Change AU rotors

mrwinky · 10-01-2006, 12:22 PM

Im wondering how 1 would change the rotors, just the fronts on a AU series 1 forte with 3 channel abs, i had a quick look at it and not to sure how to remove the calipers, just wondering what i gotta do to remove then and the rotors to put new 1's in them

sorry if this in in the wrong place could a admin move it if need be?

Casper · 10-01-2006, 12:41 PM

easy mate, just did mine a few weeks ago
To remove the calipers there are 2 bolts behind it, you can feel the heads wih your hands at either end of the caliper. Just unbolt them and the caliper slides up and away from the rotor (with a bit of wiggling).
To get the rotor off is even more fun. They are not bolted on, they just sit there. The years of heat and grit kind of "glue" them on. Take a hammer or mallet and smack it near the wheel studs (not on the wheel studs) with a fair bit of force.. more than you would think is reasonable.. and it will fall straight off. Slip the new rotor on, change pads and slip the caliper on (you may need to clamp back the caliper piston before fitting the new pads to give you room) and put the bolts back in holding the rotor in place. Wheel on and you are done.

mrwinky · 11-01-2006, 11:52 AM

Ahh yes, i just had another look at them and i think i can see what u mean, ill give it a go when the rotors come in, same job for the rears? i just had a look at em today and i found out i need a wheel balance and 1 new rotor

Thanks for the help, umm could i get a bit more info on changing the pads? i think i can see the clip but unsure as to how to get it off, this is me first time i had to play with me brakes lol, only owned a car for 1 and a bit years

Casper · 11-01-2006, 11:58 AM

Not sure about changing rear rotors, havent done it.

With the pads on the front its pretty easy. When the caliper is off the rotor you will see 2 pads. the one closest to you (the one facing out) just slides down to come off. The back one gets pulled towards where the front one was and it will come out. Takes a little bit of force, not a heap.
You will now see a big, round silver thing.. the piston. Stick a G clamp on the caliper so the screw part is in the piston and tighten the gclamp. The piston needs to be pushed all the way back, flush with the caliper face. Then put the new pads in (reverse of takeing them out) and bolt it all back together.

Mack 6 · 11-01-2006, 12:16 PM

Maybe use an old pad as a buffer to protect the piston while screwing up the g-clamp, that's what I used to do on my old Z

Stevo · 11-01-2006, 12:23 PM

I didnt realize that AU's had a floating front rotor. Damn eseries still has the castle nut holding them on.

rag top · 11-01-2006, 12:39 PM

Don't forget when pushing the pistons back in the caliper, keep an eye on the fluid level in your brake master cylinder. Sometimes it may overflow, depending on starting fluid level, and how much the pistons in the calipers move.

Racecraft · 11-01-2006, 12:43 PM

and do one side at a time, pushing the piston in on one side can result in the other piston poping out if its already taken off the rotor.

AU1FORME · 11-01-2006, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Not sure about changing rear rotors, havent done it.

With the pads on the front its pretty easy. When the caliper is off the rotor you will see 2 pads. the one closest to you (the one facing out) just slides down to come off. The back one gets pulled towards where the front one was and it will come out. Takes a little bit of force, not a heap.
You will now see a big, round silver thing.. the piston. Stick a G clamp on the caliper so the screw part is in the piston and tighten the gclamp. The piston needs to be pushed all the way back, flush with the caliper face. Then put the new pads in (reverse of takeing them out) and bolt it all back together.

Pretty much the same other than the phillips screw that holds them on, you may need a Impact driver to get them off otherwise using a big phillips tap lightly with a hammer to loosen screw.

Just my 2 bobs worth

clontarf_x · 11-01-2006, 03:01 PM

I really need to get around to doing my rotors, they are deathly. the ford dealer was too scared to test-drive it after the tune lol....

mrwinky · 11-01-2006, 04:36 PM

lol @ clontarf
Mine arent that bad but u can notice steering wheel feedback at about 80km plus when slowing cant really feel it when slowing less than that other than when the brakes have been used for a while and start sweaking then u can hear when it hits the warp in teh rotor

I wish i had all these tools,(impact philips screwdriver, g clamp) taking the pads of the front sounds hard, with the g clap, i guess ill see what u mean by the piston when i take it off, this is my first time taking any brakes off, bar me push bike brakes:P Could i possibly get a pic or even a lil made up 1 of this piston and what to do with it.

When i take them off ill prolly see it right away but i need to be sure how to get them back on if im gona take them off

Casper · 11-01-2006, 04:43 PM

Seriously, its just 2 bolts and the caliper is off.
The pads need no tools, they just clip in and out.
The rotor just needs a hammer.

List of tools needed
1 jack (and jackstand to be safe)
1 wheel nut remover
1 spanner to suit caliper nuts (its 13mm or 15mm I think)
1 hammer or mallet (or lump of wood.. or hard head... basically anything to give the old rotors a good whack)
1 G Clamp

Thats it, nothing more to it.

Racecraft · 11-01-2006, 04:47 PM

use can get a piston resetting tool for like $10 from SupaCrap or use a large set of multigrips if you don't have a g clamp

mrwinky · 11-01-2006, 05:20 PM

yeah dont have a g clamp could ask my friends for 1, i got all i need in tools bar that, ill have a look at the piston resettin tool at supercheap, im guessing thats what ur talkin about racecraft:P

Thanks for the help guys, if i run in to anymore trouble, which i shouldnt ill make another post about it, thanks again ur help has been appreciated

GTHOXR8 · 11-01-2006, 05:58 PM

When putting on the new rotors, make sure you clean off all the old crap and residue on the hub, where the rotor will sit. Otherwise if it slides on and does'nt fit square you could end up with run out, where the rotor does not spin true. No big deal or effort but make sure the surface looks clean.

max^power · 13-01-2006, 02:32 PM

Thanks everyone, casper was first, so credit where its due.

