R33 GTR Brake Rebuild Information

[itsforandres]

hello! i have been looking for information on how to rebuild the brakes on a 1995 r33 gtr.  i would like to rebuild them myself, but i am having a heck of a time finding anything other than replacement seals.  i am looking for replacement/ upgraded pistons, torque specs, the gasket that goes between the caliper halves, if any.  i have searched for any kind of documentation on this, but i don't seem to find anything other than engine manuals.  on the bremboparts.com site, they only offer replacement pads. no pins, shims, or anything else.

 

does anyone have, or know of, a walkthrough of how to rebuild the calipers?

does anyone know of a place to order replacement parts? as these are brembos that were widely used, i really thought all this stuff would be more readily available.

[Shoota_77]

There may be slight variations to these but should be enough info in here to get you going-

Very easy to find seal kits.  That’s all you need.  Just reco any pins and bolts.  Torque settings - tight!  I’d imagine the bolts hooding the two halves are around the 30-35 Nm mark.

[joshuaho96]

R34 factory service manual or the 350Z factory service manual contains all the torque specs for the caliper. Front caliper mounting bolts are 110 ft-lbs, rear caliper to the upright is a much wider range but they say to target about 40-50 ft-lbs. It's ballpark because you can't get a socket on the back, torque adapters exist but it's going to be an interesting problem to fit an adapter + torque wrench in there. Personally I just tapped the rear bolt with a dead blow lightly until it seemed like it was tight, but not stretching the bolt. I'm a weakling so it's pretty hard for me to stretch/break bolts unless the torque spec is in the sub 3 kg-m region. I could barely even get the front caliper bolts to 100 ft-lbs before I called it a day.

[itsforandres]

@Shoota_77 yeah, i had watched that video.  it's really well made, save for him not really giving any details (part numbers, torque specs, etc.).  since he changed out the pistons, i thought it might be a good idea to do the same, but like i said: i have no idea how to order replacement pistons for these calipers.  i have the seals ready to go, just was wondering about the pistons.

thanks for the torque specs (30-35 Nm)! 

@joshuaho96 - are you referring to bolts to the hub assembly? i am looking for the specs for putting the actual calipers together, independent of mounting them to the vehicle.  i do appreciate the response regardless!

[Shoota_77]

1 hour ago, itsforandres said:

@Shoota_77 yeah, i had watched that video.  it's really well made, save for him not really giving any details (part numbers, torque specs, etc.).  since he changed out the pistons, i thought it might be a good idea to do the same, but like i said: i have no idea how to order replacement pistons for these calipers.  i have the seals ready to go, just was wondering about the pistons.

thanks for the torque specs (30-35 Nm)! 

@joshuaho96 - are you referring to bolts to the hub assembly? i am looking for the specs for putting the actual calipers together, independent of mounting them to the vehicle.  i do appreciate the response regardless!

You would only replace the pistons if they were all rusty, scored or generally just worn out.  I've done some pretty old calipers and NEVER replaced pistons.  Seeing brake fluid is sort of an oil it generally keeps the bit that matters on the piston free of rust.  The only exception is if the brake fluid on the car has never been replaced and has sucked up a heap of water (brake fluid is hygroscopic and sucks moisture out of the air over time or if the cap has been left off the reservoir).  That's the main reason you replace the fluid regularly - water gets in brake fluid, water boils, creates hydrogen/oxygens which obviously being gasses compress unlike liquid which in turn gives you a shitty (spongey) pedal feel.

 

[joshuaho96]

17 minutes ago, itsforandres said:

@Shoota_77 yeah, i had watched that video.  it's really well made, save for him not really giving any details (part numbers, torque specs, etc.).  since he changed out the pistons, i thought it might be a good idea to do the same, but like i said: i have no idea how to order replacement pistons for these calipers.  i have the seals ready to go, just was wondering about the pistons.

thanks for the torque specs (30-35 Nm)! 

@joshuaho96 - are you referring to bolts to the hub assembly? i am looking for the specs for putting the actual calipers together, independent of mounting them to the vehicle.  i do appreciate the response regardless!

The FSM doesn't have any torque spec, presumably because you aren't supposed to split the caliper in normal use. I don't think anyone really knows what the factory spec is or really anything about those calipers. I've seen people claim 65 N-m, it's all over the map really. 

[itsforandres]

@joshuaho96 that is the type of data i am looking for! where is that diagram from?  i was looking at the Skyline Full Workshop Manual but i was worried that it would just be the same exact stuff that everyone is posting online, which only references the engine, electrical, and spare parts diagrams.

i suppose they don't add the torque specs because they source those out from a third party, brembo in this case, and don't have the rights to give out that information.  anyway, thanks for the diagram and the advice, they were both really useful!

☺️

[joshuaho96]

The full japanese R34 service manual has these diagrams, you can also look at Nicoclub for US market Nissans, a 2003 350Z has the same Brembo brakes for the most part, I believe the difference is maybe thinner brake pads and a different rotor to rotor hat offset but don't take it as gospel: https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals

[itsforandres]

37 minutes ago, joshuaho96 said:

The full japanese R34 service manual has these diagrams, you can also look at Nicoclub for US market Nissans, a 2003 350Z has the same Brembo brakes for the most part, I believe the difference is maybe thinner brake pads and a different rotor to rotor hat offset but don't take it as gospel: https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals

@joshuaho96 i'd never seen this site before.  a true treasure chest of knowledge.  thanks again for all of your help!!

[itsforandres]

in the event that anyone in the future is looking to replace the caliper pistons, i found them for sale from one site.

they have the rear caliper pistons, the front upper caliper pistons, and the front lower caliper pistons.

no specs are given on the page for these pistons.

[GTSBoy]

Surely Brembo caliper pistons are available at every brake workshop in the (civilised) world?

[niZmO_Man]

Nah man, "Skyline GT-R" parts are super rare, according to the asking prices.