How To: Front brake rotor and pad swap

[dogiebitt]

First off, this is a guide for the mechanically challenged (like me). I searched high and low for a 4g brake guide, but there are no detailed ones. While other cars are similar and there are tons of how-to videos and guides out there, it helps having pictures of the exact components that are on our car. With that said, I hope this guide helps someone who thinks they can't, change their mind. I was afraid of messing with such an important part of my car for fear of breaking something, but took the plunge and it turned out awesome!


I decided to go with RREs Centric Posi-Quiet Ceramic pads, and Centric Slotted Rotors.
Road Race Engineering's 4G Eclipse Parts and Performance

Old and busted


New Hotness


Items Needed:
- Jack
- Jack Stands (don't be stupid and use your jack only, use stands so it doesn't fall on you.)
- Teflon Tape (sometimes called Plumbers Tape) - Optional
- Brake Cleaner
- Newspaper or old cloth to catch Brake Cleaner overspray/drip
- Two M8-16mm bolts at least an inch long (pictured) - $4 per pair, I bought two pairs because I was expecting to strip the threads of at least one, but that did not happen.
- Philips screw driver
- Socket wrench and sockets
- Hammer
- Bungee cord(s) or boxes/stands to hold up piston
- Kitchen scrubber (optional)
- C-clamp at least 5 inches wide
- New brake pads
- New brake rotor
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 1:
Engage hand brake. Jack up the car on both sides, the jack point is right behind the front wheels about a foot in from the side. Use stands to hold up your car.

Step 2:
Take off wheels.

Step 3:
Unbolt 2 bolts shown (on the back of the brake system) and prop up the piston so it doesn't hang and stress the brake line. I did not have bungees so I used old boxes from my last oil change.




Step 4:
Unbolt 2 more bolts on the back, the pads and whole assembly will now be loose from the rotor (don't drop it).



This is what it looks like when everything is taken off.


Step 5:
Remove two screws holding rotor in place. These may be VERY hard to remove if your brakes are badly rusted. My car is 2007 and this is the condition it was in. Google for best ways to remove rotor screws if yours will not come out no matter what you do. Try not to strip them, as that will make your job SUPER DUPER EXTREMELY HARD. I used a quality phillips head with blunted point and a hammer. Hammered the screwdriver into the screw a few times to get a good grip and then turned with all my might. Two of the 4 screws came out this way. The other two I had to use a a quality phillips bit, socket adapter, and a large socket wrench. Then put my whole weight behind the wrench and it broke free. You may have to use a breaker bar. If people tell you to heat it up with a torch or drill it, laugh at them. This is last resort only. If you don't strip the screw, you don't need drill or heat. As a side note, these screws are not required. So if you break them, it's ok. Another side note, if you absolutely feel the need to have these screw in, don't re-use old ones. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy new ones for like $3 per pair.




Step 6:
Try and pull rotor off. It is not attached at this point, but may be rusted on. If you cannot pull it off (and you probably can't...), use the two M8-16mm bolts and screw them evenly (alternate screwing them in a little at a time) into the two holes provided in the rotor (not rotor bolt holes you just vacated, but two other holes). This is by far the easiest way to get the rotor dislodged. I was told to use a hammer, and a blowtorch, and rust dissolving solutions. One guy at Autozone told me "I just use a hammer every time on my truck *insert hillbilly accent here*" when I asked if they had any screws to fit in the holes to remove rotor. He's never heard of such a thing apparently. I tried hammering it for 30 minutes, then said F this and went to Lowe's and bought the screws, came home and had it off in 30 seconds. It makes a hell of a noise when it breaks free of the rust, but it works.




VICTORY!!!!! (This is how you will feel, trust me)


Step 7:
Optional - clean off the assembly from any loose rust buildup. I used a kitchen scrubber. Put on the new rotor. Read instructions or look online for which way to put it on. I also used teflon tape around the screw holding the rotor on (Centric rotor only has one screw hole line up, not both like on stock rotors). I was told this will make it easier to take out the next time.



Step 8:
Use break cleaner and clean off the new rotor. You will want to lay something under it to catch the dripping. Also try and not spray anything BUT the rotor. Let it air dry.


Step 9:
Remove old pads from caliper, and replace with new ones. Make sure the pad surface (not the metal backing) is facing in-wards. You don't want the metal plate ruining your new rotors!



Step 10:
Put on the brake caliper using the two larger bolts.

Step 11:
Open the cap to your brake fluid reservoir. Use an old brake pad (or piece of wood) to compress the piston.

Step 12:
Put on brake piston using the two smaller bolts.

Step 13:
Close brake fluid reservoir. Put wheels back on, lower car, and pump brakes a few times until the pedal gets stiff. Start the car up and pump it a few more times to make sure it's gripping. When first driving it, have your hand on e-break just in case.



