Big Brakes on a not-so-big Budget? YEP

Nothing in a braking system is the truest of true. With that said I would personally drive it until I could tell it was changing sound as in going away or just the slightest bit worse. It would be easier to find it if it worsens.

It may just need to all be broken in more.


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The pads not reaching the bottom part of the rotor surface is normal I think. My setup has the same wear pattern and I’ve noticed it on others as well.
 
i dis agree . the pads not only on this set up , but on all vehicles grab the entire rotor . check your rear rotor for reference . by the way , in your opinion does your vehicle stop any quicker ?
 
Long story short, it was the caliper bracket.

Now for the long story. I got the red a$$ and ordered a new caliper / bracket and hub assembly, which along with the new rotor and pads would just about rule everything else out, beyond a bent spindle (as nothing was contacting the wheel or wheel weights). The hub assembly arrived on my doorstep first. The existing hub was true (I checked the runout and there was no play, but it didn't have the lubed spring in its step that it should. I installed it along with everything else, and there was no change. After taking the caliper / bracket off in anticipation of the new one arriving, I noticed a very odd wear pattern on the lower portion of the brake pad. I don't have pictures handy but it was the outside of the bottom of both inside and outside pads. I checked the previous set of pads and noticed a similar but faint impression...makes sense as I only drove those a few miles vs. these were driven more.

Once the new caliper / bracket arrived I compared the brackets and noticed they were not exactly the same...we're talking 1/16" here, 1/32" there, but not quite the same. No part numbers on them but not quite the same. I installed the new bracket along with the existing caliper (both out of curiosity and laziness). The caliper now contacted the wheel weights. So the caliper was moved outboard, which I'm assuming corrected the alignment issue between the pistons and the pads. I sc***** the wheel weights off, bolted everything together, and there's been no noise since. I'll be returning the new caliper and old bracket to Autozone. I've probably done several hundred brake jobs in the past but this one was the most frustrating. I'll need to get the wheel re-balanced shortly, and may grind the fins on the caliper down first. I had that thought once I saw it contacting the wheel weights but I couldn't help myself...needed to see if that was the fix.

So as previously mentioned this wasn't meant to question the swap nor did I want to encourage anybody to. The pedal feel is great, the car stops on a dime, and ^(@&#(&@#$ it just looks cooler.
 
marauderrocks51 said:
is the clip under the chevrolet caliber installed correctly ? it fits both ways . and if its wrong it makes noise . happened to me .
Click to expand...

The third / top clip was not included with either the new calipers or the two new pad sets. I did buy a C5 hardware kit while at the parts store so I have two. I do need to take everything apart ONE MORE TIME to put loctite on the caliper bolts. When I do that I'll install those. Since I addressed the other issues described above, I haven't noticed any noise though I've only driven the car about five miles of light city driving.
 
MercLSU said:
Long story short, it was the caliper bracket.

Now for the long story. I got the red a$$ and ordered a new caliper / bracket and hub assembly, which along with the new rotor and pads would just about rule everything else out, beyond a bent spindle (as nothing was contacting the wheel or wheel weights). The hub assembly arrived on my doorstep first. The existing hub was true (I checked the runout and there was no play, but it didn't have the lubed spring in its step that it should. I installed it along with everything else, and there was no change. After taking the caliper / bracket off in anticipation of the new one arriving, I noticed a very odd wear pattern on the lower portion of the brake pad. I don't have pictures handy but it was the outside of the bottom of both inside and outside pads. I checked the previous set of pads and noticed a similar but faint impression...makes sense as I only drove those a few miles vs. these were driven more.

Once the new caliper / bracket arrived I compared the brackets and noticed they were not exactly the same...we're talking 1/16" here, 1/32" there, but not quite the same. No part numbers on them but not quite the same. I installed the new bracket along with the existing caliper (both out of curiosity and laziness). The caliper now contacted the wheel weights. So the caliper was moved outboard, which I'm assuming corrected the alignment issue between the pistons and the pads. I sc***** the wheel weights off, bolted everything together, and there's been no noise since. I'll be returning the new caliper and old bracket to Autozone. I've probably done several hundred brake jobs in the past but this one was the most frustrating. I'll need to get the wheel re-balanced shortly, and may grind the fins on the caliper down first. I had that thought once I saw it contacting the wheel weights but I couldn't help myself...needed to see if that was the fix.

So as previously mentioned this wasn't meant to question the swap nor did I want to encourage anybody to. The pedal feel is great, the car stops on a dime, and ^(@&#(&@#$ it just looks cooler.
Click to expand...

Glad you got it figured out!
 
C4 or C5 calipers?

MercLSU said:
The third / top clip was not included with either the new calipers or the two new pad sets. I did buy a C5 hardware kit while at the parts store so I have two. I do need to take everything apart ONE MORE TIME to put loctite on the caliper bolts. When I do that I'll install those. Since I addressed the other issues described above, I haven't noticed any noise though I've only driven the car about five miles of light city driving.
Click to expand...

When I link to the Napa calipers on the kit list, it shows them to be a C4 Corvette, 97-2004. Is that wrong? You said you used C5 calipers.

I was literally just ordering the calipers, I have all the other pieces.
 
Taemian said:
When I link to the Napa calipers on the kit list, it shows them to be a C4 Corvette, 97-2004. Is that wrong? You said you used C5 calipers.

I was literally just ordering the calipers, I have all the other pieces.
Click to expand...

97-04 is C5


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EDIT: SOLD --- I bought the parts and got them installed but used different brake lines, if someone is doing this installation and wants the TCE brake lines, i'll make you a deal.
 
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