Front Caliper DIY.

[REN69]

Do we have any DIY on AE92 front Calipers anywhere?? I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and I have never attempted this before, mainly because I didn't have the time due to commuting to work for a good part of my day. Now I work 15mins from home so I got more time in my hands...

My front Calipers are on their last leg and I wanna put one of my sets on (I have a used set with 180,000km on them and I should be getting a used/rebuilt set soon) so I'm looking for any DIY instructions on calipers and rotors and stuff like this. To be honest with you guys, I normally don't do anything to my car that would ground it for indefinite amounts of time if I screwed up.. I usually just do anything with electrical stuff, stereo or interior, etc. Any help would be appreciated.

[nadir]

get a haynes or chiltons manual ... it's all instructed there (15 bucks).

brakes are pretty easy .. usually 2 12mm bolts that hold the caliper, 2 more bigger bolts that hold the rotor in place.

what do you mean u want to "do" the calipers .. replacing them or rebuild/lubing them? If you're calipers aren't frozen, then remove the 2 pins (they slide right out) and clean em and apply synthetic grease (caliper grease) and put em back. You can lube the piston as well.

[cobrajet25]

If you are replacing all of the brake components (pads, calipers, rotors), then you will need a socket set, a c-clamp, probably a cheater pipe or a big hammer, brake fluid, and a buddy. Brakes are pretty straight-forward.

To just replace the pads, all you have to do is remove the two slider bolts that secure the caliper to the mounting bracket. Pull the old pads out of the caliper, being mindful of the anti-squeal and anti-rattle spring locations. Then take the c-clamp and use it to push the pistons back into the calipers. Take the anti-rattle/squeal springs off of the old pads and put them on the new pads. Put the new pads into the caliper. Put the caliper back on and bolt it up. As others have said, it is a good idea to grease the slider bolts. Simple!

If your old calipers are not leaking or binding, then I would not bother replacing them until they are. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! If you do notice some leaking or if one of the calipers is hanging up a bit, replacing them is simple.

Do the above steps, only when you have the caliper off disconnect the brake fluid line that goes to it. Swap the old caliper out for a new one. Reconnect the brake line tightly. There will be a bleeder valve on the caliper...it will look like a small nut with kind of a nipple (mmmm...nipples) on it. Open the valve, and have your buddy depress the brake pedal to the floor. Brake fluid shoud shoot out. Close the valve BEFORE YOUR BUDDY RELEASES THE PEDAL! This will eliminate all of the air from the system. Be mindful of the amount of brake fluid in the brake reservoir...you do not want to run it out! Do this until there are no longer bubbles in the brake fluid that is coming out of the caliper. Then tighten the valve securely. Caliper changed!

The rotors are easy too. When you have the caliper off, remove the bracket that attaches the caliper to the strut. These bolts will be TIGHT...I actually broke a perfectly good ratchet taking mine off. Use the hammer or the cheater pipe. Once the bracket is off, the rotor will just come off of the hub with little drama. IF it gets stuck, smack it off with the hammer. Good luck! Regards, Aaron

[REN69]

Cool... I know it sounds funny but like I said.. I never bothered with these type of things because I never had the time.. always on the road and always needed the car so I couldn't do it myself and risk being stuck in my driveway.. always took it to the shop. thanks guys.. I'm gonna look for a manual, I've seen one at Canadian Tire, but it was the broad one for all AE92's I think.

[virtualkuz]

Even a broad range manual will put you in the right direction. Make sure you pay attention to the torque specs for the bolts (you do have a 150lb torque wrench right?) brakes are a VERY IMPORTANT part to operating a vehicle. The brake caliper bracket probably calls for 130-150 lbs of torque.

As for the bolts, they are going to be on there damn tight. If you are so inclined getting a nice EXTENDABLE 1/2inch breaker rachet would be very nice. Throw some penetrating oil on there and let it sit for 15 minutes if you have problems breaking the bolts free. Also, put the car as high up as possible on jack stands. You will need as much room as you can get to get leverage on the wrench.

I did my brakes on a chevy monte carlo. It was a long day as I could not get the bolts free. I even went as far as buying a compressor and impact rachet to find there wasn't enough room to use it. I ended up using a pipe and long rachet to break the caliper bracket free. I kept the compressor and air tools though

[NDR008]

Try finding the Haynes Workshop manual or Haynes Repair and Serice Guide for Corolla of your year.
It will cover all AE92, and EE90, but dealing with how to fix the brakes of each model individually if a difference exists.
Great book!