2004 GTP Brakes

[PoorRichradsGTP]

Newbie here, still trying to figure this site out. Any help would be appreciated. Are there any good write ups on brake and rotor job on 04 gtp...maybe pics or videos.....again any and all help is appreciated...thanks in andvance

[grandprixgtx00]

I'm not sure of any write-ups. if you do a search you may be able to find one.

brake jobs really arnt all that hard. remove the tire, and remove the bolts behind the caliper. IDK how many miles are on your GTP but you may be able to get by on having the rotors machined at a local Napa or any auto shop.

before putting the caliper pins back in, be sure to grease them.

The rear brakes are of course a little trickier than the fronts. behind the caliper are your parking brakes. there are brake shoes behind your rotor. Shouldnt need to change any of that though.

[rickisrad]

Front pads and rotors.

-There are 2 bolts that hold on the caliper, remove those- 14mm I believe

-pull caliper off and move aside ( leave hose attached), I usually hang it on the coil spring with an exhaust hanger but you can set it on the control arm.

-remove the 2 bolts on the backside of the caliper bracket . Remove the old pads from the bracket. use a wire brush to clean off the metal pad hardware, then apply a light coat with brake lube. pull out the 2 caliper slide pins and clean those off and generously apply the brake lube to the pins and re-install. set the bracket aside.

-If replacing the rotor hit it with a small sledge if stuck on the hub. after removed clean the hub mating surface and install the new rotor. hold the new rotor in place by putting on one of the lug nuts on finger tight.

- use a c-clamp or large channel locks to push the piston back on the caliper. use one of the old pads in between the clamp and piston to prevent damage.

-reinstall the bracket and tighten bolts to 180 Nm (133 ft. lbs.)

-install new pads into bracket, they should not have to be forced in too hard. They need to be able to slide back and forth freely.

-install caliper over the pads, be sure not to twist the brake hose. Tighten the caliper bolts to 95 Nm (70 ft. lbs.)

The rear are a little more difficult, you need a special tool to push the piston back as it screws in and out. Same general concept after that. you can always get one of the repair manuals to help you along.

[PoorRichradsGTP]

Originally Posted by rickisrad

Front pads and rotors.

-There are 2 bolts that hold on the caliper, remove those- 14mm I believe

-pull caliper off and move aside ( leave hose attached), I usually hang it on the coil spring with an exhaust hanger but you can set it on the control arm.

-remove the 2 bolts on the backside of the caliper bracket . Remove the old pads from the bracket. use a wire brush to clean off the metal pad hardware, then apply a light coat with brake lube. pull out the 2 caliper slide pins and clean those off and generously apply the brake lube to the pins and re-install. set the bracket aside.

-If replacing the rotor hit it with a small sledge if stuck on the hub. after removed clean the hub mating surface and install the new rotor. hold the new rotor in place by putting on one of the lug nuts on finger tight.

- use a c-clamp or large channel locks to push the piston back on the caliper. use one of the old pads in between the clamp and piston to prevent damage.

-reinstall the bracket and tighten bolts to 180 Nm (133 ft. lbs.)

-install new pads into bracket, they should not have to be forced in too hard. They need to be able to slide back and forth freely.

-install caliper over the pads, be sure not to twist the brake hose. Tighten the caliper bolts to 95 Nm (70 ft. lbs.)

The rear are a little more difficult, you need a special tool to push the piston back as it screws in and out. Same general concept after that. you can always get one of the repair manuals to help you along.

thanks for the tips, i got everything off the front of the car and am taking the rotors to get checked tommorow i will do a write up on this in the next few days in case there is anyone out there interested...but that was some good advice above again thanks alot

[PoorRichradsGTP]

OK, for anyone interested. Changed my front and rear brake pads as well as had the rotors turned.

Tools I used on this part; lug wrench, floor jack, jackstands, rubber hammer, 14mm wrench, 15mm wrench, small flat screwdriver

As best as I can I will give a step by step of what I did. The car is a 2004 Gran Prix GTP.

The first thing I did was break the lug nuts loose on all four tires. Then I jacked the front up and supported it with jackstands next I dd the back the same way. After that I took all four tires off and set them to the side. Then I loosend the brake resovoir cap. I then spayed my first work area with brake cleaner to clean the area up before I started working. Then I put a c-clap over the caliper, put the part with the foot that you turn on the outside brake pad and the other side of the c-clamp was around the back of the caliper. Turned the c-clamp till I saw that the brake piston was backed up into the caliper, then took the c-clamp off. Next I loosend the caliper mounting bolts using a 14mm wrench and they were on really tight I had to use a rubber hammer to hit the wrench till they began to unscrew. After the caliper mounting bolts were removed I hung the caliper by some wire from the spring so it would be out of the way and so that the brake line would not stretch. I then used a small flat screwdriver to pry both the outside and inside brake pads out from the rotor and caliper bracket. They came out pretty easy.

Next I took off the caliper braket bolts using a 15mm wrench and they were very tight so I used a rubber hammer on them also. Then removed the caliper bracket. Then I removed the brake shims or whatever they called there are two of them that kinda snap off of the caliper bracket, one is on top and the other on bottom where the brake pads go

Next I needed to do was remover the rotor. The rotor had two gold lock washer looking things on the studs. I pried them away from the rotor just a tiny bit with the same small flat screwdriver then unscrewed them the rest of the way with my fingers. I then needed to remove the rotor but it wouldnt budge. The rotor fits over the hub assembly (i guess thats what you call it, its in the center of the mounting studs and has a big nut right in the center) anyways the rotor slides on and off over this thing. I gave the rotor a few whacks with the rubber mallet ( i whacked the rotor between the studs not on the braking surface) Still wouldn't move. So I sprayed some PB Blaster in the center where it slides on and let it soak....ten minutes later and one whack with the hammer and it slid right off.

I will post about putting the brakes back on later. Out of time for now. I am in no way a pro mechanic this is just how I did it. I'm sure some of my terminology is wrong and I may have not done everything correctly, if so any constructive criticism is welcomed but hopefully this may help someone out there.

[PoorRichradsGTP]

OK, now to put the front brakes back on. First I took the rotors to a shop to have them turned. It was $14 a piece that was fairly cheap. I think usually depending on where you live it may cost anywhere from $14-$20.

Anyways, everything goes on pretty much how it came off. First thing I did was put the rotor back on and twisted the little gold washers back on to hold the rotor in place,(you may or may not have the little gold washers, if you don't just screw on a couple of lugnuts to hold the rotor still).

Then I lubed up the metal shims with the stuff you can get at the checkout counter and i put them in the caliper bracket and mounted the bracket. then I lubed up the back of the brake pads slid them in. I put some high temp bearing grease in the boots where the caliper bolts go. I then mounted the caliper (after squeezing it back in with the c-clamp placed over an old brake pad) to the bracket, making sure that I didnt damage the rubber boots. Then I tightened the bolts down. Put on your tire and tighten the lugnuts up but not overly tight. If you have a torque wrench I believe its a 100 pounds. And there you have it. Hope someone finds this usefull