Have ordered new front brake rotors and pads. Looking forward to the Nov DIY. Have not done any work on my cars in years. This should be a great time. Any thing to pay close attention to for the repair? Have watched the Bavarian Autosport DIY videos on the job. So pretty confident.
Clean out the rotor set-screw hex opening thoroughly and lightly tap your hex bit in to make sure it's fully seated before trying to remove it (also lightly coat the new rotor set screw threads w/ some never-seize when reinstalling) - they can strip easily and then you're stuck drilling it out and knocking the rotor off w/ a hammer once it's drilled out enough (obviously you don't want to drill all the way down and into your hub). It's common to use large channel-locks to compress the pistons, I tend to go w/ one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Autotools-Spreader-Caliper-Piston-Compressor/dp/B007N3I4QY (even if it's a little slower compared to pliers) and I use an old pad backing plate against the piston so the threaded rod can't bottom out in the caliper piston. Once you have one corner done, pump the brake pedal and the brakes back up so you don't accidentally push too much fluid back through the system and overflow your reservoir (messy). Don't let the caliper hang by the rubber brake line, suspend it with wire, coat hanger, strong-enough zip-tie, etc. Get a jack stand in place, never trust a hydraulic jack & have yourself at risk w/ some part of you under a vehicle without a jack stand safely placed and secured. Be sure to re-torque your caliper mounting bolts to spec with a torque wrench. If you loosen the set screw first before removing the calipers, you can put a screwdriver in the vented rotor slots against the caliper to keep the rotor from turning while you're loosening the set screw. Hopefully all that is already in diy vids!
Thanks. Most of the DIY vids covered what you said. The screw info was a plus for sure. I’m hoping someone has a torque wrench that I can borrow for the mounting bolts. Will check out those caliper tools. Do you have or had experience with a digital torque wrench. I do own a torque wrench that I have not used in many years. So do not know if calibration is in spec. Luckily I will be able to use a lift for the job.
My torque wrench is a mechanical Snap-On, so don't have a digital; I'd expect should be ez enough, presumably punch up or down buttons to set & click away.... (presumably!)
Good question, brings up the issues of what's most critical for accurate torque and torque-wrench accuracy over time, which frankly I haven't considered too much; probably safe to say it's worth confirming whether relying on what's supposed to be quality has been justifiable . A quick google search this came up (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278271) which led to me to dig up this (https://www.powerbuilt.com/products/1-2-drive-digital-torque-socket-adapter?variant=34500417220) - looked up the Harbor Freight one too which I'd guess in most cases would be ok, but it's barely $3 less than the powerbuilt one, so with the guy's comments on it, I wouldn't see a reason not to go for the powerbuilt one. So, using that clamped in a vise looks like a relatively inexpensive means to check torque wrench calibration yourself. You'd expect if you start with a quality tool that's been properly kept, used, and not abused, then there's no reason to think it wouldn't be accurate, but true there's no way to know without checking.
Will look at those articles. Mine is a Williams my dad got me. Has always been kept in a safe place and at 0 lbs setting.
