Removing front brake rotors easily?

[eben]

I have an 02 C4S with a high speed vibration when braking felt in the pedal and felt on the steering wheel.

I am pretty sure it is one or both front rotors that need trueing up. Is there a way to get the rotors off without opening any brake lines? There is a hard connected tube directly on the caliper. I was wondering if removing the strut end bracket for the flex hose would allow enough movement to slide the caliper off?

I am a bit nervous about removing the bracket because it also holds cables for ABS or PSM? sensors.

Anyone ever done this without having to make a mess with brake fluid??

[bnewport]

Yep

I've changed my rotors. Take off the wheel, take out the pads, unbolt the caliper (2 long bolts), slide caliper off rotor, I supported it then on top of a jack stand in the wheel well, two allen bolts remove the rotor then.

There are torque settings for rebolting the caliper, maybe Loren can provide them.

Shouldn't be any issues with brake fluid unless you drop it or something and it tears.

[LVDell]

Are you sure they are warped? VERY VERY VERY difficult to warp one of the rotors. You probably just have uneven pad material build up. Re-Bed your pads in and you will probably see your vibration vanish.

Stoptech has a tech section on their website that has a good procedure to follow.

[jicko]

Are you sure they are warped? VERY VERY VERY difficult to warp one of the rotors. You probably just have uneven pad material build up. Re-Bed your pads in and you will probably see your vibration vanish.

Stoptech has a tech section on their website that has a good procedure to follow.

Check this out....

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

Also, here is a complete 986(996 VERY similar) brake pads/rotors replacement DIY with massive photos, good stuff!

http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/brakes/

Edited August 19, 2006 by jicko

[eben]

Thanks for the info, I agree the problem is not warped discs. When I spin the rotors with the motor ( car on jacks front wheels removed ), they appear to run true. I am convinced that the problem is a thickness change or run out during the rotation. The Stoptech article gives an explanation of how this might happen. I did do some power stops that came to a complete stop a few months ago to demo the incredible braking to a friend. This is a no no apparently. I probably deposited material then and now it has gotten worse. I will try the garnet paper suggestion and then rebed.

Thanks again for the replies and ideas!!!

[eben]

Update on brake judders....

Tried the garnet paper to rough up the surface and possibly remove any unseen deposits. Didn't help.

While I had the rotors off I did my best to measure the thickness with a digital caliper. It was difficult to get accurate readings but I could definitely tell that the left was worse than the right. Took the left to a local machine shop. The machinest said he took less than 0.002 off each side and that was enough to make it flat. He said that he doubted that this disc was my problem and said I should have brought both in. But I was pleasantly surprised that after installing the left , the problem is gone and I am happy with the brakes again. New caliper bolts on order, using the old ones for now. I am going easy till the surface is worn in.

The only thing I could come up with for why, is perhaps when I put the car away for the winter last year. After a few days I tried to push it a bit in the garage and the brakes were stuck. After I broke them loose I could see a rust mark on the disk where the caliper was. Make that rust spot caused an low spot that just got worse with continued use ??

PS a tip: after spreading the pads to put the caliper back on, always pump the peddal a couple of times before moving. If you don't, you may freak when you feel the floor board when trying to stop at the end of your driveway. duh, I know.

Eric