EBC Rotors and Pads Installed!! 56K Beware

jaho1979 · 03-10-2007, 07:26 PM

Got my EBC sport rotors and Greenstuff pads installed today from www.buybrakes.com!! I'd like to thank Vshortt and GRIM for helping out, they really jumped in and got dirty. Also, thanks to Tricky-**** for coming to hang out (sorry we finished too fast for you to get dirty too!).

The install could not have been smoother, start to finish for all 4 rotors and pads was an hour and 20 minutes. The fit and finish on everything was perfect, all the parts bolted up with no fitment issues whatsoever.

For those that missed the original thread, this is what I installed...I got the EBC sport rotors front and rear which are slotted and dimpled (not drilled all the way through), and EBC Greenstuff pads front and rear, which offer better performance and are supposed to put off less dust. Everything came from www.buybrakes.com.

Here are some pictures of the front. For the front, there are two bolts that hold the caliper on, and it slides off the rotor. Two more bolts hold on the torque member and then the rotor can be removed. Reverse the steps with the new parts.

Stock front setup. At this point, the caliper comes off first, and is held on by two 14mm bolts on the back side, one on the top and one on the bottom.

Caliper removed, on to the hard bolts. These require a good breaker bar, or a big burly man named Charles (GRIM), either will get the job done. These are extremely tight, and the bolt is 21MM. These are also located on the inside of the assembly, and there is one on top and one on bottom. It is very helpful to turn the wheel to get a good angle on these bolts. We left my steering unlocked with the keys in the ignition and turned them by hand as needed by simply turning them by hand from the front.

Rotor ready to come off. With the torque member off, the rotor is loose and can be pulled off.

Rotor off.

New EBC Sport Rotor on, installing torque member. As mentioned earlier, the bolts are 21MM, and need to be torqued to 155 foot pounds, per the service manual. We also used blue locktite on these bolts.

Caliper and Greenstuff pads installed on the front. The piston in the caliper will need to be compressed to give it room to slide over the rotor. We used one of the old brake pads and a clamp to slowly compress the piston into the caliper housing. The front pads sit on the torque member is grooves, and the caliper slides over those once the pistons are compressed. Front complete.

On to the rear, there is one small bolt that holds the caliper on and it will swing off. The bolt is 10MM

Rear caliper coming off.

Rear off, here is a good shot of the separate drum parking brake. There is one on each side on the rear axle.

New EBC rear rotor on.

Rear Greenstuff pads going in. The rear pads have a clip that snaps into the caliper around the piston on the inside pad. The outside pad simply snaps in.

Rear completed.

After the initial drive around the neighborhood, the black had worn off, and they look pretty sharp.

Front with wheel.

Rear with wheel.

This is a random shot of Tricky-****'s and GRIM's trucks, very nice fellas!!

On to performance, I have about 60 miles on these today, and so far so good. There is no squeaking or anything, and the pedal feel is greatly improved under normal driving conditions. The initial bite seems stronger, and the everything feels nice and tight. I have not performed hard braking, as EBC recommends a 300 mile break-in period. I do have a slight judder when braking at highway speeds, but I am hoping this will go away as the pads break in. Overall I am happy so far, they seem to be very nice.

I will add to this thread as I rack up some more miles to update the performance aspect and wear of the new brakes!

Thanks for reading!

*bbomar* · 03-10-2007, 07:40 PM

NICE!!! Looks good!!!

Gonpostal · 03-10-2007, 07:45 PM

very nice I need these upgrades for my big tires, I bought traction bars and camburg uca, I shouldve got this instead. but theres always later. By the way it looks good!

jaho1979 · 03-10-2007, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gonpostal

very nice I need these upgrades for my big tires, I bought traction bars and camburg uca, I shouldve got this instead. but theres always later. By the way it looks good!

