bottom of the caliper. Be careful not to damage the boot.
6) Pivot the caliper up on the guide pin (upper) bolt and secure it using some coat hanger wire to the strut spring. I find it helps to loosen both caliper bracket bolts so the rotor will then loosen.
7) The pads should still be attached to their clips, so they can be removed.
8) If you are changing your rotor(s), now is a good time to take it off. I needed four hands for this job, so have a helper around.
9) Once the pads are in their clips correctly, bottom out the piston with a 7" or larger C-clamp. Make sure the boot is not damaged or bulging.
10) Reinstallation is the reverse of assembly. Don't forget to regrease the lock pin straight part, (NOT the threads) with dielectric silicone grease. You only need a thin layer to do the job. Be careful once again of the pin boots. Tighten the lock pin bolt and then tighten both caliper bracket bolts, if you loosened them.
11) Tighten the brake fluid reservoir cap.
12) With the wheels still off, install two lug nuts across from each other and snug them a little. Do this on both sides. Now start the car and put it in drive or neutral. Push the pedal to the floor and hold it for a second, then release. Repeat 5-10 times. If after this sequence, the pedal still travels to the floor with little resistance, it is likely you have a problem with your master cylinder, or somehow air got in the system and it will have to be bled. You'll have to search this board for remedies.
If all is well, install the wheels, torque to 103 ft-lbs. and pat yourself on the back.
For those that drink, go get a few beers.
TIPS and TRICKS!
I highly advise getting a copy of a Chilton's manual or the factory serviced manuals and reading over and understanding what you are doing before actually doing this job. This brake job wasn't too hard, but I work really slowly and it was time consuming for me. Probably because I'm a perfectionist!
My floor jack was too high even in its "at rest" position to allow for the jack and the block of wood to clear the frame of the car. I used the stock jack to lift the car a couple inches, then slid the floor jack in there and took the stock one out. Tedious, but it works.
I couldn't find a grease that specifically said "dielectric silicone" on it, so I got a small tub of grease that says "brake caliper grease".
The Saturn factory service manuals say we should replace the brake pad clips when installing new parts. I didn't because I thought the new pads would come with them. They didn't. I inspected all of them and they were not cracked or broken so I left them on there.
I used a white box brand of brake rotors: the guy said they were "AAMCO" or "AMPCO", but when I got the box, it said, 'Made in China'....perfect!
The pads are Wearever semi-metallic Silver level.
Torque values for the lock (lower) and guide (upper) pin bolts are 27 ft-lbs. and the caliper bracket bolts are 81 ft-lbs.
I find it helps to hold the lock pin boot "out" manually with your thumb and forefinger when you are tightening the pin bolt. It helps the boot stay in place and not get pushed back by the threads of the bolt. If you put too much grease on there, you will know now why the boot keeps pushing back.
I used 6-point sockets for all my work. I HATE 12-pointers. They just round off the bolts heads too much for high-torque work.
You'll probably need a socket extension of about 4 inches or so to clear the brake hose if you're using any decent sized socket wrench to take off the upper caliper bracket bolt.
I used disc brake pad anti-squeal spray, but the manuals didn't specify it. Don't know if it makes a difference or not.
I highly advise using WD-40 or PB-Blaster to loosen the bolt threads of any bolt that is on there really tight. You shouldn't need it with the caliper pin bolts, but the bracket bolts are on there real good.
Don't forget the most important thing: Get a can of brake parts cleaner and spray down your rotors after installation and before you put the wheels on. It'll get off all the grease and oils you got on there when you were handling the rotors!
I would have taken pictures with my digicam, but that would have taken too much more time. My hands were too dirty to handle a $400 piece of technology. I believe others on this board have taken pictures of new rotors and such.
If I've forgotten anything, anyone that has done this job many times please post back and correct me. Good luck, all!
This was on a '94 SL2 with rear discs. However I think that all S-series brakes will be very similar. This job was done in my driveway with simple hand tools and torque wrenches. I will warn you now to crouch with your knees and not bend over with your back or you WILL feel pain the next day. I learned the hard way.
1) Loosen the brake fluid reservoir cap but leave it on there.
2) Jack up the front side of the car, preferably with an adequate floor jack and jackstands. Use a block of wood to go between the jack lifting point and the frame of the car. The correct area to jack is just behind the stock jack point, just aft of the front wheels. By behind, I mean width of the car, not length. You will see what appear to be gray rails that run the length of the car, this is where you jack. Make sure to leave enough room for the stand. Also make sure you jack on a solid concrete or asphalt surface. You don't want the car falling through the wooden floor on your garage.
