How to Install 1999 Cavalier Brake Rotors

The brake rotors on the 1999 Cavalier should be inspected for signs of damage every 7,500 miles as General Motors recommends. Over time, the rotors wear down and their ability to effectively stop your car decreases as a result. Environmental conditions such as high humidity, snow and rain eventually cause the rotors to rust out. Storing your Cavalier for long periods of time will also cause the rotors to rust. Installing new rotors on your front wheels can be done one at a time, right at home. With a few minor tools, the repair should take 90 minutes or less.

Instructions

Removal

1

Apply the Cavalier's emergency brake, and loosen the lug nuts on the front passenger tire slightly with your lug wrench, but don't remove them.

2

Raise the car with a car jack, and position a jack stand on the left, 3 inches from the car jack. Lift the support arm on the jack stand until it makes full contact with the jacking point, and then return the locking pin to the arm to secure its height.

3

Remove all of your tire's lug nuts and slide the tire off the hub. Place three lug nuts back on the wheel studs to hold the rotor in place temporarily.

4

Wind the C-clamp completely open and then place it around your brake caliper. Begin slowly winding the C-clamp closed until it makes contact with the outer brake pad's surface. Continue slowly closing the C-clamp around the brake caliper until you see the caliper's piston go completely down. Do not use a lot of force to do this. Once the piston is down, remove the C-clamp.

5

Attach the 3/8-inch hex stud to your socket wrench, and remove the two caliper securing bolts completely. Set the 5-gallon bucket next to the rotor and slide the brake caliper off the rotor using both hands, then set it down on the bucket. Remove the three lug nuts, and then slide the rotor off the hub carefully.

Installation

6

Place your new rotor back on the hub exactly as you removed the old one. Reinstall the three lug nuts temporarily to hold the rotor in place.

7

Lift the brake caliper off the bucket with both hands and slide it back over the new rotor. Start both of the brake caliper's securing bolts by hand to ensure they thread correctly. Set your 3/8-inch drive torque wrench to 40 foot-pounds, attach the 3/8-inch hex stud to it and completely secure both caliper bolts.

8

Remove the three lug nuts holding the rotor and remount your tire on the hub. Install and tighten each of the lug nuts until they're snug. Remove the jack stand and lower the Cavalier until the tire contacts the ground, but not completely. Set the 3/8-inch drive torque wrench to 100 foot-pounds and completely secure each of the tire's lug nuts.

9

Lower the car completely and remove the car jack. Pump the brake pedal slowly until you feel it firm up, then repeat this entire process to install the rotor on the front driver's side.