Thread: fbody brake upgrade

Working on it for ya.

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Here ya go:


Be sure when you install the caliper mounting bolts you use Loctite on them and be sure to torque them correctly and drive worry free. I even reused my old OEM caliper bolts with NO Loctite and never ever had them loosen up on me, and I have had my calipers on and off many different times since the original installment.

TOO, waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many people have used the shim/sleeve method and had their caliper bolts come loose, or completely out. 3 locals here have had this happen, and the caliper gets chewed up, as well as the rim every time. I am so strongly against using the shim/sleeve method. Its just not a safe proven method.

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When I replaced my front rotors I also used the factory bolts and didn't add loctite. I recently checked the torque on them and they're still just right. I think the bolts still retain some factory loctite so they don't back out.

Drill bit and tap ran me $18.28 and I only use them for this mod. They have their own little special case in my tool box.

Add in a drill press and a drill vice and its cake to drill and tap them.

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Just some advice from personal experience I am sharing.

We were on our way to the Branson Meet, waaaaaay out in Eastern Kansas where there was nothing but high way, and one of the guys in our group needed to pull over cause something didn't sound right and feel right. Right front caliper was grinding on his rim. As usual the top bolt fell out and hen he hit his brake the caliper pivoted on the bottom bolt, and the rim stopped the caliper form going any further as he was driving, and as he stopped. Chewed the caliper up pretty good, as well as his rim.

LUCKY, the bolt did not fall out all the way, it was bent, and barely holding on, so we were able to get it back in there on the side of the road to get him going again, and he later fixed it when we got to Branson. It would of really-really sucked if he had lost the bolt completely.

Food for thought....

Every caliper kit I redo and resell has this already done to it when it leaves my hands.

The only reason why I think people feel the need to do the shim/sleeve mod is so after they remove the calipers for what ever reason (demod?) they can still be used on a F-body car.

Brakes are pretty important...you kinda need them, epically the front ones...I don't think its worth the risk to use the shim/sleeve mod with these as it allows too much play in the caliper bracket, and the more you use your brakes, the more play it gets till one or both of the bolts loosen up and thats all she wrote. Even had one local use RED non-removable loctite and grade 8 bolts and hes a pretty strong guy and he torqued them down hard, and know what...short time later, one of his fell out and trashed his nicely powder coated caliper. But he caught it in time, so the damage was not too bad.

I think ZZP is just trying to make a buck and not really thinking this one through. But I'll let them open that can of worms, cause they will just tell the customers who loose a caliper bolt, "they must of not got them tight enough, sorry".

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Hey this is kinda off topic of I've got a grinding noise when i turn my wheel completely left or right. I do have the f-body upgrade and longer ZZP SS lines. I don't have the pad retainers in yet could that be the problem or i read somewhere a shield that could be rubbing can't remember if that delt with the F-body front or GXP front?

Grinding noise like metal on metal ... or is it lighter than that where its just a light sound of something rubbing?

Hard telling.

The brake pad retainers should always be used regardless. They are there to keep pad chatter down, and allow them to move freely in the caliper as they wear. They should be replaced at each brake job regardless. Its almost impossible to NOT use them on the F-Body calipers...they are very much needed indeed.

The shield is actually behind the wheel hub, and the wheel speed sensor hooks to it. It can get bent, and could be rubbing on something, such as the rotor. Something to look into regardless...grinding brakes, or stuff grinding when you turn is never a good sign to let it keep doing that.

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It actually kinda sounds like my pads are catching on the slots in my rotors. Only reason i know that sound is cuz i forgot to loctite the bolts when i did the sleeve method. I lucked out and had the front bolt come loose so no damage was done. Ok thanks for the info and that was kinda what i was leaning on too.

Id have to say one per side. Thats what I got too and Im not sure how a second pad retainer per side, could fit

There should be two pad guides on each end of the pads in the calipers that the pad ends slide on. There is one "retainer" so to say, on the very top middle that keeps the pads from chattering. All install from the inside of the caliper body. Those are the only clips, guides, retainers on the f-body calipers.

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