DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums banner

which rotors do I need for 2002 SE?

2K views 19 replies 4 participants last post by  austinhealey 
#1 ·
hello all,

I need new brake rotors for my 2002 SE (2.7 engine) and there's a bewildering array of choices on a well-known parts site (don't know if I'm allowed to give its name). Examples:

--rear: Raybestos professional grade for "originally equipped with noise dampening iron" (whatever that is);

--front: Raybestos professional grade for "4-wheel ABS "except performance package,"

some rotors are listed as having anti-corrosion coating. some rotors are listed for performance package, others are not. Can the performance rotors be used in a non-performance car, or are they a different size? (I'm taking a wild guess that my car and its weenie engine do NOT have performance brakes.)

finally, some caliper service kits include clips that resemble a flattened "S" -- two for each wheel. (see attached image, if I didn't screw up.) My car doesn't have them. Should they be there? and where do they go?

Also, my needs are standard daily driver -- nothing fancy.

All help appreciated. Thanks.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#2 ·
Do you have steel wheels with wheel covers (Hub Caps) or Alloy wheels?
 
#4 ·
You can use pretty much any of the rotors then. Includes PHP (Performance Handling Package) types. The diameters are all the same and will fit.

PHP rotors have cooling venting that goes out to the outside of the car and steel wheels interfere with that cooling.

Pick a set in your price range and buy them.
 
#5 ·
Those clips are pad retractors - they add a little outward spring force on the pads to reduce drag when brakes are not applied. They are optional. I prefer them because of less brake drag - in theory, should be less heat and wear on pads and rotors, and improved gas mileage. I have seen comments in the past that people who are "performance" drivers notice a little more pedal travel to apply brakes, resulting in slight delay in onset of braking.

They only go on the front brakes - nothing like that on the rears. They permanently deform as pads and rotors wear (they compress/shorten as the pad backing plates move closer together as pads and rotors wear), so if you want to use them, new ones would need to be installed whenever rotors and/or pads are replaced.

From an old post, showing how they go on:
From the thread I linked, here is what it looks like when properly installed. It's daunting enough rolling the caliper and pads in place and have everything end up right, and the clips on both ends add another level of difficulty. Sometimes takes me a couple or 3 tries. Just go slow. Gets better with practice:

 
#6 ·
Thank you Peva and Ronbo for your excellent information. I'm a longtime car guy, but my Intrepid (purchased last year) is my first Mopar product since my first car, a 1969 Dodge Coronet station wagon.

Loved the Coronet. Love the Intrepid. Its predecessor was a 1997 Olds Aurora, which had a sweet, all-aluminum DOHC V-8. But the Intrepid's other mechanicals are superior, despite it being a less expensive car.

P.S. Yes, I'll buy some new end clips for the brakes -- always liked jigsaw puzzles.
 
#7 ·
Another thing to note is you should torque the lug nuts to the proper torque of 100 ft-lbs. Make sure you clean the surfaces on the inside of the wheels and the wheel hub. Wire brush works.

Seems early warping of rotors have been attributed to over torquing.

I've got a pair of generic PHP rotors on my 300m Special now for over 4 years with no issues. Bought them from Advance auto parts for around $25 each. I'm using Ceramic brake pads for low dust. I don't have the "W" clips on the calipers and don't have any squealing or other funky noises.
 
#8 · (Edited)
more brake questions

first, an oddity: when I got ready to remove a front rotor, I discovered metal shims at the base of two of the five wheel lugs. They were thin, O-shaped, and sized so they screwed on to the studs (kinda like a speed nut -- not really formed threads). What would these be for? (To make sure I'm being clear -- the shims were sandwiched between the rotor and the wheel -- not between the wheel and the lug nuts.)

Also on one of my front brakes, the caliper apparently stuck and ground down one of the pads to metal-on-metal contact (ouch!). I am replacing the pads and rotors (on both front wheels), but wondering if I need to replace the caliper. I've put it through a couple cycles, using brake pedal to push the rotor in, then a C-clamp to squeeze it back out. The caliper seems to operate smoothly in both directions, and does not require unusual effort to retract it. The rubber boot also seems to be intact, but the boots for the sliding bolts have holes in them, and I'll be replacing them too.

