Front brakes

[87ChevyR10]

This coming weekend, I plan to work over the front brakes (as long as the weather holds). New pads and rotors. Now, I've never done this kind of work before; so, I don't know what to expect. I imagine the process is fairly straight forward. Would it be a good idea to replace wheel bearings, too?

Oh, one other thing, I've noticed there are a couple of different sizes for the rotors, how do I know which one is correct?

Thanks!

 

[rangerman]

Your going to have to measure your rotors to see if they are 1 1/4" or 1", no other way to know.

If your going to do rotors and pads, yes definitely replace the bearings.
I would buy complete new calipers also, sure is alot nicer to work with.

I hope your rubber brake lines are good, because its a real bitch replacing them.

 

[87ChevyR10]

Am I to assume the bearings are housed within the brake rotor?

Thanks!

 

[firebane]

No need to replace the calipers but definitely give them a once over to make sure they are clean and everything slides and moves correctly.

 

[rangerman]

Am I to assume the bearings are housed within the brake rotor?

Thanks!

Yes

 

[rangerman]

No need to replace the calipers but definitely give them a once over to make sure they are clean and everything slides and moves correctly.

New calipers with new zerks, bolts, piston are nice and only about $20 a side.
Why would any one do a complete brake job and not spend an extra $40?

I wasnt about to re use 40 year old calipers on a new brake job.

 

[firebane]

New calipers with new zerks, bolts, piston are nice and only about $20 a side.
Why would any one do a complete brake job and not spend an extra $40?

I wasnt about to re use 40 year old calipers on a new brake job.

Because a lot of times those "cheap" calipers are remans. I don't trust reman crap.

 

[rangerman]

Because a lot of times those "cheap" calipers are remans. I don't trust reman crap.

NAPA Premium calipers with all new boots, O rings and seals with a Lifetime Warranty.
Ill trust them over a 30 or 40 year old caliper that is more than likely seeping/starting to leak.

I dont understand the fear of re manufactured parts.
If a guy buys NAPA Premium, MOOG or AC Delco re mans, hes getting a good part that is OEM spec.

 

[firebane]

NAPA Premium calipers with all new boots, O rings and seals with a Lifetime Warranty.
Ill trust them over a 30 or 40 year old caliper that is more than likely seeping/starting to leak.

I dont understand the fear of re manufactured parts.
If a guy buys NAPA Premium, MOOG or AC Delco re mans, hes getting a good part that is OEM spec.

I picked up a reman AC Delco brake booster for my truck through Rock Auto. I installed the unit and guess what.. It failed. I had to send it back and get a replacement.

You'll hear a ton of horror stories about reman stuff failing right out of the box.

 

[rangerman]

I picked up a reman AC Delco brake booster for my truck through Rock Auto. I installed the unit and guess what.. It failed. I had to send it back and get a replacement.

You'll hear a ton of horror stories about reman stuff failing right out of the box.

Your right, it can be a crap shoot with the remans, but what else are we gonna do? Id love to walk into the local Chevrolet dealer and buy new parts but we cant, so were stuck with rebuilt parts.

My alternator, starter, MC, brake booster, steering box, rag joint, radiator, calipers, blower motor, entire front end, you name it were shot on this truck. I had to go reman or the truck wasnt safe.

99% of the squares have plenty of reman parts, all a guy can do is buy what he thinks is the best part and try and get a good warranty.

Lots of problem stories with folks braking and the truck pulling to one side, usually the caliper is sticking. Seals and O rings go bad thats why I suggested new calipers, the OP can decide whats best for him but if were worrying about remans we might as well not have these trucks.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

If it aint broke don't fix it. lol

And if he does end up with an issue, a caliper is easy to replace as that's the only thing you have to remove.

Now stuff like doing wheel bearings when redoing front breaks that's just preventative maintenance in my opinion, and saves you the hassle of completely ripping the front end apart again.

Just use a healthy amount of antisieze on the slides for the pads and it should work just fine.

 

[smoothandlow84]

Unless you can find nos parts, damn near everything is remanufactured to oem specs. Core charge =remanufactured. ..aka recycling. Get a full warranty whatever the part. Those kids in Mexico and China aren't paid top dollar to rebuild anything these days.