I've waited far too long to do my front brakes and must do rotors & pads. I've got a few easy questions:
First, I was just going to order parts from RockAuto.com, but what brands are reliable? This is just a daily commuter, so I don't need anything fancy. Up 'til now I've used only genuine parts, but my wallet is nigh on empty, however if there's an online shop that sells genuine Toyota parts for reasonable prices I'd consider that as well.
Second, I'm wondering how one safely cleans brakes and disposes of the waste when doing a shade-tree brake job. I'll obviously be wearing eye protection, safety mask, gloves, and using brake cleaner, but how do I dispose of the cleanup in an environmentally friendly manner? And, can I just use my oil drain pan to catch and be able to safely clean it out? I really don't know what the asbestos risks are.
Im not really sure whats going on here. Your buying new pads and rotors to install but you want to use brake cleaner? Why not just take off the old pads and rotors then just bring them in for scrap money? Buy your pads and rotors and some brake quiet.
I just did mine 4 days ago, i used Wearever pads with a lifetime warranty and rotors. They work great, quiet and stop well. You can buy them at advanced auto. As for the asbestos, it was used long ago in brake lines, clutch lines and such. If your car is not more than 10-12 yrs old i wouldn't worry about it. Maybe just spray the whole brake assembly off with a air compressor first.
Also may i suggest buying some extra lugs? I actually snapped two of mine trying to take them off(very rusted). Or maybe just buy a full set of eight. Its worth it to replace them so you dont have problems down the road.
There shouldnt be any liquid "waste" when doing a brake job. Unless you're talking about when spraying the new rotors with brake cleaner to remove the gunk they come with. If thats the case, just clean and dont worry about the environment.
The rear brakes, if equipped with drums, is where you will have more waste since they collect more dust and need to be thoroughly sprayed with brake cleaner when doing a brake job.
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2006 Corolla S - sold
2003 Solara SLE - sold
2000 Corolla LE - sold
Im not really sure whats going on here. Your buying new pads and rotors to install but you want to use brake cleaner? Why not just take off the old pads and rotors then just bring them in for scrap money? Buy your pads and rotors and some brake quiet.
The brake cleaner would be to clean all the brake dust off the assembly. Having run these brakes into the ground, everything is absolutely caked with the stuff.
Quote:
I just did mine 4 days ago, i used Wearever pads with a lifetime warranty and rotors. They work great, quiet and stop well. You can buy them at advanced auto. As for the asbestos, it was used long ago in brake lines, clutch lines and such. If your car is not more than 10-12 yrs old i wouldn't worry about it.
Maybe just spray the whole brake assembly off with a air compressor first.
I'm pretty sure brake dust is still fairly toxic and not to be inhaled. I know my Haynes manual says not to blow it off with air, but to spray w/brake cleaner.
If brakes no longer contain asbestos (mine's an '01 Corolla) then I'm less concerned about the cleanup. I'll just sop up the brake cleaner w/shop towels and bring in for hazmat recycling like I do my regular oil cleanup rags and such.
Update: Oh, and what's the difference between ceramic & non-ceramic pads? Do they wear differently? Or is it a heat resistance thing?
Last edited by morgant; 08-09-2010 at 12:34 PM.
Reason: Added further question.
There shouldnt be any liquid "waste" when doing a brake job. Unless you're talking about when spraying the new rotors with brake cleaner to remove the gunk they come with. If thats the case, just clean and dont worry about the environment.
The rear brakes, if equipped with drums, is where you will have more waste since they collect more dust and need to be thoroughly sprayed with brake cleaner when doing a brake job.
Outside pad was down to just the backing plate and inside pad was nearly gone too. Having trouble getting the two bolts off that hold the caliper/pads bracket, even w/a breaker bar & hammer (and, yes, I'm turning them clockwise because they're facing away from me).
Worst, I installed the new clips & pads in an attempt to at least get those done, but I can't seem to get the caliper piston to compress enough (using a 6" C clamp) to get it back over the new pads. With the pads so far gone, it obviously didn't have to compress much to come off. Any suggestions there? I _really_ don't want to do anything that'll require my bleeding the brakes.
Update: Okay, after a good night's sleep and some daylight, I was able to rig up the caliper better so I could compress the piston easier. So, the pads & clips are done—already makes stopping a hell of a lot easier, imagine that!—so I'll give the rotors another go tomorrow.
Another Update: I gave the rotors another go this weekend, but applying a little PB Blaster (very carefully to make sure I didn't get any on the rotors) then hammering & kicking the breaker bar, it still wouldn't budge. And my garage just said they won't install customer provided parts, so I'm somewhat SOL. I guess I'll pick up a small torch and try some heat next.
If your rotor needed to be replaced along with pads, it should be done at the same time. If you replace brakes without changing a warped rotor then the pads will be f'd up. If you change the rotors without changing the pads your rotor gets f'd up.
Usually people buy Brembo blanks for rotors, When I had my corolla I chose to go with EBC GD747. Pads I went with Posi-quiet. Great combination.
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Subaru Impreza 2.5i Premium Satin White
If your rotor needed to be replaced along with pads, it should be done at the same time. If you replace brakes without changing a warped rotor then the pads will be f'd up. If you change the rotors without changing the pads your rotor gets f'd up.
I'm well aware. When ordering the pads I couldn't tell whether they were per-wheel or per-axle. Fortunately, they were per axle, so by ordering two sets I have enough to replace them again when I get the new rotors on (hence not being worried about putting new pads on without having replaced the rotors).
Definitely a waste, but far safer in the meantime (did I mention some of the pads were down to just the backing plate? Yeah, should've done them a long time ago) and still less money out of my pocket (as for time, that's a different story) than taking it to a garage.
use a bigger hammer and just WAIL on the rotors, if you're replacing them then who cares if you damage the braking surface. 2lb or larger hammer and just keep hitting, hit the rotor hat, hit the rotor ring, front, back, sides, hit hit hit.
use a bigger hammer and just WAIL on the rotors, if you're replacing them then who cares if you damage the braking surface.
I definitely will when I get there. Where I'm actually stuck is getting the bolts off which hold the pads & caliper bracket on. I've tried PB Blaster, a breaker bar, and hammering on the breaker bar. Next attempt will be heat.
The rotors should have two threaded holes to make their removal easy. Insert two rightly sized bolts into them and screw each one turn at a time. No hammering necessary.
The rotors should have two threaded holes to make their removal easy. Insert two rightly sized bolts into them and screw each one turn at a time. No hammering necessary.
usually though when they're seized on this hard the threads just pull out of the rotor hat leaving you with two unthreaded holes
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