Brake Rotors
And then don't take advantage of the free downlaod FSM, or other advice and suggestions offered.......
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 87,397
Likes: 4,213
From: Clayton MI
Not in my opinion. The holes just give a nice spot for cracks to start forming, and reduce the amount of material that can transfer heat. For normal use, the stock rotors are fine. If you want an upgrade, consider going to the LD 3/4 ton front calipers, and pads. Direct bolt on for the older trucks, and a nice bump in brake effectiveness. Cheap too.....
OK so I finally got around to changing the rotors, brake pads, and calipers. I found out how to do this all from the free FSM, but ill explain it anyway so I can end this thread with a solution
Follow these steps
1. Take lug nuts off and remove tire( of course jack the truck up first)
2. Remove the grease hub and you will see a coder pin remove that. Bend the tail down straight and pull up from the top with a pair of pliers. Next will be a nut in there and you remove that. The rotor should pull right out. Replace the seal on the back of the rotor they are only like 2 bucks. Make sure you have some grease and don't be afraid to use it.
Goes on same way it came off with the new rotors. Make sure the rear seal is properly installed.
3. Now to remove the calipers, Place the top of a large C-clamp over the inboard caliper housing and the bottom of the clamp onto the outboard pad and tighten the clamp. A properly functioning caliper will allow you to tighten the C-clamp and compress the caliper piston
3. There are two caliper bolt pins and they are a 3/8 sized hex on the back side one on top on on the bottom. Remove the both and away comes the caliper. DO NOT hang the caliper buy the brake line as it might damage the line. I use a little bungee to hold it up instead. Remove bolt that holds the line to the caliper and put something under the truck for the brake fluid to drain into.
4. Brake pads simply clip into the calipers. Just bolt the brake line back onto the caliper make sure you have your washers in place or it will leak (new calipers come with new washers)
5. Make sure you bleed the brake to make sure there is no air in the brake lines.
Brake Pads ($45) Calipers were $50 a set but had a core charge of $50, Rotors were $50 a piece... I bought these all at a Mom and Pop shop. I know I could have gotten them cheaper, but I support local business. **** Rock Auto's cheap *** parts and pay for shipping wait a week to get them. That's just my opinion, and I hope my directions work out for the next person attempting this job. BTW Belle Tire wanted to charge me $1000 to do this job and it costs me $250 to do it myself
Follow these steps1. Take lug nuts off and remove tire( of course jack the truck up first)
2. Remove the grease hub and you will see a coder pin remove that. Bend the tail down straight and pull up from the top with a pair of pliers. Next will be a nut in there and you remove that. The rotor should pull right out. Replace the seal on the back of the rotor they are only like 2 bucks. Make sure you have some grease and don't be afraid to use it.
Goes on same way it came off with the new rotors. Make sure the rear seal is properly installed.
3. Now to remove the calipers, Place the top of a large C-clamp over the inboard caliper housing and the bottom of the clamp onto the outboard pad and tighten the clamp. A properly functioning caliper will allow you to tighten the C-clamp and compress the caliper piston
3. There are two caliper bolt pins and they are a 3/8 sized hex on the back side one on top on on the bottom. Remove the both and away comes the caliper. DO NOT hang the caliper buy the brake line as it might damage the line. I use a little bungee to hold it up instead. Remove bolt that holds the line to the caliper and put something under the truck for the brake fluid to drain into.
4. Brake pads simply clip into the calipers. Just bolt the brake line back onto the caliper make sure you have your washers in place or it will leak (new calipers come with new washers)
5. Make sure you bleed the brake to make sure there is no air in the brake lines.
Brake Pads ($45) Calipers were $50 a set but had a core charge of $50, Rotors were $50 a piece... I bought these all at a Mom and Pop shop. I know I could have gotten them cheaper, but I support local business. **** Rock Auto's cheap *** parts and pay for shipping wait a week to get them. That's just my opinion, and I hope my directions work out for the next person attempting this job. BTW Belle Tire wanted to charge me $1000 to do this job and it costs me $250 to do it myself
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 18,729
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From: NH
You should remove the MC cap or open the bleeder screws before using the c clamp. And you left out cleaning and lubing all sliding surfaces including the slide pins. Not to mention re packing the bearings while it's apart. And the order is wrong, you have to remove the caliper before removing the rotor. 
Last edited by zman17; Mar 28, 2012 at 05:09 PM.
I have a semi regular flow of friends that come to me for brake help on many vehicles. If the friction material all looks nice & it does not pull to 1 side when braking, then just flush all the old brake fluid & then bleed all new fluid through. It takes about 1.5 quarts in my ram 1500. Remember, brake fluid is HYGROSCOPIC, that means it sucks moisture from the air and turns it brown. Remember that the brown in the brake fluid is liquid rust, meaning the hard steel brake lines can & often do rust from the inside out if this is not done every 1-2 years. Water can be compressed whereas brake fluid can not. I have done a fluid flush only for people & they swear I put tons of new parts in because it works so much better from just doing that. The only real demon to watch out for in this, is bleeder screws that may be rusted in place & can snap off. Spry them with penetrating lube a few times then let it soak in for a while, then go gentle at first when you undo them. Flushing out all the old fluid costs less than $20 total & the only help you need is someone to pump the brake pedal for you. Cheap & easy - like my ex. HAHA!