Step 14:
Bed in your brakes.
Find a safe place where you can go fast, and do sudden braking (mall parking lot on Sunday night or something - don't get caught by the fuzz!!!).
You will need to do 10 cycles of:
-- Accelerate to 50-70 mph, and brake hard (not anti-lock hard, just hard enough to slow down).
DO NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. Fast-brake-slow-fast-brake-slow-etc.
This will heat your brakes and you may smell the various coatings burning off.
Now go drive around for a while letting the brakes naturally cool. Do not come to complete stops using your brakes (use e-break if you have to - keep in mind it does not have anti-lock and you can very easily lock up your rear wheels, so be careful.)
Then, go and do the 10 cycles of stops from 50-70mpg again. And drive around again to let the brakes cool.
Done!
For more info about bedding in brakes, such as why and how, go here.
Instructions for bedding in your brakes

Good luck!

[zedawg]

for those who have lot of rust in that place...the best way to not break the screws heads that are holding the rotors...take your philipps screw driver and place it in....then punch it down with a hammer a few times so it will make the socket deeper and prevent from messing it and having to destroy the screws with a dremel of whatever

[Gravey]

great write up but i dont advise anybody to do 50-70mph to almost zero braking on brand new brake pads. That is a great way to haze over your brand new pads and then you might as well go and buy a new set of pads. because those pads will never again brake and provide the stopping force they where intended to.

[dogiebitt]

Here is more info about the bedding in process and what it really does.
StopTech : Balanced Brake Upgrades

[ptr149]

Great write up man, e-rep for you. I have the same setup on my GT and love the increase in braking power. Have you thought about getting the Stainless Steel brake lines as well?

[Freeker]

i didn't use the screws that hold the rotor on... works great for me so far

[zedawg]

Originally Posted by Freeker

i didn't use the screws that hold the rotor on... works great for me so far

you don't need to put those back in place...those screws are there only for the factory to hold the rotors in place while they build the car

[pat_08GT_Spyder]

Great write-up!!! But i'm still not convinced i should do my brakes myself... My new pads / rotors have been sitting in the garage for 3 months, lol !

[dogiebitt]

I thought about just buying parts and having someone else do it too. Dealer would of charged $120 for labor. Figured it would be nice to know how for the future, so I did it on a day off. Can't say I wasn't worried about not having a car for the following day to drive to work. A 6pm when I went looking for the bolts to pop the rotor off and napa was closed and no one else had them, I was starting to think how I could share my girlfriends car for a day. A very helpful guy at Lowe's got me all I needed and by 8:30 everything was back together and I was bedding them in. All in all took about 4 hours.

[joeyb]

IMPORTANT TIP:

MAKE CERTAIN YOUR PARKING BREAK IS OFF for the REAR ROTORS!!!!

[zedawg]

yea...i got that issue too...didn't know that we have the same parking brake system as mercedes and BMW

between...when you remove the rear rotors you can spray a lot of break cleaner inside your parking brake drums and they blow air with a compressor in this(never blow air is this when dry because its toxic).

[mayday295]

Do I need to bleed the brakes when I do this? (doing front and rear).

Also what is the c-clamp used for?

[zedawg]

you never need to bleed brakes unless you want to change your brake fluid for a more performant one. And the clamp is to push the piston back in place because if you don't you will never be able to place you caliper back. Always make sure that your brake oil cap is unscrewed of you could explode your brake lines.

[mayday295]

Ok and if I want to bleed the brakes and put in new fluid, how much fluid do I need to put in? (searched and couldn't find it anywhere...)

[zedawg]

look into your owner's manual...but its not like engine oil, You have a maximum and minimum line and the level depends on your brake pads life because the more thin your pads are going the more your pistons are going far so when you brake pads are at metal back plate your oil level will be low in the oil compartment because it will stay in your brake line.

[mayday295]

Ah... I don't have an owners manual!

[mayday295]

SO I am in the process of doing this now, I just got to the part where I am removing the two rotor screws (need to go get a bit for my wrench now). Although I don't see any more holes in which I can pop the rotors off afterwards using the M8 16mm bolts I bought. Are these on the 2008 model eclipse GTs as well? Or am i just going blind!? >_<

[dsm2mivec]

There are two more holes but the screws that came out of mine were too small what I did I grabbed a big hammer and let her rip!

[nokiauser]

Great write-up! erep to you.

[dogiebitt]

Originally Posted by mayday295

SO I am in the process of doing this now, I just got to the part where I am removing the two rotor screws (need to go get a bit for my wrench now). Although I don't see any more holes in which I can pop the rotors off afterwards using the M8 16mm bolts I bought. Are these on the 2008 model eclipse GTs as well? Or am i just going blind!? >_<

Every rotor should have the extra holes to help get it unstuck. Hammer might work (keep in mind this permanently damages that rotor), but mine was stuck on so bad that after 30 minutes of banging I couldn't get it off.

Look at my pictures, there are two bolts holding the rotor in place, and 2 holes that are empty. The empty ones are where you use the M8 bolts.

[dogiebitt]

Originally Posted by mayday295

Ah... I don't have an owners manual!

Complete manual for 2006 (- 2008?)
Tearstone Performance - 2006 Eclipse Factory Service Manual

Brakes part
http://tearstone.com/eclipsefsm/2006...005100-35A.pdf

[Nick]

Thanks for the write-up! Moved to the how to section!