Job #2 Me vs 01 z28 Brakes/rotors ! Before/After

**5abivt** · 05-09-2009, 09:10 PM

Well I finally finished the job. I also gave her her first car wash. To be short, ALL 4 rotors were siezed on. ALL 8 caliper sliding pins were also siezed in. Brakes-wise this was one seriously neglected car.

In case you guys are wondering yes I did paint the rotor face as well but the coat is lighter than the hubs etc. the first coats were done with the whole pad-contact area taped. the last coat I put on so that way what ever the pad takes off the rest of it wont rust. We all know the pads dont use the entire rotor face.

SPECIAL thanks to everyone on here with the support and responses to all my posts. also to my dog who stayed with me almost the entire last 3 days sleeping on whatever side of the vehicle I was on!

Couldnt get anything loose. I made a trip to home depot and bought an emergency repair kit !

I don't know what to say about the rears...

Only way I got each of the 8 pins out of the caliper brackets.
seemed to be the magic spot for the rotors

Warning to all.. if your pins are siezed.. point them away from you if you heat them. this one exploded out of the bracket when it got hot enough and put a hole into my drywall in the new garage !!

After wash with my pup Leo. I'm sure some are wondering.. he's 188 lbs !

Next week my wheels should be here and I'll be dropping them to the powdercoater. my lowering springs (Eibach sportlines) are here from tirerack so I'll be getting them done next week hopefully. Tints are now on the immediate list and so is a strut brace. Pretty soon I'll spend a weekend doing all the Zaino steps starting with the clay bar.

**0rion** · 05-09-2009, 11:33 PM

congrats on a job well done. Those brakes were in pretty rough shape for sure. By far not the worst I've seen but bad none the less. Looking good now though.

**02Sweet** · 05-10-2009, 05:16 AM

CONGRATS!!! Job well done looks great. Glad to see you decieded to do the job yourself, I love doing all my own work it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

**Cutlass** · 05-10-2009, 05:39 AM

WOW has that thing been sitting in the bottom of a lake for the past few years...

hehehe good work man. Looks nice now.

**0rion** · 05-10-2009, 11:59 AM

my experience doing brakes for people has been that they wait until the brakes start making noise and then take them in to have them fixed.......8-9 months later.

I've seen some brakes here that it amazed me they made it to my house.

**JoshieDoom** · 05-10-2009, 12:56 PM

Great improvement!!!!!!!

**DaddySS** · 05-10-2009, 02:12 PM

Looking much better !!!!! I don't like the idea of letting the pad take the paint off though, that is definitely not good for the pads.

Congrats on tackling the job and sticking with it.

**5abivt** · 05-10-2009, 08:18 PM

Thanks guys. Yeah I don't quite like the idea of using paint but it works great. I just drove her today and she drives oh so smooth now with no groaning/grinding from the brakes. I pulled in the driveway and took a look at the rotors and they are wiped clean where the pad touches. I follow Baers bedding techniques I will be doing that tomorrow after work !

**BADASS2000SS** · 05-10-2009, 09:32 PM

Nice work!

**Y2KPewterSS** · 05-10-2009, 09:34 PM

Very nice work. Like everyone else has said, they were in pitiful shape prior to your work.

**Cutlass** · 05-11-2009, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by 0rion

my experience doing brakes for people has been that they wait until the brakes start making noise and then take them in to have them fixed.......8-9 months later.

I've seen some brakes here that it amazed me they made it to my house.

I've seen a rotor worn down to the cooling fins...no joke

**Wesman** · 05-11-2009, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by Cutlass

I've seen a rotor worn down to the cooling fins...no joke

Same here!!

On my friend's '97 Expedition, one side of the rotor face actually broke and came off. Meaning the rotor's fins were touching the brake pads -lets just say it destroyed just about everything and tore the caliper into pieces.

It looked like it basically just rusted off, but there was so much damage it was hard to tell.