NCV3 Replace Front Brakes

[piper1]

I looked at the packing slip that was in the box, it said they were premium metallic but it said they were no charge.

I remember talking to them on the phone about pads...I think there might have been a sale or something, can't quite remember. I usually happily spring for premium stuff when it comes to brakes.

I ordered rears the other day and I spent the extra bucks for the premium pads.

 

[shanemac]

I just wanted to add to pipers thread...i decided to get my front brake parts from my local dodge i had them shipped up the next day from Red Deer Alberta.

Front rotors 68006716AA

Front and rear brake sensors

Rear is 68013762AA has a red seal
Front is 68006722AA has a green seal

Front brake pad kit 68055461AA set of 4 pads ,4 rattle clips, 4 bolts, 4 rubber caps, 1 tube lube

20.86 MM

 

[piper1]

Very nice to see the factory pad kit has the small caliper bolts and the lube. It would be perfect if it came with caliper boots. Good thought to measure the pad thickness when new..wish I had done that.

Thanks Shane!

 

[shanemac]

No problem...i was surprised to see the extra goodies in the brake pad box, parts guy never gave me the impression i would get more than just pads. I plan on tackling the job this weekend...will see.

 

[unimog]

Changed the front brakes this weekend. Hardest part was getting the wheels off since the aluminum rims had frozen to the hub but finally managed to get them off. The brake job was easy and straight forward. The pads were down to a 1/8 of an inch and the rotors had a huge ridge and very worn. Was surprised at 52,000 miles it would be this worn but seems like that is normal from what I can tell.

Now how do we turn off the brake repair warning alarm. Do I have to go to the dealer to reset or is there a way to do it yourself?

 

[talkinghorse43]

Was surprised at 52,000 miles it would be this worn but seems like that is normal from what I can tell.

Could be normal for you, but for the T1Ns (should be for NCV3s too), brake life depends greatly on whether it's driven mostly in the city or mostly on the highway and also greatly on your driving habits. Some have achieved over 200k on one set. I'm due for my second set soon.

 

[unimog]

Thanks, my driving is mostly local backroads trips at moderate speeds and braking lightly. I am sure if it was mostly highways they would last longer

 

[shanemac]

With me its mainly city driving with a number of hills...i'am light footed with applying brakes and my rotors are toast but my pads have some life in them. maybe i should start going heavy on my brakes maybe it would kill the pads before rotors

 

[indyz12]

Getting the rotor's off on the front is the hardest part.
I had to hit the rotor with a 5kg hammer for a good half hour to get them off on mine! Good idea to copper grease the hub edges to prevent future problems......

Mine lasted about 50k miles, mainly highway driving with full and over full payload!

 

[Bob of QF]

Thanks all, for the info, and especially thanks to piper1 for the OP and subsequent step-by-step.

Whereas I've replaced probabily 20 sets of disc brake pads over the years, it's always good to have some info from someone who's actually done the specific vehicle you're (about to be) working on.

I'm also gratified that MB did not do a weird-one on these-- they look like nearly every other front disc brake assembly I've done in the past, and they went with a standard slider-bolt head (metric hex) instead of that b**tard spline head GM did a while back--took a special tool, which was only good for that one application only. I hate having to buy special tools that do one and one-only, on something I'll do maybe twice (GM's don't last long enough for more ... <snerk> )

But looking at the sequence a second time, it appears that standard mechanic's tools will do the job, front-to-back.

Hopefully, this will be fairly quick-- plan on just replacing the front pads (both sides) at this juncture, as the rotors are not that bad, but the pads are close enough to bother me some. And I just realized, I need to check the specs for what type of brake fluid this thing takes-- liable to be something other than the sealed DOT3 I have left from my last brake pad replacement (yeah, I know-- you don't keep old brake fluid once it's been opened-- it loves to absorb water, but I have a factory-sealed can leftover.... probabily not good enough, is it? <heh> )

Do they even make DOT5? (he asks rhetorically... )



Anyway, I just realized I need some high-temp grease for the slider pins-- like piper1, I always re-grease the pins to help avoid that nasty condition known as "stuck caliper".... had a story about one GM sedan and a really weird steering problem.... but that's for another time.

 

[Bob of QF]

Getting the rotor's off on the front is the hardest part.
I had to hit the rotor with a 5kg hammer for a good half hour to get them off on mine! Good idea to copper grease the hub edges to prevent future problems......

Mine lasted about 50k miles, mainly highway driving with full and over full payload!

Dumb question.... what's "copper grease"? Is that an anti-seize compound, or are we just talking about ultra-high temp (so-called "brake rotor" grease) here?