Installed my new DBA's today, all looks good! i didn't realise the green stuff pads would actually be green... oh well will have to paint my calipers again!

First time i've ever done this, and i'm not mecanical minded AT ALL, so thanks FF, this is why i donated.

Casper · 13-01-2006, 02:39 PM

Actually thank Peuty. He's the one that told me the "hammer trick" I couldnt get my rotors off either till he told me to smack into them with a hammer.

max^power · 13-01-2006, 03:25 PM

didn't need the hammer trick, the rotors just fell off when i took off the caliper!

the caliper nuts were 13mm btw.

Just took it for a test drive, and looks like the left outer pad isn't level? plus a little steam off the rotor, smudging on the outer edge, RHS was fine, no steam, no marks. is this normal?

Mr Cube · 13-01-2006, 03:40 PM

JC and I used a crow bar LOL

Mack 6 · 13-01-2006, 03:55 PM

Just remember when doing your nuts, Righty tighty, Lefty Loosey.

DOH, too late, he's already done em

max^power · 13-01-2006, 04:49 PM

well they work well so far, better than the oldies already and they havn't worn in yet! They might stink to high heaven but they work great.

All ready for heathcote now, once i get the OK from my doc. :eclipsee_

lostdude · 13-01-2006, 07:45 PM

Hi guys, sorry to hijack the thread.
I've got a series 1 forte Au and when i apply the brakes from 80km/h or above my steering wheels shudders really badly, does this mean my rotors need machining?
any info would be really appriciated.

Casper · 13-01-2006, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostdude

Hi guys, sorry to hijack the thread.
I've got a series 1 forte Au and when i apply the brakes from 80km/h or above my steering wheels shudders really badly, does this mean my rotors need machining?
any info would be really appriciated.

nope, machining wont do it, too old now. Replacement time.

Baboon_AU · 14-01-2006, 07:55 PM

hey guys, i think my rear rotors have had it, when i go around a left corner the left one sticks and shudders and general driving and low speeds makes them sqeak.
this is definately not the handbrake/drums so would it be the rotors??

GraveDilute · 27-05-2006, 11:07 PM

Just wanted to say thanks for this resource.

I mined this thread today, followed the instructions, and successfully managed to change over the rotors and pads.

BTW, the tool was $15 from Supercheap.

I still know very little about mechanics, but appreciate the resource that exists here. Looking forward to learning a lot more, and hopefully helping someone out like myself when the opportunity comes.

Thanks all!

XR6-VCT-2000 · 28-05-2006, 01:48 AM

For those who wanna do their rear rotors too , it's not much different to the front (exactelly the same procedure ) , except when you remove the disc you will see the handbrake setup behind the disk / is like an old drumbrake setup for the handbrake on the inner part of the disc . To Remove the disc same as normal, to install the new disc , screw in the adjuster screw for the handbrake pads ( tighten it so the pads come closer together to allow the new disc/with drum inner to slip over the handbrake setup (if you have trouble getting the new disc on ). Once the disc is on (with the handbrake OFF inside the car ) / poke a screwdriver through the small hole on the inner part of the disk/drumbrake like assembly and adjust the screw again so the handbrake pads toutch the drum assembly (the screw will go tight ), then back the screw off 1 turn. retract the caliper piston , insert the disc brake pads , Put the caliper back on and the wheel back on and done. (The handbrake adjustment screw i speak off looks like a sorta star shaped nut with thread hanging out both sides , the screwdriver when poking it through the adjustment hole grabs in the teeth of the star shaped nut when adjusting the handbrake ) .
Also note : remove the rear discs with the handbrake OFF or you will probably find you will have to back off the handbrake adjustment screw through the hole on the inner of disc to get the disc off .

Stevexr6 · 28-05-2006, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by max^power

didn't need the hammer trick, the rotors just fell off when i took off the caliper!

the caliper nuts were 13mm btw.

Just took it for a test drive, and looks like the left outer pad isn't level? plus a little steam off the rotor, smudging on the outer edge, RHS was fine, no steam, no marks. is this normal?

When I changed my rotors I noticed when replacing the brake pads that they didn't sit right. Turned out one of the slides on the calipre had siezed and needed a good hit with RP7 to loosen it. Looking at the old pad it looked like a wedge because only one side of the pad was grabbing.

GK · 28-05-2006, 07:11 PM

I actually threw out the old discs (front) today. Before I did though, I measured them with the caliper. They were 19mm each. The min thickness as stated on the inside of each disc stated that minimum thickness was 21mm. No wonder they didn't pull me up very well! LOL!

Funny thing though, last time I got the discs machined (Brakes Plus) they said nothing about being under mim thickness. Funny indeed because they usually don't need much encouragement to try to sell you new bits.

BTW, they offered me DBA slotted rotors a while back for $200 each side. What a joke!

GK

**Mechan1k** · 29-05-2006, 10:38 PM

I'll be getting mine done soon as well. But getting braided brake lines made up for the AUII (Pirtek will be making them while I have the brakes off).

Last pad change my rotors were right on the 21mm min thickness .. and didn't need a machine either ... which was good) ... but now they definitely need changing ... and I still have no warping (especially under heavy braking and load carrying as well.).

I am lucky ... I have picked up my slotted rotors for $90 each ... and will be going with Bendix CTs again ... as i have found that they have been excellent under load for braking ... and heavy city driving (approx 1200km per week worth). I could go for a harder wearing pad ... but decided i'd rather replace pads more often than wearing rotors out.