When I install the new pads/rotors, I'm also going to install the spring thingies referenced earlier in this thread, which should -- in theory -- reduce the likelihood of the caliper sticking.

So: Plan A -- leave the caliper as is, and check fairly soon to see if it's sticking. Plan B -- get a caliper repair kit for around $1.50 (which replaces the piston seal and the boot). Plan C -- get a new/rebuilt caliper.

Recommendations?

By the way, wear on the pads at the rear wheels was normal. I'm replacing the pads, mostly so that I've got the same ceramic material on all four wheels, but leaving the rotors and calipers intact.

Thanks again for all input. Also, point well taken from previous poster re getting rid of rust on all mounting surfaces. I had one wheel that didn't want to come off, and one rotor that put up a really good fight because of corrosion around the hub surface. Tried PB Blaster, heat from a propane torch, slide hammer, and finally succeeded with a bearing puller.
 
#9 ·
first, an oddity: when I got ready to remove a front rotor, I discovered metal shims at the base of two of the five wheel lugs. They were thin, O-shaped, and sized so they screwed on to the studs (kinda like a speed nut -- not really formed threads). What would these be for? (To make sure I'm being clear -- the shims were sandwiched between the rotor and the wheel -- not between the wheel and the lug nuts.)
They put those tinnerman's nuts (for lack of a better name) on at the factory - my guess is to hold the rotor on on the assembly line until the wheels get put on. They probably get rapidly pushed over the threads up against the rotor for production efficiency (rather than spun on like a nut). They get discarded the first time anyone removes the rotor. That means your car is running with the original rotors? Amazing if so. How many miles on your car?

Also on one of my front brakes, the caliper apparently stuck and ground down one of the pads to metal-on-metal contact (ouch!). I am replacing the pads and rotors (on both front wheels), but wondering if I need to replace the caliper. I've put it through a couple cycles, using brake pedal to push the rotor in, then a C-clamp to squeeze it back out. The caliper seems to operate smoothly in both directions, and does not require unusual effort to retract it. The rubber boot also seems to be intact, but the boots for the sliding bolts have holes in them, and I'll be replacing them too.

When I install the new pads/rotors, I'm also going to install the spring thingies referenced earlier in this thread, which should -- in theory -- reduce the likelihood of the caliper sticking.

So: Plan A -- leave the caliper as is, and check fairly soon to see if it's sticking. Plan B -- get a caliper repair kit for around $1.50 (which replaces the piston seal and the boot). Plan C -- get a new/rebuilt caliper.

Recommendations?
At the age of these cars, I would recommend new calipers. You can try to loosen them up, but like I said, at the age these cars are, replace.

You could rebuild and save money, but for the time, trouble, and mess of rebuilding, unless you're really stretched for cash, I'd replace the calipers. I nursed the ones along on both my Concordes for a few years, but they started getting worse again, and exercising them didn't help anymore. Eventually, it's time to replace. Start your new brakes off with a clean slate. NAPA has some good calipers, and no more expensive than the off-brand stuff that Advance sells (at least that was the case when I replaced mine 5 or 6 years ago). I'd get, not their cheapest, but the next step up in price.

By the way, wear on the pads at the rear wheels was normal. I'm replacing the pads, mostly so that I've got the same ceramic material on all four wheels, but leaving the rotors and calipers intact.
Typical. The rear brakes don't see nearly the stress and heat that the fronts do.

Thanks again for all input. Also, point well taken from previous poster re getting rid of rust on all mounting surfaces. I had one wheel that didn't want to come off, and one rotor that put up a really good fight because of corrosion around the hub surface. Tried PB Blaster, heat from a propane torch, slide hammer, and finally succeeded with a bearing puller.
Ron's advice on getting the rust off may have had more to do with not introducing wobble into the rotors. Think about it: A flake of rust between the hub and rotor (on one side and not all around) is going to tilt the rotor, and it will act like a warped rotor. Let's say the flake of rust is 0.008" thick. At the diameter of the hub, the tilt gets multiplied 2 to 3 times at the outer edge of the rotor, so you'll have 0.016 to 0.020" of runout. You'll feel that in your brakes, and it adds additional wear and stress to your brakes and suspension.
 
