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Replacing Rotors WD21 1992 Pathfinder SE 4X4 Manual?


92SEPathFindr
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What's good NPORA friends?  Aside from A LOT else that happened last year, I was in a fender bender (not my fault) which resulted in my Pathfinder being deemed a "Salvage" vehicle status.  All headaches aside, the DMV requires a Brake & Lamp CERTIFIED ($$$) INSPECTION ($$$).  According to the certified shop this means NO cracks (even hairline and airtight) in the light lenses and all lights functional as should be.  ANY CRACK in a lense will fail the inspection.  All my lights function and the bulbs are the correct original colors yet I have purchased all new lenses now because they all had fine cracking after almost 30 years on the roads.  So that takes care of the Lamp Part, then ....there is the Brake inspection.  No, it's not just do the brakes work, function, and stop the vehicle but the tolerances MUST be within specifications of the pads and rotors.  My model pathfinder has front and rear disk and rotor brakes.  I figure Okay, let's get ALL the brakes in order to make the best of the needed work.  I'll get new rotors and pads front and back since I haven't done any brake work/maintenance since I bought the Nissan & they are in need of the work ...and I can hear GRINDING now.  My local shop said the FRONT ROTORS on my Nissan ARE VERY DIFFICULT and require about $350 in labor!?  Apparently this has to do with the 4X4 front end? 

 

What's the deal, how hard is the Front ROTOR and pad replacing?  How hard are the rear Rotors and pads replacing?  How difficult is proper bleeding of all four corners?  I'm one guy in my small driveway and the HOA (home owners association) doesn't allow much time for vehicle work in the driveway...  Should I do the rears myself because they are actually rather SIMPLE and ask the shop to do the fronts.  The shop is saying the front brakes (pads and rotors and labor) is $400 and the rear is $250 more (parts and labor total job $650).  Or should I do the job myself?  What are your seasoned opinions, advice?  Thanks again for any help.  Aaron 

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/xofME4v<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/xofME4v"  ><a href="//imgur.com/a/xofME4v">Pre Brake &amp; Lamp Inspection WD21 Nissan</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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Edited by 92SEPathFindr
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Sucks about the title and the hoops! The front brakes are harder than they should be, but not, like, Jaguar-inboard-brakes difficult. They're captive rotors, meaning you have to take the wheel hub off to get to them. They're bolted to the back of the hub. Good time to repack your wheel bearings and do the seals. The rears are conventional and should pull right off, unless they're rusted to the hubs, in which case they'll fight you and you'll need some heating and beating to get them off. They're disks and drums in one, drums for the parking brake, which you might need to back off to free it up if the drum is worn. The parking brake drums aren't self-adjusting, so you'll have to do that manually afterwards. I bought a new set of shoes for mine but discovered that the originals were still in good shape, just not adjusted anywhere near right.

 

If you're just bleeding the brakes to flush the fluid, it's not that hard, provided the bleeders aren't stuck. Gravity bleeding is pretty easy (just keep an eye on the res!) and if you use a clear tube on the bleeder, you can see when you've got fresh fluid coming out. Do not get air in the system or you may have a fight on your hands getting it back out. I got air in the rear circuit on mine and it turned into an ordeal that made me want to burn it and buy a horse.

I have more time than money and a shop to work in, so I'd DIY it. If it's cheaper to have it done than to get fined by your nosy neighbors because hell is a place we pay to live in, have the shop do it.

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They're not hard, you'll need a G clamp or some large multigrips to push the pistons back in the calipers.

Definitely repack your bearings and do your hub seals while you're in there.
A good mechanic with a shop and hoist could do the whole shebang in a couple of hours.

Download a FSM and find a mate that will give you the use of their driveway for an afternoon. 

 

Also, if your mechanic finds this task "very difficult", I'd be looking for another mechanic that knows what on earth they are doing. 
 

Edited by FirstGenFreak
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Find a new mechanic for the brakes or do it yourself. They are just like any 4x4 of the era where the rotors are bolted to the bearing hubs. I can do both sides in about 1.5 hours and that's working slow. You'll need to repack the bearings ( well you don't HAVE to but should) so that would take some additional time and a new grease seal for the inner bearing.

 

The rears are dead simple and just like any other car, rotor slides off after removing the caliper. I change the discs every time I do the rear pads because they are cheap. For some reason I seem to go through 2 rear sets for every front set.

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