How to Replace a 2001 Intrigue's Brakes

Oldsmobile equipped all the 2001 Intrigues -- the GX, GL and GLS -- with a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, a four-speed automatic transmission, and anti-lock brakes. Olds recommends replacing the front brakes when the pads get down to 0.030 inch thickness, which is thin as a potato chip. Letting them get that thin runs the risk of damaging your rotors and making the brake job more expensive than it would have been had you acted more proactively. I replaced the front pads on my 2001 Intrigue, so I'll pass along some tidbits of advice that I learned by fumbling my way through it.

Changing Front Pads

Put the floor jack and jack stands about 8 inches from the rear edge of the front wheel opening, behind the two bolts in the body molding. Before you remove the front wheels, match-mark the wheels on the studs so when you put the wheels back on, the same studs are in the same holes in the wheels. In addition, it makes the process go a bit smoother if you put a couple of lug nuts back on to hold the rotors in place after you take off the wheels. During assembly, put some silicone grease on the caliper slide bolts, but don't get the grease on the bolt threads, and then torque the bolts to 70 foot-pounds.Torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds.