Brake Rotor (disc) Installation

[bbenny]

Ok i have decided to put together a tutorial for installing new discs. i thought this might help a few people, so they dont make the same mistakes I once did.

Step one:

Once you have safely jacked the car up and removed the wheel, pull out the brake pads. If unsure about this, Click here , for brake pad replacement/removal tutorial.

Step two:

Find the two caliper bolts at the rear of the caliper (see pic.)

You may need a fairly long breaker bar to initially loosen the bolts as they are very tight. When you have removed the caliper from the mount be sure to rest it on a bench, on a suspension link (as in the picture) or just tie it up with string. It is important not to twist bend or hang the caliper by the brake line as it may damage the line.

Step three:

For the front disc it should easily slide off the hub.

For the rear disc it may be a little more difficult, sometimes fusing to the hub or the handbrake (drum brake inside disc) holding it in position.

Note: make sure the Handbrake is OFF or you will not be able to pull the disc off.

Using the threaded holes here screw in two bolts (M8x1.25) into the hole.

You will find they push the disc off the hub. After the initial bolt push the disc should simply slide off the hub and drum brake.

It should look like this:

Step Four:

Ensure you clean the new disc's braking surface with brake cleaner or paint thinner to remove the anti-rust lubricant the manufacturer applies for storage. This lubricant can contaminate pads and seriously effect braking.

Step Five:

Simply slide the new disc over the hub and into position.

Remember to fit rubber plug on the new disc. If your new disc didn’t come with one, just use the one from the old disc.

Step Six:

Gently slide the caliper back into position and tighten caliper bolts. (according to the R32 GTR manual 92-118Nm)

Step Seven:

slide brake pads back into position. Fit pins and clips. Sit in drivers seat and pump the brakes a few times until it feels firm again. Fit the wheel back on, and you are done!

I hope this helps a few people.

Ben.

[Birnie]

Thanks for this one !

Did my fronts (well one of em) yesterday using this tutorial.

Just thought I'd add one extra pic.

I did my fronts on the R33 GTS-T and found a couple of extra bolts to undo so you don't hurt you're brake line. (See piccie)

Pretty obvious what I mean, and they're not hard to undo...compared to those bugga caliper bolts !

THanks Bbenny!!!

[cowie165]

I request this thread be stickied.

Good on you Birnie for finding it dude. I wish I had searched for it two weeks ago

Adjusting hand brake

If you are removing your discs it is probably a great time to check your handbrake. The R32 manual says to to:

Place the disc on the studs and fit wheel nuts so disc is secured to the hub.

(Give the adjuster a good blast with brakekleen)

Turn the adjuster from the top and towards the vehicle. ie. you are pushing the screwdriver into the top and it will click as it rotates away from you.

Once the disc is locked and immobilised, rotate the adjuster in the reverse direction for five or six clicks. I went with six as I would hate to have that drum rubbing

Replace the rubber plug and you're done.

You can then adjust the lever stroke with the nut under the handbrake in the centre console. It should fully engage in 6-8 clicks.

Cheers!

[Flash89]

where is the adjuster

[Duncan]

It is behind the small hole with the rubber cap (see the last pic in bbeny's post)

[mad082]

should also be noted that if you are going to use old pads with new rotors, the pads should be faced so that they wear evenly on the rotor. it is best to put new pads and rotors on at the same time.

and they would probably need bedding in.

[Kinks]

another tip to remember is make sure the hub and rotor surfaces are clean before you put the rotor back on. any grit, flakes of rust or any of that sort of shit between the rotor and the hub will give you runout and shudder problems in a short period of time.

[omagan]

good guide

[tek_01]

do you clean the rotors before putting them on? seems like they have some sort of lube like wd40 on them

what do you use to clean it off?

[made_guy]

its in the tutorial - use brake cleaner or thinners. just get that sh*t off otherwise your brake pads will be crappola for the rest of their days.

[sunnycoast]

What about wax and grease remover?

[SeanO]

Just a note on Handbrake adjusting I always find when i adjust a handbrake i slack off the handbrake end eg the end connected to the handbrake lever inside the car before adjusting it at the rears just something to think about really basically slack the lever end off then adjust the shoes out at the rear to the required amount then check for 6 clicks at the lever if not loosen or tighten until 6 clicks then it should all be setup correctly without rubbing on the drums etc

[ray32]

A noob question ... but new rotors wont need to be machined right? .. just cleaned with brake cleaner?

[Birnie]

Correct, no machining needed

[gotRICE?]

Is the whole 6 clicks thing a Nissan recommendation or just a forum thing?

I got my R33 with fairly low km (48,000) and at 58,000 now, my handbrake is tight on the 4th, bites on the 2nd, and generally holds on steep hills on the 3rd!

Is that a low km thing or adjusted different? As i have checked the clearance and it certainly doesnt rub when the handbrake is off.

[suprahb]

when replacing a rotor, although it is recomended, do you actually need to replace rotors on both sides at the same time? for example i want to replace the front left only, does that mean i have to replace the front right as well?,

[cowie165]

Is the whole 6 clicks thing a Nissan recommendation or just a forum thing?

I got my R33 with fairly low km (48,000) and at 58,000 now, my handbrake is tight on the 4th, bites on the 2nd, and generally holds on steep hills on the 3rd!

Is that a low km thing or adjusted different? As i have checked the clearance and it certainly doesnt rub when the handbrake is off.

If it doesn't rub, you're all set. IIRC 6 to 8 clicks is what's in the workshop manual.

when replacing a rotor, although it is recomended, do you actually need to replace rotors on both sides at the same time? for example i want to replace the front left only, does that mean i have to replace the front right as well?,

If you replace the front left only, you'll probably end up with uneven braking, as one caliper clamps before the other. With the left disc being new (ie. thicker) it'll meet the pad before the other side does. As you keep pressing your foot down to get the right side to clamp, it'll now be pressing harder on the left side, and so on. So you'll prob end up with the car steering left every time you hit the brakes.

It has been a while since I changed the brakes on my R32 but I don't remember there being any way to tighten one caliper in particular. You'd need to be able to offset the pistons, which you might be able to do when you bleed the brakes after changing the disc. Actually no, I don't think you can because you cant adjust individual calipers on a stock car.

Anyway, I highly recommend changing both, but I guess it depends on how worn the right side is. If the thickness is fairly close, you could be in luck. If you REALLY wanted to only change one, you could have the new one machined to reduce its thickness to match the right hand disc.

[Chi100188]

i know this is an old thread but can someone rehost up the pictures ? changing rotors this week end lol

[08r3308]

yeah some pics would be great guys

[hmm06]

Great! thanks for sharing such information