Yummybud924

not sure if I should attempt it myself, I've never done any brake work on any car.

I have replaced motor mounts, timing belt, water pump etc on my car but never messed with the breaks.

my rotors and pads need replacing and I already have the parts, the front and back rotors and new mintex pads.

so now I'm wondering if I have all the tools I'll need and all the parts to do this tomorrow. I will need the car on tuesday to get to school so I can't have it up on stands for a few days if I need some parts or tools or if I get stuck.

I read the instructions on clarks and it says I need a new bearing seal?

also do I need vibration dampers for the brake pads? I don't even know what vibration damper is.

also will I need new cotter pins or anything else?

what about special tools? I have wrenches and torque wrenches screwdrivers but no special brake tools.

also when I removed my front caliper a while ago it was pretty damn hard to get it back onto the rotor but the clarks instructions say to install the caliper without the pads installed and then install the pads after the caliper is on.

I might try and just replace front brakes tomorrow but I don't know if I have all the parts, says I need bearing the inner bearing seals?

Yummybud924

oh and do I really need new brake pad sensors ? or can I just reuse the old ones? I already have the brake pad warning light on after I removed my caliper a few weeks ago think I damaged the sensor.

Catfood

ok brakes are cake! I did the front rotors and pads today in 30 minutes its easy. brake pad sensors are annoying, just tie them off and put some shrink wrap on them. the general concept of brakes are easy, however it takes time to get the tricks down. If you want some helpful hints pm me and Ill give you a huge list of tricks and hints that I gaurentee will make doing brakes cake. also are you doing brake fluid? pm me!

Yummybud924

hey thanks . I'm not sure if I can finish this tomorrow, I have all day but I need the car to get to school on tuesday so I can't screw up and have no brakes.

so do I need any other parts? clarks says you need the bearing seals for replacing the front rotors.

and do I need vibration dampers?

thanks

Randy_J

Hmmm.... too bad I didn't see your post earlier today, cause I just replaced the rotors and pads on my 951S today - downtown Vancouver - replaced the clutch slave cylinder and installed SS brake lines too. It's easy to do, just a little messy. Good idea to replace the brake sensors as they are usually brittle and break when you try to remove them. You should change your brake fluid too while you are at it, since you will probably need to bleed the brakes.

Check out Clark's Garage or Pelican Parts Tech articles for step by step procedure. What year and model is your 944? No need for bearing seals and depending on your year and model, the new pads should include anti squeel shims if required.

Yummybud924

85.5 944. So do I need new brake pad sensors for sure?

I guess I won't do it tomorrow then will have to order those. problem is after tomorrow I start school again and I work on all my days off so I'll probably have to pay a shop to do it soon.

my rotors look scarey thin so I want to replace them soon, brake pads look fine still but I'm replacing them also as the mintex pads were so cheap, the old ones are mintex too.

Randy_J

simple to change the pads on the 85.5 NA - sliding caliper single piston system. Just follow the Clark's Garage procedure. You will probably need new brake sensor wires, but in a pinch, you can drive around for a while without installing them, but your brake pad wear sensor warning light on the dash will be "on" . The sensors are cheap anyway.

V2Rocket

all four pads and rotors really could be done in about 7 and a half seconds apiece.

if you have the right size wrench (14mm? IIRC) and screwdrivers (#3 phillips and a big flatblade) you can do it ridiculously fast. id suggest using a wire coathanger or some sort of cable to suspend the caliper from the spring (takes the weight off the brakeline)

Andy1212

No the light will be always off.

Yummybud924

so what should I buy before taking the brakes off, this is my only car right now so I don't want to find out I need some tools and parts after taking the brakes out.

do I need any tool to compress the piston in the caliper?

do I need grease?

cotter pins? nuts bolts ? or anything else?

I have a set of wrenches and ratchets, only have one screwdriver with multiple bits and 3 torque wrenches, vice grip plier, needle nose plier that's all I have for tools.

Yummybud924

do the front and rear rotors usually come off pretty easily?

still deciding if I should try and get this all done tomorrow.... it'd be nice to have my new brakes on.

I will be driving the car everyday to my university starting on tuesday and have done all the mainenance except the brakes.

Yummybud924

I don't really care about the light. why would I even need a light to tell me to change my brake pads?

V2Rocket

You need your metric wrench set (up to 19mm), a big phillips and a big flatblade. That's the only tools you need. Might want to find some plastilube for anti-squeal.

UncleMaz

You need two 14mm sockets (one deep) to remove the hubs from the front rotors. The extra socket is for when you need to hold the bolt while loosening the nuts on the other side. Most of the the nuts will loosen without but there can be one or two that need holding.

Yummybud924

so no need for high temp grease?

what about c-clamps or some tool to compress the pistons?