1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I used to have all my brake work done by professional mechanics, on the premise that it's important, so it needs to be done right. Well, they don't necessarily do it right, nor do they necessarily tell you if they break a bolt or can't bleed a wheel because the bleeder nipple stripped out, etc.
I just did a brake rotor change - easy as pie. The only problem is that the bolts can be a bear. The caliper is held in place by four bolts, and I would strongly recommend a good soaking with liquid wrench and the use of six-sided socket wrenches only, or you'll surely strip off the edges of the bolts. The rotor is primarily held in place by the four wheel lug bolts, when the wheel is installed, and there are two bolts for the rotor itself. One is Torx type and the other is a 10 mm with a pin on it for aligning the wheel onto the hub. You'll need a 10 mm six-sided deep socket and a good Torx socket wrench which will not strip out. I invested in an electric impact wrench (Dewalt), and what a difference it made. This is most helpful for the Torx bolt, as it's hard to keep the wrench centered, with good pressure, while loosening by hand.
I have a Haynes 9000 manual, which seems pretty good.
The best brake upgrade is probably pads. If you have OEM pads, you'll notice firmer brake feel by going with something like Metalmasters or the spg9 street pads. If your rotors are getting thin anyway, you might consider replacing with Brembo rotors, which you can get cheaper than the OEM Saab rotors, but don't fall for putting drilled rotors on the rear, which spg9 would like you to do, as they sell them in a set of 4.
Regarding tires, I just got a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE730's put on, which came highly-recommended from this bulletin board. I'll put in my 2 cents after a couple thousand miles.
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