targa996

I just did my front brakes following the video - a few notes

- Rotor screws came out easy - 2 per rotor - I only ordered 2 new ones for some reason - but the old ones still looked fine anyway
- Whoever put the spring clip in the retaining pin rotated it so it was inside the caliper body - needed to fiddle with a screwdriver to get it out

- Pad sensors had not triggered yet -I reused the old ones. Need to be careful to remove the wires from the spring clip and easier to slide the ends of the sensor out from the pad after removing it.

- Getting old pads out took a while - I used the pliers to push the pads back against the caliper body and protected the paint with a piece of cardboard as suggested - either way the pads did not come out easy.

- The vibration shims remained stuck in the caliper - I did not try to remove them - just put the new pads back in. There wasn't any adhesive on the back of old pads - but I put some anti-squeel paste on back of new ones (not sure that is strictly necessary with the shims there - but probably can't hurt ?)

- One caliper piston was stuck - needed a lot of force on the pry bar to move it back - I probably should have sprayed brake cleaner there and tried to push it back before I put the new rotors on - but everything seems to be fine now.

- I'd had fluid flushed last year - so reservoir was almost fill - I did not overflow doing the fronts - but will probably have to siphon off some fluid before I do the rears ...

- Took me about 3 hours total - 1.5hrs for the first side - and less than 1 hr for the other side (since I already knew what to do at that point !)

- Used Sebro rotors from Pelican and Textar pads - the old pads came off were brembos - but marked with the same textar part number ... I think good discount from OEM versions (at least at Pelican) and quality should be similar.

DK570

Why do the caliper blots need to be replaced? I'ts not like they are torqued to yield. Of course Porsche uses M12x1.5 which is not a very easy size to find.

frisbee91

When properly torqued, the bolts are stretched. These stretched bolts undergo cyclical loading during repeated braking which can lead to fatigue.

The primary reason is a cost vs. risk calculation. These bolts are part of a CRITICAL safety system, and the cost is very low. Just replace them.

DK570

I thought of these things you've mentioned, but here are my thoughts

1. 68 lbft should not cause yield on a M12. If you've ever torqued something sizeable to yield, you know it takes a fair bit of effort.

2. If the system is designed right, the fatigue life should be infinite. The cyclical loading needs to be under 1/2 the UTS.

3. No doubt brakes are a critical vehicle component.

4. Here is my issue, they are not actually cheap! Pelican charges $6 a bolt. That's $48 for a set! Normally, I'd get non Genuine Porsche fasteners, but M12x1.5 is not easy to find. I can deal with paying $250-$300 for a waterpump because there are not a lot of options, and that's what the price is. However, it is ridiculous to pay $6 for a bolt where they easily could have used one that cost $1-$2.

5. Maybe if there are exposed threads, corrosion maybe an issue. That's really the only reason I can think of right now.

frisbee91

You may be right regarding fatigue life and the risk of failure. I still contend that even $50 as part of a DIY brake job is small change. However, I paid $2.60 per bolt from Sunset when I did the job about 15 months ago, for a total of $21.
I'll skimp in some areas, but not on safety systems. YMMV.

Akshun

does this rule apply to all driving conditions , such as spirited and normal street use, or is it a "worst case scenario" like high speed track use, where the brakes are really put to the test.
I work in the auto industry and im not aware of any other manufacturer that recommends the replacement of the caliper bolts, atleast for the mainstream companies like honda,toyota,gm, etc...

Personally, i would be more concerned with a wheel lug snapping, we dont replace those bolts everytime we take a wheel off the car to inspect or do maintenance, and this is far more frequent than removing the brake calipers.
Also , ive yet to read about anyone or hear about any Pcar going off the road or crashing as a result of a caliper bolt breaking/snapping, then totally popping out of the system so the operator was unable to stop the vehicle.

white out

On my blog for Lamborghini repairs, I have a write up for a quick pad replacement. The early Murci (used for blog) has the same Brembo GT brakes as Porsche's with 4 piston brakes.
http://lambodiy.blogspot.com/p/brake-pads.html

DK570

Yes, I'm quoting myself. I stumbled upon the reasoning for replacing the bolts, and why they are so expensive. It's discussed in this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...per-bolts.html Corrosion is the reason, this makes sense given you are putting a steel bolt into an aluminum upright.

frisbee91

Great follow up! Thanks for the info. Now just get your new OEM bolts from somewhere cheaper than Pelican.

Cloudspin

Van,
Thank you for the great video and to everyone else for the additional tips. I'm about to do my first brake job on the 997.2 S I bought in December 2012. I have experience doing them on my 996 but it didn't have the brake pad sensors. I will be regularly swapping OEM pads for PF 08 track pads and back again. I'm pretty sure the PF pads don't have slots for the pad sensors. I don't want to remove the sensors (in case of resale) or have a constant brake alert on the display. I don't feel I need the sensors as I visually inspect them regularly.

Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the sensors on the car but not on the caliper / rotor and secure them somehow so they don't get in the way or get damaged?

Thanks in advance.

Sneaky Pete

I use plastic zip ties. Attach them to a suspension component...there plenty of areas to tie off too.

Cloudspin

Thanks Pete.

TrackDays247.com

Great great advice here - once you've done it the first time, you will never forget. Suiper easy after time #1 :-)

Jack667

Great DIY video! I just did my first solo brake job - including new rotors and pads! I have a C2S and it had OEM and original brake stuff. I bought the car CPO 3 years ago and the dealer informed me that the original pads and rotors were still fine, at only 12k miles after 4 years from original owner. I've driven is almost 36k miles in 3 years, so we're at 7 years old and 47k miles on original pads and rotors. The pads had plenty of meat, but cracking. The front rotors had a pretty good lip on the inner and outer edges, but I didn't measure the thickness. The backs were very similar - just not as bad. I replaced it all with "OEM" Zimmerman and Textar.
I can't say enough how pleased and proud I am of the DIY success, and how grateful I am for the video.
Thanks!!!

Gator996

Another shout out to Van for the tutorial. Did all four corners a few weeks ago with no probs. And, a shout out for his graphics work as well. I just received my new track numbers and visor decal. Great job Van!