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Doing front brakes - Any advice?
https://www.nexterra.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=5821		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  K29398 [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:37 am ]
Post subject:  Doing front brakes - Any advice?
It's that time and need to replace rotors and pads up front. Seems pretty straight forward based on the FSM, but wanted to see if anyone had any advice since this will be my first time doing this sort of maintenance myself.

Also, does it make sense to do factory parts from Courtesy, or would something from Napa, AZ, or even eBay be OK? I found rotors and semi-metalic pads on ebay for $76 with shipping, but I know sometimes cheap isn't always good:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AUS%3A1123
Author:  RIXterra [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
I would honestly just go with aftermarket stuff. Most of the time it's priced around the same or sometimes cheaper, but the quality is usually better. I replaced my front with EBC Greenstuff pads and Brembo blank rotors. And I like the setup. So I say search around and go from there..

But doing the brakes is honestly really easy. My wife did her brakes on her 05 X one time. And she is by far no mechanic. Below is a video that shows a simplified version of how it's done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYnQxEjGq2A


Good luck and have fun saving money.. ;)
Author:  Freestyledude [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
If you are doing the rotors on the 2004 that is in your sig, and it is a 4x4, it is more involved than the video that RIX posted showing the caravan.

You need to remove the hubs to get to the rotors. This means re-seating the bearings when reinstalling everything.

This would be the time to inspect and at the very least repack your bearings if you haven't recently. Unless you get creative like I did, this requires some specialty tools to preset the bearing race properly.

The FSM is handy to have there, but I used a Haynes manual.

I've had good luck with Duralast brake parts from Autozone.
Author:  RIXterra [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 3:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
Doh!! Yeah I didn't pay attention to that. I should have looked at his sig before responding.
Author:  mainechick [ Tue Jul 26, 2011 6:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
I've done the brakes on mine twice and its fairly straight forward just make sure you have a tool to remove the c clip and something to torque down the retaining ring. I bought EBC brakes thinking the price was close to buying OEM ones but I found with wheeling I went through these pads much faster, so I am back to brake pads I bought from Napa. Also make sure you have plenty of grease to repack the bearing and brake cleaner. The one thing I do when taking apart the hub assembly I line everything in the order I take them off so I don't forget to put something back on.
Author:  K29398 [ Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate it. On the surface it seemed pretty straight forward, but then it definitely gets more complicated the further you go in (naturally) since you're pretty well 95% there just doing the rotors and pads that you might as well repack the wheel bearings.

That said, the descriptions for doing that in the FSM seem WAY more involved than I would have imagined, i.e. presetting the bearing race properly with enough "drift" and some other specific tests according to the FSM. So do you need an actual press to re-install the bearings, or do things snug up the way they should once everything is pieced back together and you start to tighten down the wheel bearing locknut to the appropriate torque level?

I guess with doing stuff out of the comfort zone that really is feasible is kinda like jumping into cold water; get over the shock and just start swimming! :D
Author:  mainechick [ Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
naww you don't need a press, I took one hub assembly apart in the rausch creek parking lot and kyle helped put it back together with basic tools...
Author:  mainechick [ Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
why when i type kyle (k y l e).. it puts a that tube of lube on this??
Author:  K29398 [ Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
mainechick wrote:
why when i type kyle (k y l e).. it puts a that tube of lube on this??


That's hilarious!!! Yes, the KY lube bottle is showing up
Author:  K29398 [ Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
mainechick wrote:
naww you don't need a press, I took one hub assembly apart in the rausch creek parking lot and kyle helped put it back together with basic tools...


Great! Thanks for alleviating my concerns about this being a bigger deal than it is and not needing a whole bunch of different tools like the FSM calls for.
Author:  saltus440 [ Thu Jul 28, 2011 2:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
Stay away from eBay bargain brake parts, they are garbage. Why would you want to cut corners and skimp on what makes your truck stop? I am not a fan of a lot of autozone parts, a lot of what they sell is terrible quality. I would suggest going to napa. My personal choice is their premium rotors and a set of their adaptive one pads. Don't forget to grease your caliper slide pins and check the pin boots and caliper piston boots for tears. Also check the ease of movement of the pads in the caliper brackets, most novices overlook this. If you you have a pad sticking you will get premature and uneven wear. If the pads do not slide smoothly, you will have to remove the clips from the caliper brackets and clean some of the rust scale build up off of the bracket with a file.
Author:  AnthonyS [ Fri Jul 29, 2011 1:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Doing front brakes - Any advice?
Get metallic pads though. Nissan's don't like the Organic stuff.
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