Brakes And Rotors

[Britt Easterly]

that time has come, but I was thinking of doing it myself. I just wanted to get your guys opinons on how hard of a job it was. Or should I take it to the dealer or some other shop.

[norros]

Brett,

It's a piece of cake, don't waste your money on paying someone to do it.

If you can get the brake caliper off, it's just a matter of a couple of more bolts and the rotor is free, simple operation.

Do yourself a favor and pick up one of these home brake bleeder's, I've got one and it will make the job MUCH easier:

http://www.motiveproducts.com

I have the $50 one, though there are more expensive one's listed, and it works like a charm. You'll need it if you ever do the bearings or any job that requires pulling the brake caliper off because a lot of the time you'll lose compression and have to do a 'quick bleed'.

Hope this helps.

Nicholas

[JimC]

Now to be perfectly clear, the pads are extremely easy, but the rotors are another story altogether. Changing the front rotors requires nothing less than diassembling the entire hub. The rears are a bit easier, but only just. This is still DIY stuff (the most involved thing being checking the end play on the stub axle (?), which I'm sure many DIY'ers ignore entirely. It just means you need a manual and some spare seals.

[redrover]

Hey Brit , Its a hot nite up in oll northern minn and im bored. Anyway here is a tip if you are going to do the new rotors yourself. The hard part of removing the hub from the rotor is holding the whole assemble while you unbolt/rebolt the rotor from the hub. What i do is remove the hub/rotor assembly . Next take the assembly and place it wheel bolt down on a piece of half to 3/4 in plywood. Then using a marker, draw a circle around each wheel stud. Next drill each marked hole approx. the same dia as wheel studs. Then screw the ply down to your work bench with a few deck screws. Now you can drop the assembly, wheel stud down into the drilled holes. With the assembly held in your new jig ,you can remove and re torx the bolts without anyone helping. ROCK ON JP
PS if you have fairly new double lip seals on the inside of your hubbs, You really dont need to replace them. But stuff a clean rag inside hub to keep bearings secure and clean during the new rotor install. If any of this is unclear, Let me know.

[BarryO]

This link on replacing the wheel bearings gives you a pretty good idea what you're up to (you don't need to replace the bearings, but you need to do everything else to replace the rotors):

http://www.spanishtrailrovers.com/Tech/Maintain/Wheel_Bearing_Replacement/wheel_bearing_replacement.html

To get the rotor off the hub, I usually just give the rotor a good whack with a mason's hammer.

[loykd]

Brit, I got my rotors and pads from Great Basin Rovers. He's got some pretty good stuff on sale for D-90 guys. I think there was something in the Vendors Loft section. Very helpful guy and he talked me through the whole process. 4 rotors, pads, seals, retainers, bits and pieces, including shipping was about $380, as I recall.

It was a bitch separating the rear hub from the rotor. RUST. JP's idea to hold the hub assy sounds pretty slick. Air tools certainly would help. Also, you'll need a 13mm and a 14mm 12 point(?) socket. You're supposed to torque the hub nuts, so you may want a torque wrench too.

Suprisingly, the maintenance manual was pretty helpful.

[4WD-90]

Quote:
[Anyway here is a tip if you are going to do the new rotors yourself. The hard part of removing the hub from the rotor is holding the whole assemble while you unbolt/rebolt the rotor from the hub. What i do is remove the hub/rotor assembly . Next take the assembly and place it wheel bolt down on a piece of half to 3/4 in plywood. Then using a marker, draw a circle around each wheel stud. Next drill each marked hole approx. the same dia as wheel studs. Then screw the ply down to your work bench with a few deck screws. Now you can drop the assembly, wheel stud down into the drilled holes. With the assembly held in your new jig ,you can remove and re torx the bolts without anyone helping.]

I just changed the front rotors this weekend, I came across this thread and it worked great! Thanks for a great tip, it was very helpful. When removing the calipers, I use a bungee cord and secure them out of the way. I also use some wood shims and stuff them in between the two brake pads to keep the calipers from bleeding out. Just thought it may help someone else while changing their rotors! Thanks again for all the info!
Christopher:)

[mikeslandrover]

If you've got an old wheel lying about you can drop the hub assembly in that, holds it securely and strangely comes pre drilled with the right stud pattern provided you use a rover wheel :)