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Here's a report/lessons learned from this past weekend's front brake replacement on my 2003 9-5 Aero sedan. The car has 151k miles and was on it's original front rotors and only it's second set of pads. The originals were replaced at 60k and this set lasted 90k! I guess my driving profile and style are easy on the brakes.
I replaced them at the suggestion of my mechanic (Viking Automotive in Gaithersburg, MD) who pointed out that the pads were getting awfully thin and the rotors were below spec at the latest visit. Note I wasn't having any noticeable problems such as noise, vibration, etc, but I trust those guys and let's face it 151k miles on rotors is getting ridiculous.
I ordered a pair of ATE rotors ($80 apiece) and Akebono pads ($70 set) from eEuroparts. Placed the order Thursday morning and they were delivered Friday afternoon, free shipping. ATE (pronouced Ah-Tay I believe) is the OEM supplier of the 9-5 calipers and the rotors are manufactured in Germany. The Akebono pads are made in the USA.
I had no trouble at all removing the rotor set screw or the rotors themselves. The set screw came right out with no special effort, and the rotor wiggled itself loose as I was working the caliper off. So those potential problems never materialized. I did shoot some liquid wrench in the bolt holes and around the hub after I got the wheel off, I'm sure that helped but certainly not the difference between the easy job I had and the horror stories I've seen from others.
The caliper mount bolts were tough but not too bad. I used a 24" bar with the E-20 socket (needed an extension for the upper bolt due to interferences). I'm 6'3" and 185 lbs so adjust your expectations accordingly. A "trick" I realized (shamefully after 10 years of working on my cars) was that if the bar was turned as far as it would go (ie, hitting the ground) and the socket wouldn't fit on the bolt when rotated back up, just turn the socket 90 degrees on the bar and try again, sorta a ratcheting effect. That's probably a no-duh for most people but as I sat frustrated and seemingly out of room I said wait a minute...
Most difficult part for me was getting the caliper off. I just didn't have a tool that could get in there and compress the piston to create some extra clearance, so I just had to work it, using tools to lever it off from the top and bottom. Frustrating but not all that bad in retrospect. I do have a caliper piston compressor but it's for use when the caliper is off the rotor.
The driver's side took me 2 hours, the passenger side took 1.5 the next day. Subsequent driving has been fine, no funny noises or vibrations and brake feel is fine. Both ATE and Akebono recommend avoiding heavy braking for ~400 miles, so that's what I'm doing.
As usual, thanks to everyone who has posted info & tips on this job, hopefully this post is useful to others in the future.
jeff
posted by 138.162....
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