 

[comet429]

I'm thinking about doing my front brakes on my '07.........Is their a way to pack the front bearing's,while I'm in there?

 

[piper1]

Front hubs are sealed and pre-set.......no service can be done (and no serviceable components inside anyways)

 

[SRT]

Front hubs are sealed and pre-set.......no service can be done (and no serviceable components inside anyways)

Another reason I hate my NCV3s. T1N front wheel bearings are easily serviced and/or replaced.

DITTO on having new caliper bolts and sliders on hand. The sliders are usually corroded, and they need to be perfectly smooth. If the bolts don't break, the ends will surely strip out to the point where you don't want to reinstall them. Always install new hardware, with anti-seize compound smeared generously on the caliper slides and the bolt threads.

Very helpful thread for the first-timers! Good job!

Gotta go now. I need to put brakes on one of my NCV3 3500s, and I'll be half the day just breaking those stupid two-piece (integral washer) lug nuts loose. Hope the rust-buster spray did its work last night... matter of fact... might be a good idea to have an extra set of shiny new lug nuts as well, at every brake service interval...

 

[SRT]

Dumb question.... what's "copper grease"? Is that an anti-seize compound, or are we just talking about ultra-high temp (so-called "brake rotor" grease) here?

Good anti-seize compound works fine - I use the silver stuff. Don't know what's in it.

 

[danski0224]

DITTO on having new caliper bolts and sliders on hand. The sliders are usually corroded, and they need to be perfectly smooth. If the bolts don't break, the ends will surely strip out to the point where you don't want to reinstall them. Always install new hardware, with anti-seize compound smeared generously on the caliper slides and the bolt threads.

I did the brakes on my 2008 2500 with 41k miles.

There were no issues with the OE bolts and rubber pieces that hold the caliper to the carrier.

If you buy the pads from the dealer, they come with new stainless pad clips and new caliper to carrier bolts. The rear pads come with sensors, front sensors are extra. The front pad kit also comes with caliper slide grease and new rubber covers for the bolts.

The rears sucked. One of the star wheel adjusters was locked up and the rotor would not come off (internal drum brakes for the parking brake). I got it to move.

I suspect the next brake job will be more involved. I will most likely need all new parking brake hardware.

I do not know how well the rubber pieces that seal the caliper slides will hold up.

Loaded calipers may be the cheaper route... but then I have to deal with bleeding the brakes.

 

[BrakePerformance]

It's always a good idea to use a liberal amount of anti-seize on the rotor securing nut to make changing the rotors next time around a little less of a headache. If the bolt head is on it's last leg, replace it with a new one as it will be a nightmare the next maintenance round ahead if you don't.

Also, a light-hand tight is all that's needed for that little bolt. It's purpose isn't to hold the rotor on, that's what the wheel lug nuts do.

As some mentioned it's also helpful to smear a liberal amount of anti-seize to the rotors hub where it contact the vehicles front hub assembly. A tip to removing your stock rotor if it's seized in place is to use a dead blow hammer and hit the edge of the rotor in a rotation that creates shimmy (so hit it at 3 o clock, 9 o clock, 12 o clock, 6 o clock). The point is to create a slight amount of shimmy and then you can work off that.

I also want to thank Piper for the review and how to. If anyone has any questions about our rotors or brake components, I'll be glad to help. We are releasing a new e-coating that will work great against rust making swaps down the road easier and less troublesome. Lastly, feel free to use this specific forum discount code "SPRINT33" when ordering to save a few more bucks.


Michael

 

[vitola231]

Thanks for taking the time to take pictures and post piper, very helpful. How are the rotors feeling?

 

[gary 32]

Thanks Piper.

No surprises when I did mine (thanks to your thread) @ 40k but I only did the pads because the calipers were still straight and well within spec..

One suggestion, open the bleeder screw on each caliper with a bleeder bottle attached and then force open the caliper, close it after fully retracted and remove the bottle.

#1 it will be easier to compress fully.
#2 the heat cycled brake fluid will not be forced back into the braking system and contaminate the rest of the fluid

Don't forget to refill the brake fluid reservoir with clean dot 4.

 

[gary 32]

Thanks Piper.
No surprises when I did mine (thanks to your thread) @ 40k but I only did the pads because the calipers were still straight and well within spec..

Well, lets proof read before posting. The rotors were straight not sure about the calipers.

One more, after talking it over with Plummer turns out I am not the only super cheap member who switches inside pad with outside before installing new pads. The inside pad is usually about 1/8" thicker than the outside pad....