I don't know, the PRG street bars are the best mod I have done to my truck, hands down, I love those things!!

spoonman · 03-10-2007, 07:56 PM

looks sweet! Any difference in the rotors other than slotted and dimpled? Keep us updated the performance and amount of dust put out.

Yellomantis · 03-10-2007, 08:00 PM

Looks great bro. Be sure and keep us updated on how they perform once broken in...

jaho1979 · 03-10-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spoonman

looks sweet! Any difference in the rotors other than slotted and dimpled? Keep us updated the performance and amount of dust put out.

The rotors are stock size, front and rear. The fronts are vented like stock, and slotted and dimpled. These are not a big brake kit, and use all the stock hardware, mounting locations, and calipers.

Chris93Si · 03-12-2007, 12:19 AM

Shiner Bock!!!

Nice writeup, might go that route when my current pads/rotors wear out.

bestatchess · 03-12-2007, 06:31 AM

Wow, those things really are green!

A few things that it looks like you did, but didn't mention:

1. The red stuff on the back of the pads is CRC Disc Brake Quiet and is a good idea.

2. The rotors are directional and you need to make sure you have them on the correct side of the vehicle.

3. The torque member slides get greased to reduce the chances of the pads hanging up and dragging.

4. To get the new pads on, you need to push the caliper pistons back. This can be done with a piece of wood and a C-clamp, being careful not to overflow the brake fluid reservoir.

5. Be careful not to let the calipers hang by the brake lines. Tie them up with wire or something.

6. Clean rotors with brake cleaner & wipe off before installing to get the packing grease off and prevent fouling of the pads.

7. Most rotors/pads recommend a burnishing procedure involving a series of stops at specified speed followed by a cooling period.

Optionally, if you want the firmest possible pedal, you can use SS brake lines. www.speedbleeder.com allows one person to bleed the brakes. You can also use better brake fluid, but make sure it is compatible with the seals.

Yellomantis · 03-12-2007, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bestatchess

4. To get the new pads on, you need to push the caliper pistons back. This can be done with a piece of wood and a C-clamp, being careful not to overflow the brake fluid reservoir.

On modern ABS equipped vehicles, you want to crack the bleeder screw on the caliper itself when pushing the pistons back into the calipers. If you don't you chance damaing the ABS controller. I had a customer one time ruin his on his Integra. Cost to replace = $1000.

RW1050 · 04-16-2007, 07:48 AM

OK so after all that I was wondering how much better the peddle is? I have much larger tires like you do and I noticed that the truck doesn't stop nearly as good as it did with the smaller tires. I like the idea of not doing a big brake kit and if this is a reasonable option I would deffinitely look at it. Over all How much?

Yellomantis · 04-16-2007, 08:04 AM

Yeah Jaho, got them broken in yet? Any updates?

jaho1979 · 04-16-2007, 08:26 AM

I have been out of town a lot for work lately, so I still have less than 1,000 miles on the setup. They definitely feel good though, and have broken in nicely. There is still some slight vibration when braking at speeds over 60, but it is slowly going away as the miles rack up, so I am pretty sure its the pads seating.

As for performance, they do stop better under normal driving than the stock setup and the pedal is stiffer as well. I have done a couple of really hard stops, and the nose dove a lot more than with the stock setup, so I am certian the performance is better.

I just washed my truck yesterday and cleaned the wheels so I will get a good idea of the brake dust with these. The first few hundred miles produced a lot of dust, due to the pads breaking in.

So far so good though, there is no noticeable noise, and no more squeaking in reverse like the stock brakes.

Onebadasstitan · 05-12-2007, 07:08 PM

how are the new rotors and pads holding up? i am interested since i might need these. I looked at the price and how much did you pay for all? and did you have to bleed the brake lines or do anything with the abs sensors?

bestatchess · 05-12-2007, 08:03 PM

Continuing dust, vibration/judder after 1000 miles is not encouraging (assuming proper burnishing procedure followed immediately after the install). I have never had any of these problems with the Stillen drilled rotors and metal matrix pads.