Vented Front Brakes + Sway Bar Bushings

[David T]

The calipers don't look all that bad and replacing the pistons is a no-brainer. If you plan on keeping the car S/S pistons are the way to go. You *could* clean the calipers and buy some paint form Eastwood to make them pretty. A shop will measure the rotors so you don't need to buy a caliper. You only have to replace the bad one if it can't be saved, you do not have to replace "good" ones, if necessarily they might just need a light cut to clean them up. If you remove the rotors figure on replacing the wheel bearings (the front ones). Of course you will need 2 caliper kits for the fronts but you should also do the rears. You might want to get the hardware kits too but not required. While you are doing this you inspect the suspension and lubricate it. You may find you need bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, or shocks. If you are looking for an excuse to "upgrade" the brakes, now is the time to do it but it will cost more for a very minor improvement.

[kdumont]

The calipers don't look all that bad and replacing the pistons is a no-brainer. If you plan on keeping the car S/S pistons are the way to go. You *could* clean the calipers and buy some paint form Eastwood to make them pretty. A shop will measure the rotors so you don't need to buy a caliper. You only have to replace the bad one if it can't be saved, you do not have to replace "good" ones, if necessarily they might just need a light cut to clean them up. If you remove the rotors figure on replacing the wheel bearings (the front ones). Of course you will need 2 caliper kits for the fronts but you should also do the rears. You might want to get the hardware kits too but not required. While you are doing this you inspect the suspension and lubricate it. You may find you need bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, or shocks. If you are looking for an excuse to "upgrade" the brakes, now is the time to do it but it will cost more for a very minor improvement.

If you pull the front hubs odds are the bearing seal beaks. The problem is the bearing freezes to the spindle.

For your last question on anything else for replacement, for the front brake pads with the vented rotors up front I used EBC Green Stuff pads, which is what was recommended from Martin at DMC UK when he came out with one of the first front vented rotor kits.

Thanks for the tips everyone! I got the brakes together yesterday. I ended up splurging and going with the vented rotors from Delorean Go & EBC red, low dust brake pads, though in retrospect I certainly could've saved some money and refurbed the original parts as Dave described. I'll break down the rear calipers this upcoming week - most likely I'll just buy new pistons in advance.

Here's my work update:
- Sand down and apply high-temp rustoleum to dust shield [DONE]
- Replace front wheel bearings [DONE]
- Replace rotors + calipers [DONE]
- Build + bleed [DONE]
- Touch up rust on control arm [TO DO]
- Update tie rod end dust boot [TO DO]
- Teardown rear calipers [TO DO]
- Bleed again [TO DO]

With the cleanup, new calipers, and polished dust shield it looks MUCH better. The suspension looks good as far as I can tell, but the tie rod end dust boot is basically non-existent. I'll update with some photos once I have the new tie rod boot on.

I had a couple fit issues with the new calipers. None of my brake pads fit in the new calipers, so I had to file down the sides quite a bit. The hub also came in contact with the calipers, so I had to file the front of the calipers down as well.

One thing I'm concerned about is how much I had to work to get the driver's side hub on with the new bearing. The old ones came off fine and actually looked great, but I decided to update the bearings anyways per the suggestion on most threads I saw. The passenger's side went on just fine, but the driver's was really ugly and the bearing deformed a lot as I was getting it on.

Should I just keep an eye on this or is this a "start over" kind of deal? I'm also curious if anyone has assessed the build quality of different wheel bearings.

Also, do I need to update the rear brake pads if they're in good condition?

[dmcman73]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I got the brakes together yesterday. I ended up splurging and going with the vented rotors from Delorean Go & EBC red, low dust brake pads, though in retrospect I certainly could've saved some money and refurbed the original parts as Dave described. I'll break down the rear calipers this upcoming week - most likely I'll just buy new pistons in advance.

Here's my work update:
- Sand down and apply high-temp rustoleum to dust shield [DONE]
- Replace front wheel bearings [DONE]
- Replace rotors + calipers [DONE]
- Build + bleed [DONE]
- Touch up rust on control arm [TO DO]
- Update tie rod end dust boot [TO DO]
- Teardown rear calipers [TO DO]
- Bleed again [TO DO]

With the cleanup, new calipers, and polished dust shield it looks MUCH better. The suspension looks good as far as I can tell, but the tie rod end dust boot is basically non-existent. I'll update with some photos once I have the new tie rod boot on.

I had a couple fit issues with the new calipers. None of my brake pads fit in the new calipers, so I had to file down the sides quite a bit. The hub also came in contact with the calipers, so I had to file the front of the calipers down as well.

One thing I'm concerned about is how much I had to work to get the driver's side hub on with the new bearing. The old ones came off fine and actually looked great, but I decided to update the bearings anyways per the suggestion on most threads I saw. The passenger's side went on just fine, but the driver's was really ugly and the bearing deformed a lot as I was getting it on.

Should I just keep an eye on this or is this a "start over" kind of deal? I'm also curious if anyone has assessed the build quality of different wheel bearings.

Also, do I need to update the rear brake pads if they're in good condition?

The bearing deformed as you were pressing it into the hub or it deformed as you were installing the hub onto the spindle? If it deformed while pressing into the hub, you are going to run into issues if the outer portion of the nearing deformed and the path the bearings roll over is no longer smooth and perfectly circular.

[kdumont]

The bearing deformed as you were pressing it into the hub or it deformed as you were installing the hub onto the spindle? If it deformed while pressing into the hub, you are going to run into issues if the outer portion of the nearing deformed and the path the bearings roll over is no longer smooth and perfectly circular.

While pressing the hub onto the spindle. Essentially the inner shaft of the bearing started to slip out - I caught before it came out completely and pushed it back in.

[Bitsyncmaster]

While pressing the hub onto the spindle. Essentially the inner shaft of the bearing started to slip out - I caught before it came out completely and pushed it back in.

The bearings should slip pretty easy over the spindle. Best to dry test it first and if it sticks to much polish the shaft with some emery paper.