My Big Brake Install

mbolin5 · 3-22-07, 11:09

I thought I would do a quick writeup of how I installed the Big Brakes on my car. I will mostly highlight the problem areas, or the spots that are critical to watch out for. For the most part, if I didnt picture it, or talk about it, its just a standard detail. If You have any questions about anything though, shoot me a PM!

Fist off, here is what the original combo looked like before I started.

And here is after:

To start out with, make sure you have the centers bored out of your new rotors to 2.875". Fronts and rears both.

Once thats out of the way, you can proceed to bolt up the front brackets. For clarity, on some of these shots I am using an old hub assembly not on the car so we can see everything without obstructions. The front bracket bolts up like this:

Notice in the pic that the bolts are sticking through the bracket. That is BAD. The bottom bolt can do that, but the top one must not, it will hit the caliper bracket, and nothing will align properly. You want it to look like this when finished:

You must use on of your stock brake caliper bolts in this top bracket mounting position. Use one of the new ones supplied to replace it with on the caliper. Due to the shape of the knuckle assembly on top, you do not have room for the head of the new bolt. Also, if you are using washers under the stock bolt to make it flush with the bracket, the washers can not be of a larger diameter than the head of the stock bolt, or it will hit the casting.

I found it best to put the bracket on first, use the stock bolt in the top, new bolt in the bottom, and tighten everything, then use a grinder and grind the bolts flush.

Once they are flush, remove the bracket, and bolt the brake caliper bracket to the new brake bracket. Now install them as an assembly. Install the caliper last and new brake pads last. I like to remove the caliper from the bracket when removing the old system, and just hang it up by the strut perch, to keep it out of your way.

Once its all together, it should look like this:

REAR SET:

The rear set is def the easiest to do. To star with, remove the clips from the brake line, remove the e-brake cable and the e-brake cable bracket from the caliper, and open the 14mm access plug and get your allen wrench to back out the piston.

Once all that is done, bolt on your new bracket like this:

Notice that the mounting hole for the caliper is covered by the splash shield in the lower right.....get out your tin snips and cut a notch till that is opened up.

The procees to install is nearly the same as the front, install the rear caliper bracket to the new bracket first, and then install the caliper itself last. Make sure you adjust your e-brake cable from inside the car. To start with, loosen the cable nearly all the way. Dont forget to adjust the parking brake by turning the allen screw adjustment in till it barely touches the rotor...then adjust your cable inside.

I removed the E-brake bracket to gain some room, and to reposition it some. Nothing on it needs modified. My E-brake functions as good as or better than before.

SO, that is basically the install, in brief.

Some more things to watch out for...clearances....make sure your rotors in the front clear everything. My right hand side was prefect, no issues at all, but the caliper bracket had some casting flash on the left hand side, and it rubbed the rotor, so i had to remove that flashing. My Big Brakes are silent, you can hear no rubbing, no noises any different than stock, and if you take the time to make sure you have clearances everywhere, yours will sound the same!

None of the places that touched were significant, it was only a few thousanths that had to be removed, very quick work for a 1/4" air powered die grinder.

Also, if you want to use a die grinder to open up the bores on your new rotors, its probably acceptabel, I did my fronts that way.

3-22-07, 11:09	#1 (permalink)
mbolin5 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: iTrader: (0)	My Big Brake Install I thought I would do a quick writeup of how I installed the Big Brakes on my car. I will mostly highlight the problem areas, or the spots that are critical to watch out for. For the most part, if I didnt picture it, or talk about it, its just a standard detail. If You have any questions about anything though, shoot me a PM! Fist off, here is what the original combo looked like before I started. And here is after: To start out with, make sure you have the centers bored out of your new rotors to 2.875". Fronts and rears both. Once thats out of the way, you can proceed to bolt up the front brackets. For clarity, on some of these shots I am using an old hub assembly not on the car so we can see everything without obstructions. The front bracket bolts up like this: Notice in the pic that the bolts are sticking through the bracket. That is BAD. The bottom bolt can do that, but the top one must not, it will hit the caliper bracket, and nothing will align properly. You want it to look like this when finished: You must use on of your stock brake caliper bolts in this top bracket mounting position. Use one of the new ones supplied to replace it with on the caliper. Due to the shape of the knuckle assembly on top, you do not have room for the head of the new bolt. Also, if you are using washers under the stock bolt to make it flush with the bracket, the washers can not be of a larger diameter than the head of the stock bolt, or it will hit the casting. I found it best to put the bracket on first, use the stock bolt in the top, new bolt in the bottom, and tighten everything, then use a grinder and grind the bolts flush. Once they are flush, remove the bracket, and bolt the brake caliper bracket to the new brake bracket. Now install them as an assembly. Install the caliper last and new brake pads last. I like to remove the caliper from the bracket when removing the old system, and just hang it up by the strut perch, to keep it out of your way. Once its all together, it should look like this: REAR SET: The rear set is def the easiest to do. To star with, remove the clips from the brake line, remove the e-brake cable and the e-brake cable bracket from the caliper, and open the 14mm access plug and get your allen wrench to back out the piston. Once all that is done, bolt on your new bracket like this: Notice that the mounting hole for the caliper is covered by the splash shield in the lower right.....get out your tin snips and cut a notch till that is opened up. The procees to install is nearly the same as the front, install the rear caliper bracket to the new bracket first, and then install the caliper itself last. Make sure you adjust your e-brake cable from inside the car. To start with, loosen the cable nearly all the way. Dont forget to adjust the parking brake by turning the allen screw adjustment in till it barely touches the rotor...then adjust your cable inside. I removed the E-brake bracket to gain some room, and to reposition it some. Nothing on it needs modified. My E-brake functions as good as or better than before. SO, that is basically the install, in brief. Some more things to watch out for...clearances....make sure your rotors in the front clear everything. My right hand side was prefect, no issues at all, but the caliper bracket had some casting flash on the left hand side, and it rubbed the rotor, so i had to remove that flashing. My Big Brakes are silent, you can hear no rubbing, no noises any different than stock, and if you take the time to make sure you have clearances everywhere, yours will sound the same! None of the places that touched were significant, it was only a few thousanths that had to be removed, very quick work for a 1/4" air powered die grinder. Also, if you want to use a die grinder to open up the bores on your new rotors, its probably acceptabel, I did my fronts that way.
mbolin5 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: iTrader: (0)