#11 · (Edited)
You're welcome. It's tedious and frustrating getting those thin nuts off by turning them on the threads - it's not like you can remove them with a socket like with a regular nut. You can save a little time by spinning them away from the rotor a half inch or so (pry away from the rotor with a screwdriver enough to grip and turn with needle nose pliers) and then gripping them with a pair of pliers and twisting hard to break them off of the stud.
 
#12 ·
wear bars and/or retractor clips -- which to use?

My front brakes had wear bars, but not retractor clips (which I now have as part of a hardware kit). Do you choose one or the other, or can you use both?

I also took apart my sticky caliper, and everything looked good -- the caliper, the piston, the piston O-ring and the piston seal (in fact, I re-used the latter after putting a hole in the new seal -- my bad). Cleaned up everything, put back together, and the piston moves in and out with no troubles. So my theory is that something jammed the caliper at some point (stuck rock?), and it stayed that way even when the rock went away.
 
#13 ·
My front brakes had wear bars, but not retractor clips (which I now have as part of a hardware kit). Do you choose one or the other, or can you use both?...
It is only possible to use one or the other at a time. They both provide a renewed surface for the pad ears to rub against as the pads move in and out. The difference is that the retractors also push outward on the pads with a slight spring force. I highly recommend using one or the other because without them, over the life of the car, the pad ears rub indentations where they slide against the knuckle surface, which could eventually interfere with proper movement of the pads.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ronbo
#16 ·
I'm having a ridiculously difficult time getting the mounting bolts for the front caliper lined up with their holes. Pads (and spreaders) appear to be installed correctly (per pix), and the caliper appears to be lined up properly. After a struggle, I managed to get one bolt started, but the other still can't find its hole. The space for the disc between the pads is not super-tight, so there's enough room for wiggling the caliper assembly -- but no luck.

Re the mounting bolts, I wire-brushed them and coated with brake lubricant. Also replaced the rubber sleeves with new, cleaned up the brass liners and lubricated.

Any tips?
 
#17 ·
If you take the pads out...can you get the caliper mounting holes lined up?

What Brand/Model/Part # pads did you buy?
 
#18 · (Edited)
You do have to make sure the slide bushing is pushed (slid in the bushing) towards the engine side of the caliper as the caliper is rotated into place so that the slide bushing clears the knuckle boss that the bolt screws into. Beyond that, the key is in applying pressure on the calipers towards the center of rotation (the axle) to overcome forces that push the pads and calipers away from the axle so the holes line up as you get the screw started in the threads.

And Ron is right - there are some minor issues in some brands of pads that make getting the holes lined up a little more difficult.
 
#20 ·
success -- and a tip of my own.

All of the preceding tips were helpful. Calipers are now mounted.

I wanted to pass along a tip of my own that might help other Mopar newbies. In the attached photo of the right (passenger) front brake, you can see that near the top of the brake pad, the tip of the caliper needs to fit under the lip on the mount. What worked for me (finally) is to hold the top spreader thingy in the correct position on the caliper/pads with my fingers, then insert the whole assembly onto the disc at a fairly sharp angle (bottom of assembly pivoted to right), so that I could slide it under the lip. Then, I inserted and loosely tightened the top retaining bolt, installed the lower spreader on the pads, then pivoted the lower end into position and installed the second bolt. Fairly easy once I figured out the sequence. (By the way, you can't pivot the caliper into place, then try to install the spreaders -- it won't work.)

Also -- last but not least -- even though the calipers appear at first glance to be identical, they're not. On the driver side caliper mount, the lip is at the bottom, so that end needs to be installed first.

I'm going to start a new thread with a question about the bleeding process, but (hopefully) this is my last post on this particular topic. Thanks to all for the useful advice and speedy responses!
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top