How to Replace the Rotors on a 2003 Nissan Altima

Replacing the rotors on the front of your 2003 Nissan Altima is a good project to do at home. The task is straightforward and doing the work yourself will save you the cost of a repair bill from a garage. While the front brakes of the Altima use rotors and calipers, the rear brakes use a drum brake system and are completely different to work on. Replacement rotors for your Altima are available from most major auto parts stores.

Instructions

1

Loosen the lug nuts on the front wheels of your Nissan with a lug wrench, but do not remove them from the wheel studs yet. Position a jack under the front of the car and raise it off the ground. Support the car with a set of jack stands positioned under the front suspension.

2

Remove the lug nuts from the wheel studs and then remove the wheels from the car. Locate the brake caliper mounted on the steering knuckle. Find the four bolts on the back of the caliper. The upper two are the slide bolts, the lower two are the caliper mounting bracket retaining bolts.

3

Remove the two caliper mounting bracket retaining bolts with a socket and ratchet, set the bolts aside and lift the caliper and bracket straight off the rotor. Support the caliper and bracket up out of the way, using some wire to hang it on. Do not let the weight of the caliper hang against the brake hose or damage will occur to the hose.

4

Pull the rotor off the front hub and discard it. Install the new rotor on the wheel studs and hub and then slide the caliper and mounting bracket back on the rotor and knuckle. Install the retaining bolts and tighten them with a socket and ratchet until they are secure.

5

Position the wheel back on the wheel studs and install the lug nuts. Tighten the lug nuts with a lug wrench and then move to the opposite side of the car. Repeat the process.

6

Raise the front of the car off the jack stands with a jack. Remove the jack stands from under the car and lower the jack until the car is safely on the ground. Tighten all the lug nuts with the lug wrench now that the weight of the car is on the wheels.