How Do I

HEY GUYS I HAVE A o4 town and country Lx and im not sure how to change the brakes and rotoerson hte front or back, i can barley drive it now and the dealership wont change them can someone PLEASE tell me how or point me to a good site or somthing quick!!!! :banghead:

First of all why won't the dealership change them. If they are a warranted product and the warranty is in effect they should change them if there is a problem. If it is under warranty then call the district service office and explain the problem to them. They will probably authorize the repair.

What problems are you having with the brakes? The rear brakes usually will wear for 60 or 70K miles before they need replaced especially the rotors. The front pads should last at least 30K unless you are well over that. Let me know what is happening and I will try to help you.

im sorry just the front need changed, and the dealership wants $500 to change them and i dont havc that kinda money, the brakes pads are worn down and digging into the rotoers and i need to change them. the van has 26 thousand miles on it

To change them you will need to jack the car up and support the vehicle with a jack stand or blocks. Remove the wheel and then use either a socket or torx bit, sorry I don't know the size, and remove the caliper. Once the caliper is off then the piston will need to be compressed back into the caliper itself. Loosen the bleeder screw on the back and force the piston back in. If you do it any other way you will force dirt back into the ABS which will cause other problems. Close the screw. The rotors should come right off. Take them to a local machine shop and have them turned down. If they are not turnable then go to the local parts store and purchase two new ones. Replace in reverse order. Make absolutely certain that you spray every thing with brake cleaner to insure that no oil or grease gets on the pads. Also you will need to clean the oil off the rotors before installing them. Make sure that the pads have shims or brake quiet on the backs. Also purchase some brake grease and lubricate the slides and the bolts so that the calipers move freely.

You will also need to bleed the brakes. This can be done by using a one person bleeder or it can be done using an old soda bottle with some brake fluid in the bottom and a hose. Place the hose on the bleeder valve and have some one step on the brake pedal. Open the bleeder valve. Allow the pedal to go to the floor and close the valve. Pump the pedal back up again until it is has pressure. Repeat two or three times. Make sure that the Master cylinder does not go dry of fluid or you will have major problems. Repeat on the opposite side. If you really don't want to do this yourself take it to Midas, Firestone, PepBoys or other chain store and get an estimate. It should be much less than a dealer. Also if you are going to do it yourself and have never done a brake job, purchase a vehicle specific book for your particular model van and that should guide you. Good Luck!

I have found that on my 'GC's (two of them) that the Rotors was never able to be turned, they always had to be replaced. I was told by a couple of different mechanics that this is because they use semi-metallic brake pads from the factory.
There are some stores on the Internet that sell Slotted rotors, I was thinking of trying them next time I service the brakes.

Front brake pads are a very easy job if you are fairly good with your hands. Get a Haynes or Chiltons manual, read up on the brakes before starting and save a bunch of bucks

GTP Dad, Why would pressing the Caliper back introduce dirt into the ABS. Don't the calipers get compressed under normal driving. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I just never heard that before and would like to learn?

The brake fluid absorbs moisture regardless of the fact that it is contained in a sealed system. The inside of the caliper will collect dirt and rust and when you compress the caliper piston back into the caliper housing it tends to force this foreign material back up the brake line into the ABS pumps.

When the brakes are used during normal driving the caliper piston will stay further and further out as the pads wear. The dirt collects behind the caliper piston and when you force the piston back into the housing the dirt breaks loose. That dirt in turn gets pushed back into the ABS pumps.

I hope this explains the issue.

And I dont think that the back and forth movement of the piston is very far during travel, and you are moving the piston quite a ways when changing the pads, thus disturbing areas that have not been disturbed in a while stirring up the collected goop that is there

Make sperfect sense to me now. Thank you for the explaining.