Doing brake pads... how far do I go while I'm in there?

[rjd2]

Hey folks, so my front pads are getting noisy, thus I've been planning a brake job for the winter. I did a few buys over the last year or so, and here's what I have on site:

-brake pads
-caliper rebuild kits
-full set of suspension bushings
-axle/cv boots
-new brake MC

I did stainless steel brake hoses a year or two back, FYI. Should I just go whole hog, and do all of this at once? And if so, is there anything else that I should replace while I'm doing a brake/suspension overhaul? What should I have on my radar that I may be overlooking? Thanks for the advice.

[Michael]

You can replace a set of pads in about 20 min per corner. There is no real overlapping labor so there is no "while I'm in there" work to be done when replacing just pads.

If you have to rebuild calipers then of course hold off on pads till then.

[rjd2]

Thanks Michael-I was getting a squealing at the front brakes, so I assumed the pads had hit the warning pin. I pulled the wheels and pads this morning, and lo and behold, the front pads have only a marginal amount of wear(I probably have 15k miles left on them). When I turn the rotors manually, I am not getting a uniform amount of resistance; I get a rotational "waiver", as though the rotor is either wearing unevenly, or misaligned. I get this on BOTH front rotors. What would cause this? The calipers themselves look clean to me, so I think I'll hold off on a caliper rebuild. My brakes are only slightly spongy at the first few inches of throw at the pedal, but I can stomp the pedal, and the car comes to a halt. Less responsive than a modern car, but not entirely problematic. All advice welcome! Thanks folks.

[David T]

PJ Grady sells a hardware kit for the calipers that includes springs to control brake squeal. You can also lightly scuff up the rotors and pads to expose fresh surfaces to stop the noise and auto stores sell stuff you can put on the backs of the brake pads to stop the noise. If the brake fluid hasn't been flushed lately, it might be time to do it. It should be done every 2 years or if it is very dark and thick looking.

[Michael]

Thanks Michael-I was getting a squealing at the front brakes, so I assumed the pads had hit the warning pin. I pulled the wheels and pads this morning, and lo and behold, the front pads have only a marginal amount of wear(I probably have 15k miles left on them). When I turn the rotors manually, I am not getting a uniform amount of resistance; I get a rotational "waiver", as though the rotor is either wearing unevenly, or misaligned. I get this on BOTH front rotors. What would cause this? The calipers themselves look clean to me, so I think I'll hold off on a caliper rebuild. My brakes are only slightly spongy at the first few inches of throw at the pedal, but I can stomp the pedal, and the car comes to a halt. Less responsive than a modern car, but not entirely problematic. All advice welcome! Thanks folks.

Sounds like the rotors may be warped. As cheap as they are and pretty easy to replace I would just do new pads and rotors. When you do the pads make sure the anti squeal plates are not missing and they are oriented properly (stamped arrow shows the direction of travel). Even with the anti squeal plates, I still use brake paste. If the fluid is dirty it would be a good time to change it while you have easy access to the bleeder.

That and an afternoon of time should get you up and running.

[rjd2]

So Delorean is out of the stock style front rotors.... I've turned a number of rotors in my day at my local shop, but they have all been vented/dual surface. Is it a fools errand to turn these front rotors? It doesnt look like there's a ton of real estate to lose there. Also, Deloreango.com has vented front rotors with calipers for $477. Have any of you done this upgrade? Any noticeable difference? My stock calipers are in good shape, but it looks like clearance MIGHT be an issue with the stock calipers. I would like to have a bit more response at the brakes, if I'm being honest with myself. Curious if there's feedback out there on these new rotors.

[Michael]

So Delorean is out of the stock style front rotors.... I've turned a number of rotors in my day at my local shop, but they have all been vented/dual surface. Is it a fools errand to turn these front rotors? It doesnt look like there's a ton of real estate to lose there. Also, Deloreango.com has vented front rotors with calipers for $477. Have any of you done this upgrade? Any noticeable difference? My stock calipers are in good shape, but it looks like clearance MIGHT be an issue with the stock calipers. I would like to have a bit more response at the brakes, if I'm being honest with myself. Curious if there's feedback out there on these new rotors.

Next spring I am stepping it up. I took my car on a mountain drive at out tech meet a few months ago. I had brand new EBC green stuff pads with OE rotors. I wasn't driving too terribly aggressive and still managed to glaze a pad over. I would ask Aaron if the upgraded rotors work with the stock calipers and if so, go for it..and let me know because that's what I will do. That said, $500 for rotors AND calipers is very attractive in it's own right.

Edit, looks like the vented set will work with stock calipers, according to the description anyway:

https://www.deloreango.com/us/catalo...t/view/id/773/

[rjd2]

Next spring I am stepping it up. I took my car on a mountain drive at out tech meet a few months ago. I had brand new EBC green stuff pads with OE rotors. I wasn't driving too terribly aggressive and still managed to glaze a pad over. I would ask Aaron if the upgraded rotors work with the stock calipers and if so, go for it..and let me know because that's what I will do. That said, $500 for rotors AND calipers is very attractive in it's own right.

Yea-for $477 for the whole package, it's a helluva deal. I spent $350 for labor alone on a 4 caliper rebuild on another car this year. I think I'm just gonna go for the whole package, and then I can do the install in one clean phase. Will report back. Even though I re-bled when I did SS hoses, I'll bleed all 4 corners again, and make 100% sure I've got no bubbles, and then I can call it as to the degree of improvement over the OEM brakes.

[Michael]

Yea-for $477 for the whole package, it's a helluva deal. I spent $350 for labor alone on a 4 caliper rebuild on another car this year. I think I'm just gonna go for the whole package, and then I can do the install in one clean phase. Will report back. Even though I re-bled when I did SS hoses, I'll bleed all 4 corners again, and make 100% sure I've got no bubbles, and then I can call it as to the degree of improvement over the OEM brakes.

I don't know if you saw my edit, but according to the site description the vented rotors will work with the oe calipers and from what I could tell, their calipers are no better or worse than stock, so if yours are good, save your money.

[rjd2]

Quick note: I received the new rotors from Deloreango.com-I bought the calipers with the rotors, as I had a hunch that the OEM calipers probably woulndt be wide enough to fit the new vented rotors. Sure enough, they don't-the factory calipers are too narrow for the vented rotor to even fit into. Wanted to let you folks know; I'll report back once installed with results.