redoing rear brakes

im going to be replacing my rear brakes will i be able to remove the wheel bearings and remove the rotors without having to take off the calipars?

Nope! you need to remove the 2 caliper bolts and move the caliper out of the way to get the rotor off (and get the pads out) You don't have to remove the caliper hose or parking brake cable, just hang the caliper from the strut with a piece of wire. NEVER HANG A CALIPER BY IT'S HOSE. With the caliper off just pop the rotor off the hub - it's only held in place by the wheel and caliper. The wheel bearing is a permanant part of the hub, there's no reason to remove the hub unless it needs to be replaced.

*88 Fieros have screw type rear calipers- to bottom out the piston you need a special tool to turn the calipers back in. You can buy one at any auto parts store($10-$15). 84-87 calipers SHOULD just bottom out with a 6" C-clamp. 88's also have a 2 way check valve in the piston face, GM recommends replacing them during a rear brake job but I've never bothered to do it on my 92 Regal (same style rear caliper) and my back brakes are still fine.

im gonna be replacing everything the rotors, calipars and brakes because the car sat for awhile

Have you replaced your erg valve and o2 sensor? THose are important to replace if it's been sitting awhile.

I recommend the BERETTA brake upgrade... new parts, more stopping power, cheaper than stock fiero replacement...

http://fierozone.tripod.com/realbrakes/

I bought an 86Gt (2.8, 5-speed) three weeks ago and was looking for upgrading the brakes. I saw that thefierostore has the vented and the cross-drilled upgrades, but what is the beretta upgrade. I really want to upgrade to some vented, cross-drilled, and slotted rotors and if it's out there a larger diameter of rotor. I'm looking to drop a small block in later so i want some stopping power.

I bought an 86Gt (2.8, 5-speed) three weeks ago and was looking for upgrading the brakes. I saw that thefierostore has the vented and the cross-drilled upgrades, but what is the beretta upgrade. I really want to upgrade to some vented, cross-drilled, and slotted rotors and if it's out there a larger diameter of rotor. I'm looking to drop a small block in later so i want some stopping power.


The BERETTA upgrade:

Replacing the stock fiero front and rear rotors with the FRONT VENTED rotors off of the 1990 chevrolet beretta. They are twice as thick as the stock fiero rotors, they are vented, and they are twice as cheap at AutoZone. The beretta upgrade also replaces the stock fiero calipers with larger and newly-rebuilt 1990 beretta calipers. They have a larger piston with longer travel: which means greater stopping power. The whole upgrade costs between $200 and $300, which is much better than spending over $400 on a full brake upgrade from the fierostore and still retaining your THIN stock fiero rotors (very likely to warp) and SMALL calipers.

It is also recommended that you replace the stock fiero MASTER CYLINDER with a larger NEWLY re-built one off of the 94 chevrolet blazer (from O'rielly auto parts) that way you have more force being applied to the brakes.

The stock master cylinder isn't built to handle bigger calipers. Furthermore Beretta aftermarket brakes are GARBAGE, I drove a Beretta for over 2 years and anything but AC Delco OEM rotors will warp and start vibrating in a matter of weeks. Another major flaw in that idea is by installing a front caliper on the back
there is no way to implement a parking brake. Not exactly an ideal situation when he needs to park that 5 speed on a steep hill. Would the engine compression keep the car from rolling? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

FYI: the front brakes do most of the stopping because most of the cars weight is transfered to the front. On a front engine car the front brakes can provide as much as 90% of the stopping power. This number is only slightly lower on mid engine vehicles. Don't waste money on the rear brakes while the fronts are still stock.

The stock master cylinder isn't built to handle bigger calipers. Furthermore Beretta aftermarket brakes are GARBAGE, I drove a Beretta for over 2 years and anything but AC Delco OEM rotors will warp and start vibrating in a matter of weeks. Another major flaw in that idea is by installing a front caliper on the back
there is no way to implement a parking brake. Not exactly an ideal situation when he needs to park that 5 speed on a steep hill. Would the engine compression keep the car from rolling? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

FYI: the front brakes do most of the stopping because most of the cars weight is transfered to the front. On a front engine car the front brakes can provide as much as 90% of the stopping power. This number is only slightly lower on mid engine vehicles. Don't waste money on the rear brakes while the fronts are still stock.


Dude... don't flame the idea until you read the whole thing and click the link... wtf? :mad:

Here's the link again since you missed it : http://fierozone.tripod.com/realbrakes/

You're chaging all 4 rotors on the fiero with this upgrade AND you're changing the stock fiero master cylinder with the larger one from the blazer, you CAN have a parking brake by putting a Jamar In-Line Hydraulic Brake Lock (J.C. Whitney - 85XJ6592Y, $23.95).

Sure the brakes on the Beretta might suck but that's because its heavier than the fiero and it has drum brakes in the back... If you've ever held the beretta rotors in comparison with the stock fiero ones then you'll know that no way in hell will those things warp. THEY ARE TWICE AS THICK AS THE FIERO ROTORS. So please... before flaming the idea first look into it and then give your :2cents:

I'm doing the upgrade on my 87 Fiero GT right now and if you want pictures or proof I'm willing to give it to you. I'll even do a brake test and post the results in comparison with stock fiero performance when I'm done.

Apologies are due since I failed to take the time read in full. It looks to be a rather complete setup. :sorry:
But:
I still think that much brake in the rear is overkill. ???An adjustable balance controller might be needed to fine tune everything.???

The way the front hubs were done is just kinda scary to me. There might be
a better way, like using s10 or Camaro Berlinetta/Firebird Esprit rotors/calipers. Mind you I don't know if they'll fit the spindle.

Just a preliminary idea, I haven't researched it have no idea if it will work:
Late 80's to early 90's Gm "W" Body cars, most noted being Cutlas FWD, Lumina, Regal, and Grand Prix FWD have a 4 wheel disc system that LOOKS like it can be used on a Fiero (master booster calipers rear rotors p-brake linkage ??bigger lines and hoses??) These cars use dual piston calipers and I'm REALLY impressed with the braking power of my Regal. I dunno, worth looking at I suppose.

Is the beretta abs system compatible with the fiero? How can I put abs on my 85 gt?