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brake pads and rotors

68K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  Abraham Kemp 
#1 ·
Has anyone changed their pads and rotors.

I have done this on several cars many times but never on a malibu. Can anyone tell me or show me any pictures of what is involved for this car.

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
Sorry ... It's a 2006 V6 3.5L engine. It is the sedan, I believe the LT trim but I am not really sure.

I don't know how to tell which front rotors my car takes. I was told that one is close to 11 inches in diameter and the other model takes rotors just over 11 inches. I bought the bigger rotors assuming the V6 takes the larger of the two and I will check tomorrow when I do the install.


Do the rear calipers need to be rotated while compressed, or just compressed?

Also, do I need to adjust the parking brake or do anything special to get that to work properly.


I have never worked on a GM car. I have worked on mazda, vw, subaru, but never GM.

Thanks for all the help. Sorry, I didn't post enough information before.
 
#4 ·
Please dont put those rotors on just because they fit... First find and confirm the sub model. I can see a slightly off sized rotor at least fitting on, and leading to some sort of specific catastrophe...

If in doubt, even if an emergency, dont buy a part if you're unsure. The wrong rotor isn't just like putting in a bit too much oil or something.
 
#5 ·
I would never do that. I bought them so that I can check to see if they are the same as the ones already on the car and possibly save myself the trip back to NAPA.


Does anyone know about the rear calipers? Some pistons you have to screw back into the calipers, some you just use a C-clamp, some have a hex bolt that you can use to move the piston in and out.


Does anyone know about the parking brake adjustment?

TIA
 
#6 ·
The rear caliper piston has to be rotated clockwise into the bore. The parking brake mechanism on the caliper is self-adjusting and not serviceable. If the parking brake isn't working now, you're probably looking at replacement calipers.

Typical torque specs:

Brake Caliper Bleeder Valve, 8 lb-ft
Brake Caliper Guide Pin Bolt, 26 lb-ft
Brake Caliper Mounting Braket Bolt, 85 lb-ft
Front Brake Hose-to-Brake Caliper Bolt, 37 lb-ft
Rear Brake Hose-to-Brake Caliper Bolt, 37 lb-ft

You may want to get a vehicle-specific repair manual (Chilton/Haynes) or online subscription to DIY sites like alldatadiy.com or eautorepair.net.
 
#7 ·
I changed the pads and the rotors and the oil in 3 hours.

The oil was super easy, there isn't even an underbelly pan and the oil filter can be tightened by hand.

The front rotors were super easy, two 15mm bolts to remove the caliper bracket.

Once that was finished, its two 14mm bolts to remove the caliper from the bracket. I used high temp grease to re-grease the caliper sliders.

I also rented an autozone caliper retractor tool to push the piston in (the fronts really only need a c-clamp)

The rears were just the same, but a 13mm bolt to remove the caliper bracket and the caliper retractor tool is necessary to rotate and compress the caliper at the same time.

I should have taken pictures ... but it anyone has any questions let me know
 
#9 ·
glad I could help someone.

I forgot to mention that you only have to remove the caliper carriers if you are replacing the rotors. Mine were warped so I replaced them.

It is easier to get to the caliper pins if you reinstall the caliper and caliper carrier onto the car. You will need to either retract the piston or just remove the pads and then put everything back together with out the pads.

It might be less confusing if I put it in steps. (for replacing rotors)

1. remove caliper carrier (the caliper is still attached)
2. replace rotors (you might have to hit the old rotors off because of rust ... if this happens sand the hub surface clean of rust to allow the new rotor to properly mate)
3. remove brake pads
4. replace caliper carrier (the caliper is still attached)
5. remove caliper from carrier
6. greese slider pins
7. install pads
8. compress piston
9. replace caliper

if you are not going to replace the rotors just start with step 4 and insert a 4a. to remove the brake pads.


good luck
 
This post has been deleted
#10 ·
TROLL ^^^

I am going to respond to this once, just in case I am wrong, but after that you have to do your own research to figure out why King is wrong.

I have never, ever, seen the number 70% for stopping power. What else provides stopping power ... maybe the friction of the tires, maybe wind resistance. But in an emergency stop, 100% of "braking power" is done by the front and rear brake pads. It is true that the front brakes work harder than the rear brakes. This is the reason why the front rotors/calipers are bigger than the rear. Some newer cars (mostly german) use the ABS system to make the rear brakes work harder and the rear brake pads wear out quicker. This is to decrease dive and increase drive comfort. During an emergency stop or a harder than normal stop, all cars brake harder with the front brakes.

Disk brakes do not have a power advantage. In fact, large tractor trailers use drum brakes because they cannot get a large enough rotor under the wheel so they have really really wide drum brakes to get more surface area for friction between the pads and the drum.

