Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I have a 2001 Impala how hard is it to change the brake pads and rotors out?

I am a mechanically inclined person with not much auto experience. It just costs so much to have a shop put on new rotors and most of the time they hose you on the parts.I have a 2001 Impala how hard is it to change the brake pads and rotors out?Disc brake pads are easy. Once the caliper has been removed, the rotor should slip right off the studs, although there is probably a retaining clip you'll need to remove if they're never been off before. It would be worth your while to go to Autozone and pickup the Haynes manual for a 2001 Impala ($15-$16).I have a 2001 Impala how hard is it to change the brake pads and rotors out?changing the rotors and brake pads is pretty easy, you may have to remove some long bolts going through the caliper, or use a hammer and punch to drive out a bracket holding the caliper together. most have bolts holding the caliper together. but one thing to remember is when you push the piston back into the caliper, be sure to crack open the bleeder screw so that you do not force brake fluid back up through the abs(if it has abs) or up back in to the master cylinder which could flip the seal on it causing it to leak. also a good habit would be to use a c-clamp to push back the piston, but use one of the old brake pads against the piston so that it doesn't damage it. as for the rotors, they should just slip off, unless there is a retaining clip that u would have to remove, but it easily comes off in most cases.oh and be extremely sure to tighten the bleeder screw back up or else you will get air in your lines causing u to have a spongy brake pedal and causing you to have to bleed your brakes.just don't over tighten them. if the bleeder screw begins to strip, do not continue to unscrew it as it may snap. if it snaps or strips you may need a new caliper unfortunately. hope this helpsI have a 2001 Impala how hard is it to change the brake pads and rotors out?there are two bolts that hold the caliper on two the mounting bracket. I think they are 14mm. you'll probably have to retract the piston in the caliper to get the pads to clear the rust ridge on the rotor. Use a big C-clamp around the caliper and push on the back of the outboard pad. After you take off the caliper, you can use the c-clamp and the inboard pad to retract the piston all the way. There are two bolts that hold the caliper mounting bracket on to the knuckle. I forget the sizes of the bolts. Actually, I think that the caliper bolts may be 12mm and the mounting bracket bolts may be 14mm. You'll have to remove the bracket if you are replacing the rotors. But, unless you have a brake pulsation, excessive scoring or pitting, you shouldn't have to replace the rotors or have them resurfaced. In fact, gm doesn't recommend resurfacing the rotors for just replacing the pads. Only for the reasons I just mentioned. Overall, it's a pretty simple job. Quite self explanatory.