I replaced the front rotors on my 2009 Enclave this weekend. I did a search on this forum and did not find a write-up on how to do it, so I thought I would do a quick description on how I did it.
The total job took less than 2 hours, start to finish, including replacing the pads, two test drives and throwing the ball for my annoying golden retriever :blob:. It was really easy - I was quoted $485 from a local shop. Doing it myself, the parts cost $150 ($165 - $15 rebate) including two new rotors, Wearever Gold ceramic pads (lifetime warranty), a quart of synthetic brake fluid, and a can of brake cleaner. There may be other ways of doing this, but the process I followed was:
1) Jack up the front of the car and support on jack stands. Also chock the rear wheels for safety.
2) Remove front wheel. I used a 13/16 socket and ratchet and the OEM jack. If you use the Lug wrench supplied with the car you will be there all day jacking the car up.
3) Loosen upper Caliper guide pin bolt and remove lower caliper pin bolt. The part of the caliper that holds the pads will swing freely up.
4) Remove upper and lower Caliper bracket bolts (requires a 7/8 socket and a TON of torque) and clean the old 'lock tight' from the bolt
5) Hang Caliper assemble on the strut spring. I used a wire coat hanger.
6) Remove rotor set screw using a T-30 Torx bit.
At this point the rotor will slide right off.
7) Clean the new rotor with brake cleaner and install it, re-securing with the rotor set screw.
8 ) Using a brake piston compression tool ($8 at most auto parts stores), compress both brake pistons all the way in. Protect the piston by using the old brake pad between the compression tool and the piston.
9) Install the new pads in the caliper pad bracket
10) Swing the caliper pad bracket back onto the caliper assembly and hand tighten the guide pin bolt
11) Put lock tight on the Caliper bracket bolts and bolt the entire caliper assembly bracket back into place. Torque to 129 Lb Ft.
12 ) Torque the Caliper guide bolts to 30lb ft.
13) Put the wheel back on
13) Torque the lug nuts to 140 lb ft
Test drive. Be sure to pump the brake before putting the car into gear to put the caliper pistons back into place. If you don't feel any vibrations, pulsations or brake fade - do the other side!
After I finished with the rotors and pads, I also bled the brakes (all four wheels of course). It probably wasn't necessary, but as long as I was working on the brakes, I figured I may as well replace the fluid. I did not use a bleeding tool (suction pump) as I have heard bad things about messing up the antilock system. I don't know if that is just an old wife's tale, but doing it the old fashion way is safe and easy.
The total job took less than 2 hours, start to finish, including replacing the pads, two test drives and throwing the ball for my annoying golden retriever :blob:. It was really easy - I was quoted $485 from a local shop. Doing it myself, the parts cost $150 ($165 - $15 rebate) including two new rotors, Wearever Gold ceramic pads (lifetime warranty), a quart of synthetic brake fluid, and a can of brake cleaner. There may be other ways of doing this, but the process I followed was:
1) Jack up the front of the car and support on jack stands. Also chock the rear wheels for safety.
2) Remove front wheel. I used a 13/16 socket and ratchet and the OEM jack. If you use the Lug wrench supplied with the car you will be there all day jacking the car up.
3) Loosen upper Caliper guide pin bolt and remove lower caliper pin bolt. The part of the caliper that holds the pads will swing freely up.
4) Remove upper and lower Caliper bracket bolts (requires a 7/8 socket and a TON of torque) and clean the old 'lock tight' from the bolt
5) Hang Caliper assemble on the strut spring. I used a wire coat hanger.
6) Remove rotor set screw using a T-30 Torx bit.
At this point the rotor will slide right off.
7) Clean the new rotor with brake cleaner and install it, re-securing with the rotor set screw.
8 ) Using a brake piston compression tool ($8 at most auto parts stores), compress both brake pistons all the way in. Protect the piston by using the old brake pad between the compression tool and the piston.
9) Install the new pads in the caliper pad bracket
10) Swing the caliper pad bracket back onto the caliper assembly and hand tighten the guide pin bolt
11) Put lock tight on the Caliper bracket bolts and bolt the entire caliper assembly bracket back into place. Torque to 129 Lb Ft.
12 ) Torque the Caliper guide bolts to 30lb ft.
13) Put the wheel back on
13) Torque the lug nuts to 140 lb ft
Test drive. Be sure to pump the brake before putting the car into gear to put the caliper pistons back into place. If you don't feel any vibrations, pulsations or brake fade - do the other side!
After I finished with the rotors and pads, I also bled the brakes (all four wheels of course). It probably wasn't necessary, but as long as I was working on the brakes, I figured I may as well replace the fluid. I did not use a bleeding tool (suction pump) as I have heard bad things about messing up the antilock system. I don't know if that is just an old wife's tale, but doing it the old fashion way is safe and easy.
