so i got new pads today, and had a few questions. i didnt know you were supposed to clean the rotors before installing the new pads and there is a slight skreeching noise coming from the right rear. i wasnt sure exactly how to do it but i put the pads right up on the rotor so it couldnt move, i hope i did that right. i did use brake quite however. oh and how long does it usually take for the brake pedal to get back its original feel and not go all the way down to the floor. any help would be appreciated cuz im going out of town in a few hours and need to be done...

 

oh geezz.....you've never done brakes before!? you need to either get the rotors turned or get new rotors. you have to have a new surface for the new pads to mate with. also, you need to take the cap off your brake fluid reservior and use a c-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper for the front, and for the back you turn the piston to get it back in. then, check the fluid. after you've done that, then you put the pads in exactly how they came out. i always put the brake quiet on the back of the pads.

 

hey thanks, naw ive never done this before, its my first car and im broke as ****. lol okay so do you suggest i just put on the new rotor since i bought them but couldnt get the screws out w/out stripping them. do i need to take off the reservior cap for the rears? okay if i dont get the old rotor out, is it as simple as just turning it a little and mount to the new surface?

 

You must take the rotor's off and have them resurfaced. Otherwise you'll have short pad life and they wont work as well.

 

turning the rotor is a term used for taking it to a machine shop and getting a layer cut off so you'll have a new surface (resurfacing).

 

alright well i dont want to do that, so does anyone have any suggestions on how to get these rotor screws off? i tried hard but they don't want to brake loose.

 

man, you shoulve had someone help you! well, i just take the reservior cap off to relieve pressure. as far as the screws in the rotors, those are a pain in the ***. you hafta get a impact hammer or air hammer to get them out. once they're out, leave em out, you dont need them

 

i know i dont have anyone to help me lol. but thanks sabotage, i need to figure this out soon

 

good luck!

 

dont worry man i still dont know how to do that **** either.. i think when i get my brakes done ill just buy them and bring them up to a mechanic to install for me

 

you need to learn, its not soo bad! i've done it many times on different cars.

 

The cheap way to get those screws out is hit a large phillips screwdriver with a hammer and turn as hard as you can without letting the screwdriver strip it. The other, better way is to buy an Impact Driver (it looks like a thick screwdriver with a turning socket head, if you hit it with a hammer, the impact will torque itself and turn the screw out). Usually the rotor screws will come out like butter.

If you can't get the rotors off, and the old ones are not completely grooved. You can try using garnet paper (do not use sand paper) to sand them off. You have to rub them really vigorously, and I would rather change out rotors since they are so cheap these days. The idea of using garnet paper is to get rid of any uneven brake deposits.

Leave the lid off of the brake fluid reservoir off for all 4 corners, use the c-clamp on the front pistons (using an old pad as a cushion) and a big screwdriver to turn the rear pistons in. After about 5-10 pumps of the pedal, the pressure should return to the braking system.

Then, go to http://www.stoptech.com and read the article about the Myths of Rotor Warpage or something like that. It will give you a good idea of how to break-in/bed your rotors and pads properly.

Here is the procedure from that article:
Pad Break-In. [Tech Tip from C. Smith of Stoptech] Follow proper break in procedures for both pad and disc. All high performance after market discs and pads should come with both installation and break in instructions. The procedures are very similar between manufacturers. With respect to the pads, the bonding resins must be burned off relatively slowly to avoid both fade and uneven deposits. The procedure is several stops of increasing severity with a brief cooling period between them. After the last stop, the system should be allowed to cool to ambient temperature. Typically, a series of ten increasingly hard stops from 60mph to 5 mph with normal acceleration in between should get the job done for a high performance street pad. During pad or disc break-in, do not come to a complete stop, so plan where and when you do this procedure with care and concern for yourself and the safety of others. If you come to a complete stop before the break-in process is completed there is the chance for the non-uniform pad material transfer to take place and the results will be what the whole process is trying to avoid. Fortunately the procedure is also good for the discs and will relieve any residual thermal stresses left over from the casting process (all discs should be thermally stress relieved as one of the last manufacturing processes) and will transfer the smooth layer of pad material onto the disc. If possible, new discs should be bedded with used pads of the same compound that will be used going forward. Again, heat should be put into the system gradually - increasingly hard stops with cool off time in between. Part of the idea is to avoid prolonged contact between pad and disc.

 

If the screws arew allready stripped you will have to drill the heads off, pull the rotor off then grab the remaning bit of screw with a set of pliers and get the rest of the screw out.

If you have have not stripped them all out you need to get an impact screw driver. It is a screw driver that you hit with a hammer to break screws loose. I picked up a cheap one from Harbor Freight for $5.00. It worked perfect to pull all of my screws out.