3) Remove both wheels and inspect the rotors and pads. My rotors had a big groove in it that ran the circumference of the rotor. I replaced them with standard "white box" made in China rotors. There is lots of discussion on this topic elsewhere on this board. Search for 'cheap chinese' .
4) Get a socket wrench, preferably a long one for the maximum torque. I was able to comfortably use an 18" long wrench. The caliper lock and guide pin bolts are both 14mm and the caliper bracket bolts are both 18mm
5) Remove the lock pin bolt at the bottom of the caliper. Be careful not to damage the boot.
6) Pivot the caliper up on the guide pin (upper) bolt and secure it using some coat hanger wire to the strut spring. I find it helps to loosen both caliper bracket bolts so the rotor will then loosen.
7) The pads should still be attached to their clips, so they can be removed.
8) If you are changing your rotor(s), now is a good time to take it off. I needed four hands for this job, so have a helper around.
9) Once the pads are in their clips correctly, bottom out the piston with a 7" or larger C-clamp. Make sure the boot is not damaged or bulging.
10) Reinstallation is the reverse of assembly. Don't forget to regrease the lock pin straight part, (NOT the threads) with dielectric silicone grease. You only need a thin layer to do the job. Be careful once again of the pin boots. Tighten the lock pin bolt and then tighten both caliper bracket bolts, if you loosened them.
11) Tighten the brake fluid reservoir cap.
12) With the wheels still off, install two lug nuts across from each other and snug them a little. Do this on both sides. Now start the car and put it in drive or neutral. Push the pedal to the floor and hold it for a second, then release. Repeat 5-10 times. If after this sequence, the pedal still travels to the floor with little resistance, it is likely you have a problem with your master cylinder, or somehow air got in the system and it will have to be bled. You'll have to search this board for remedies.
If all is well, install the wheels, torque to 103 ft-lbs. and pat yourself on the back.
For those that drink, go get a few beers.
TIPS and TRICKS!
I highly advise getting a copy of a Chilton's manual or the factory serviced manuals and reading over and understanding what you are doing before actually doing this job. This brake job wasn't too hard, but I work really slowly and it was time consuming for me. Probably because I'm a perfectionist!
My floor jack was too high even in its "at rest" position to allow for the jack and the block of wood to clear the frame of the car. I used the stock jack to lift the car a couple inches, then slid the floor jack in there and took the stock one out. Tedious, but it works.
I couldn't find a grease that specifically said "dielectric silicone" on it, so I got a small tub of grease that says "brake caliper grease".
The Saturn factory service manuals say we should replace the brake pad clips when installing new parts. I didn't because I thought the new pads would come with them. They didn't. I inspected all of them and they were not cracked or broken so I left them on there.
I used a white box brand of brake rotors: the guy said they were "AAMCO" or "AMPCO", but when I got the box, it said, 'Made in China'....perfect!
The pads are Wearever semi-metallic Silver level.
Torque values for the lock (lower) and guide (upper) pin bolts are 27 ft-lbs. and the caliper bracket bolts are 81 ft-lbs.
I find it helps to hold the lock pin boot "out" manually with your thumb and forefinger when you are tightening the pin bolt. It helps the boot stay in place and not get pushed back by the threads of the bolt. If you put too much grease on there, you will know now why the boot keeps pushing back.
I used 6-point sockets for all my work. I HATE 12-pointers. They just round off the bolts heads too much for high-torque work.
You'll probably need a socket extension of about 4 inches or so to clear the brake hose if you're using any decent sized socket wrench to take off the upper caliper bracket bolt.
I used disc brake pad anti-squeal spray, but the manuals didn't specify it. Don't know if it makes a difference or not.
I highly advise using WD-40 or PB-Blaster to loosen the bolt threads of any bolt that is on there really tight. You shouldn't need it with the caliper pin bolts, but the bracket bolts are on there real good.
Don't forget the most important thing: Get a can of brake parts cleaner and spray down your rotors after installation and before you put the wheels on. It'll get off all the grease and oils you got on there when you were handling the rotors!
I would have taken pictures with my digicam, but that would have taken too much more time. My hands were too dirty to handle a $400 piece of technology. I believe others on this board have taken pictures of new rotors and such.
If I've forgotten anything, anyone that has done this job many times please post back and correct me. Good luck, all!