Disk brakes have a heat advantage. Drum brakes have no real way to dissipate the heat, and this leads to brake fade and failure. Again, this is why tractor trailers are more likely to have brake failure going down steep inclines.

Some disk brakes do utilize cooling fins. On most passenger cars the front rotors have cooling fins and the rear rotors are solid disks of metal.

The rotor and where you purchase the rotor does not matter. It is a metal disk ... if its metal and it spins its perfectly fine for your application. I always buy the cheapest rotor I can find.

The difference between the expensive and the cheap is normally the coating placed on the rotor. This coating wears off the rotor surface after you apply the brakes the first time. The coating does prevent the rotor hat from rusting, but this is just cosmetic. There are no braking advantages at all from any of the coatings placed on higher priced rotors. The dealer rotors are over prices, just like everything else at the dealership.

I usually go to NAPA because I don't have to pay shipping on the high weight rotors and they have good prices and the rotor is a rotor, it has cooling fins, holes in the correct spots, it is the correct diameter ect. ect.

Brake pads can squeak, not the rotor. Cheaper pads are normally not chamfered, which could cause squeaking. Very expensive race pads will squeak because noise is not their concern. However, a properly bedded in race brake pad will not squeak.

I used to run Axxis ULT's on my street car, and unless I followed the proper bedding procedure, they would squeak. They would also squeak from a lot of normal city driving and then a good bed in procedure would fix that.


I hope that I have covered all the areas where King was wrong, but like I said, look everything up for yourself. Don't believe the internet forum people.
 
#12 ·
This is one example ... NAPA Sil-Glyde, 765-1351


but any high temperature grease will work. Any auto parts store will have it, and if you ask they will gladly show you what they have.

You can also use a high temp axle/bearing grease, which is basically the same thing.

I always grease the pins when I change the brake pads to ensure that they do not go dry and then you have a sticky caliper and if it gets bad it might become seized. I probably do this too often, but it take a minute and its cheap insurance that you don't have to replace the caliper because of a stuck slider pin.
 
#14 ·
I agree. Consider alloyed metals. The inclusion of different elements causes them to be better suited to their tasks, depending on the particular alloy. Aluminum ore (bauxite), when smelted, produces plain ol' aluminum, but add some other stuff to it and you go from a garden variety metal to an aircraft-quality product. The same goes for other metals as well. Now I'm no chemist or engineer but I did pay attention when I was in school, and I'd presume that disc brake rotors are just as capable at being made better than others by modifying the type of metal used or simply by paying more attention to quality controls.

One of these days I intend to upgrade my brakes to drilled and slotted rotors with EBC pads. I should definitely find out of the seat belts work then, huh? :cool:
 
#16 ·
AFAIK, metal rotors are all the same type of steel, but there might be slight differences, but IMHO, who cares

You can get aluminum top hats to decrease weight, which will cost more money.

You can also get carbon ceramic rotors that have a lot of performance advantages but are extremely expensive and I doubt you will ever be able to find someone who makes these to fit a malibu.

You can get two peice rotors which have reusable hats, but this will also cost more money.

The friction surface is the only surface that I was talking about, and again, AFAIK, its all steel and its all the same. Different rotor designs will cool better, decrease weight (which is its own discussion, but will decrease stopping distance and increase HP at the wheels) or have parts that are reusable or the hats will be coated to prevent rust.

On the street, you will never notice a difference in cooling as no one on the street ever gets close to the max temperature that their pads can handle. The difference in weight will be negligible on the street and not worth the money IMHO.

For the street, I prefer the cheapest rotor I can find because for me on the street, steel is steel is steel and as long as my pad/rotor combination can lock up my street tires, I am getting the most out of my braking system (without drastically reducing rotor weight with the same diameter).

The limit in all cars is the friction at the road. BBK's or SS-lines or racing brake pads will not decrease braking distance on the road. On the track, temperature is a huge issue, which would cause brake fade and not allow the driver to go as deep into corners. On the street, a couple panic stops at highway speeds with full ABS will not cause the pads to get anywhere close to fading.

Even on my "race" car that I auto-x, I use the cheapest rotors I can find with an agressive street pad. The stock brakes are more than enough on my miata to lock up my 13x8 rims with 225 Hoosier A6's. I purposely did not upgrade my rotors/calipers because I wanted to be able to fit a 13" rim instead of a 14" or 15" rim to get a lower mass moment of inertia and a better final drive ratio.
 
#17 ·
On the street, you will never notice a difference in cooling as no one on the street ever gets close to the max temperature that their pads can handle.
Yes, but I've seen some of the really cheap Chinese rotors warp VISIBLY after one panic stop.

