Brembo Slotted/Dimpled Rotor Install

[spyderturbo007]

Just thought I would do a writeup on my rotor/brake install for anyone that might need it down the road. It was very simple and would be a great starting point for someone just getting into working on their DSM.

This is what I purchased:

Brakes:

http://www.dsmparts.com/customer/pro...&cat=13&page=1

Rotors:

http://turboimport.com/catalog/eclipse.htm


First start by jacking up the car and removing the front tire. Grab yourself a 14mm socket and look at the caliper and caliper support bracket. You will see where the caliper bolts onto the caliper support bracket. The bolts are located on the back side of the support bracket. There are 2 bolts, one at the top and one at the bottom. Remove both of thoes bolts. Now you will be able to wiggle the caliper from the rotor. If you look at the brake pads you will see two notches, one at the top and one at the bottom of each pad. You will need to slide the pads along those notches to remove them from the caliper support braket. Now, grab yourself a bungie cord and tie up the caliper. This is very important as you don't want the caliper hanging by the brake line. I wrapped the bungie around the top of the suspension and attached it to one of the bolt holes from the bolts you just removed.

Next, we need to remove the caliper support bracket. If you stick your head in the wheel well and look at the back of the rotor you will see 2 bolts (also 14mm). These are on the same side as the caliper was. Remove these bolts and you will be able to pull off the caliper support bracket.

Now for the fun part. If you are lucky the rotors will just fall off (not mine, they were rusted to the hub) If they are rusted you have 2 options. Option #1: Beat the shit out of the rotor with a BIG hammer. This option is not recommended because of possible damage to the wheel bearing.

Option #2: Spray some penetrating fluid around the center section of the rotor. Now, you will want to get yourself a couple of bolts from the hardware store (just take your new rotor with you when you go). If you look at the rotor you will see 7 holes. There are 5 big ones and 2 small ones. You need bolts that will thread into the 2 smaller holes and about 1 - 1 1/2" long. Get the highest grade bolts you can find. Thread these two bolts into the old rotor and begin to tighten them down. Do this evenly, a couple of turns on one side and couple of turns on the other. Keep doing this until you hear a really loud "pop" Now you should be able to yank the rotor off.

Before applying the new rotor you can grease the contact area between the hub and the new rotor, if you want. I didn't because the rotors I bought are Zinc plated and are not supposed to rust. If you look at the new rotors you will see that the slots in the rotor are angled from the center (where the lug nut bolts are to the outer edge of the rotor). You want the outer edge of the slot (furthest away from the center) to contact the brake pad first.

Anyway, slide the new rotor over the lug nut bolts. Now you need to reinstall the caliper support bracket (no big deal here).

Now for the new brake pads. If you look at the old pads you will see metal plates attached to the back of the pads. You will need to transfer these to the new brakes if the new ones didn't come with them. My brakes came with new ones so I didn't need to do this step. The new ones I received were also sticky on the contact area between the metal backing and the back of the break pads. This meant I didn't need to apply any anti-squeel goo. If you have to reuse the old backing plates, it is recommended to apply some disk break quiet to the contact area.

Now, before you can reinstall the new pads you will need to compress the caliper piston. I used a piece of wood and a C-Clamp. The wood is used so you can evenly apply the force to the piston. Set the wood over the piston and tighten the clamp to compress the piston. I opened the bleeder valve (should be on the side and have a rubber cap on the end) and released the brake fluid from here instead of pushing it back through the lines. This step is highly recommended if you have ABS. You don't want any dirt to get pushed back into the ABS unit. If you decided not to release the fluid through the bleeded you will need to keep a close eye on the brake fluid reservoir, as it will overflow.

Once you have the caliper compressed, you can slide on the new brake pads (just the opposite as the removal of the old pads). Just be careful not to get any grease on the side of the pad that contacts the rotor. Now take the caliper and slided it back over the rotor. Next, bolt the caliper back onto the support bracked (the bolt with the rubber tip goes on the botom . You will want to grease these bolts before you reinstall them (you should get the lubricant with the set of brake pads). Double check that everything is tight and you can reinstall the tire.

There is just a slight difference when doing the rear rotors. You did release the e-brake, right You will see on the rear rotors there is a rubber grommet. You will need to remove this from the old rotor and transfer it to the new one. This is a view port so you can adjust the e-brake without removing the rotor. While you have off the rear rotor, you might want to adjust, or if needed, replace the e-brakes. To adjust, locate the bottom of the shoes. You will see a star shaped nut. You want to turn this until you see the shoes begin to move. You don't want to adjust it too far or your ebrake will be on all the time . Just enought that you don't have to pull up on the handle as far.

Now we need to "bed" the breaks. Start the car and push the brake pedal down.....it went all the way to the floor didn't it. Don't worry that is normal. Pump the brakes a couple of times to push the calipers back out. Now start moving and use the brakes. Don't use them for more than 3 seconds the first time. Good, now for the next 150 - 200 miles you will need to use them lightly. No power braking, panic stops....nothing. Unless some moron pulls out infront of you . After that you can start increasing the severity of your breaking.

Well....great job. Wash up, crack open a cold one and enjoy your shiney new slotted/dimpled rotor.

They look sweet, don't they!