The pads? Fine.

The rotor? Warped visibly.

Cheapest possible isn't a good idea in stop and go traffice - it's not the PADS you worry about, it's the rotor itself.

THAT said - OEM I can get from RockAuto for about the same as the house brand at O'Reilly ... plus shipping. But I figure it's worth it.

I could see going crossdrilled to help improve cooling. And that's about it for street usage.

RwP
 
#18 ·
I have seen OEM rotors warp after one panic stop as well. The problem ... once the car has stopped you cannot keep your foot in the brake pedal. This will warp the rotor.

Every time I stop I release the brake pedal to the point that I just barely roll forward, then I apply the minimal pressure to keep the car from rolling forward. This ensures that I am not warping the rotors.

cross-drilled rotors are a terrible idea for a street car. They tend to crack over time, they are noisier and wear the pad down faster and the increase in cooling won't help you at all on the street.

slotted rotors have an advantage on the street, and not for cooling. When its raining out, the slotted rotor will wipe the pad face clean of water.

Have you even hit the brakes after driving for awhile on the highway in the rain and it seems like you aren't stopping that well. This is because the water on the rotor face just evaporated causing a barrier between the pad and the rotor. It will go away if you pump the pedal once or just keep braking. Slotted rotors will make this issue dissapear.

They will be noisier and wear the pad more but they will not crack.
 
#19 · (Edited)
So, I'm looking at regular rotor-rotors on RockAuto, front ones, I see prices from $33 to $106. RAYBESTOS specifically has the $35 Professional Grade, $65 Advanced Technology, and $106 Advanced Technology Performance rotor. The Advanced Technology ones come with a NO TURN GUARANTEE among the "Advanced" features. Should I stick with the cheapest Chinese rotors or pay more for the rotors with "Advanced" features (made in China, nonetheless)?
 
#20 ·
I would hope that any rotor, no matter how cheap, would be ready to use out of the box with no turning nessisary.

I would also expect that if this was not true, the company would take them back, even without a "No Turn" guarantee.

All rotors will either need to be replaced or turned (if they can be turned and be within spec) at some point.

So I am not really sure what the no turn policy is.

I would pick the cheapest I could find. You can replace the cheap rotors 3 times before you have paid for one of the expensive rotors. There should be no reason to replace the rotor 3 times more often, or more often at all.
 
#21 ·
@Jeffsu350
Thanks, man! You make a lot of sense in what you say and how you explain it.

I've rarely had a warped rotor but that's probably because I slow down with my gas pedal instead of the brake. I'm not afraid to use them, but when you use your brakes you're converting motion into heat, and that's just throwing away the money spent on the gas to get you moving in the first place.

I'd love to try a road race course someday. Sounds enjoyable.
 
#23 ·
I'm just trying to warn everyone that just likes bolts at a hardware store that you can buy with different degrees of hardness depending on the application you are using them for, there are chinese rotors that are made of low grade steel which will cause them to wear faster and warp sooner. I made the mistake of buying some for a buick regal gs that I previously owned. I think that the rotors wore faster than the brake pads! You could see a visible groove in the rotor after 15k miles.

 
#24 ·
I'm just trying to warn everyone that just likes bolts at a hardware store that you can buy with different degrees of hardness depending on the application you are using them for, there are chinese rotors that are made of low grade steel which will cause them to wear faster and warp sooner. I made the mistake of buying some for a buick regal gs that I previously owned. I think that the rotors wore faster than the brake pads! You could see a visible groove in the rotor after 15k miles.
Instead of posting a huge pic of your car in each post, just add a smaller pic to your sig.
 
#27 ·
And do like I did. Store your picture on Photobucket or similar and then link to that. It'll automatically reduce the size and keep its resolution.
 
#29 ·
I feel like an idiot right now.
I've order pads from Rockauto for Malibu Maxx. Today decided to replace them and find out that whatever I have at the front is totally different that I go from RA!
And I've checked on different sites Maxx is compatible with those I've got but looks like not mine!

How come there are 2 different kinds of pads? How to know what fits my car!!? What is the criteria?

Silly thing that car in garage disassembled I cannot get new parts from local store.....

LMAO!
 
#31 ·
Maybe the order pickers grabbed the wrong part, or the bin replenishers stocked the right bin with the wrong parts. (I work in a world of warehousing where this is something we track and prevent.)
 
#32 ·
I would ask RA ... the malibu that I worked on had two different size rotors to pick from.

Normal criteria is year, model, engine and any package, SS LS, ect.

some places can use your VIN to pick the exact right part.

Hope everything turns out for you.
 
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