Grand Moff Joseph Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 I need to perform a brake job on the front brakes of my 1990 Lumina. Since the stock brakes suck major donkey balls, I would like to upgrade to something better, but not terribly expensive. So, any suggestions as to what brands to look into and where to get them? Also, on a more basic level, what are the brake specs of a 1990 Lumina? (No ABS) Quote
DiscoStudd Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 Grab the knuckles (strut assemblies) off of a 96 Grand Prix, Regal, Cutlass, 96-99 Monte, or 96-01 Lumina. Get a set of Raybestos PG Plus rotors for said car, then get a set of carbon metallic pads (Performance Friction or EBC Greenstuff.) Reuse your caliper mounting brackets and calipers, as they will bolt right up to the newer knuckles. You can get the EBC Greenstuf pads from The Tire Rack and Checker sells the Raybestos rotors. RockAuto also sells the Raybestos rotors... Quote
Dirty Rockstar Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 YAY!! I am SO doing that!!! Quote
Grand Moff Joseph Posted October 31, 2004 Author Report Posted October 31, 2004 man, you're easy to influence... Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 same here. i've had a set of '96 Cutlass front strut/knuckle assemblies in my garage for almost two years now....still haven't gotten to it :? you can upgrade the rear brakes too. any '94+ W-body will have the rear brakes you need. you'll need the calipers, caliper mounting brackets, caliper mounting bracket bolts, new 11" rotors, and new pads. the brake hose can be an issue, but in my case my original '91 brake hoses would have worked perfect with the '95 calipers. i just didn't use them because they were really worn out. so i'm using the '95 Regal hoses instead; they work fine but the hose bracket that attatches to the frame rail doesn't fit flush against the rail. major downside: the e-brake cable will not work without modification. you can modify your existing cables to work, or swap in the '94+ e-brake cable which requires welding the e-brake cable bracket to the frame. with an automatic transmission this usually isn't a problem, but with a manual transmission it's downright dangerous :oops: also, you might need an operating e-brake to pass inspection depending on where you live. Quote
Grand Moff Joseph Posted October 31, 2004 Author Report Posted October 31, 2004 well, I'm going to leave the rear drums in, so I just need to replace the front discs. So, if I pull these parts from say a 95 Regal, then I need to get pads and calipers for the 95 Regal, not the 90 Lumina, right? Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 my post was actually about the '94+ rear brake upgrade. Discostudd was reffering to the '96+ front brake upgrade. you have rear drums?!?! you might want to double check....1990 Lumina should have 10.5" rear disc brakes. Quote
HokemBokem Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 Yea I thought that was wierd, rear drums. And Grand Moff Joseph I got some white box special rotors at checker for 35 a piece and they are great so far. Also I got these Raybesto's PG Plus brake pads that stop on a dime and were only 40 dollars for the whole front set. It wont be that expensive to do it and you will love the new brakes. Quote
DiscoStudd Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 If you pull parts from a 95, measure the diameter of the rotors first. 95 was the year they changed to 11.5" (or was it 11.25"?) rotors, halfway through the model year. I mentioned 96-up because it's a safe bet that you're getting the upgraded brakes for sure. 94-up got the upgraded rear brakes (except for the 94 Lumina, which had the old style rear discs, and the 95 Lumina/Monte had rear drums...) Quote
Dirty Rockstar Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 96 brakes all the way.. W00t.. LOL.. About how long would it take to get ALL the necessary parts? I know I need the front strut knuckle things.. I need new struts anyway, so Ill get me the sportiest, stiffest ones I can afford.. THe rear.. OBVIOSULY needs to be done.. How long am I spending at the salvageyard taking this stuff off, and putting it all back onto my car? Quote
DiscoStudd Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 I say unless you want to strap an air compressor to your back and bring some air tools with you to the boneyard, you're better off buying the nuckles already pulled from the car. They're a bitch to get off without using an impact to break the nuts loose and an air chisle w/a punch to drive out the splined bolts. Calipers and brackets are easy enough, though. I'd plan on spending a weekend to do the whole swap. Although it probably won't take that long, give yourself a little leeway in case you run into a snag or two... Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted October 31, 2004 Report Posted October 31, 2004 hardest part about pulling the front knuckles (for me) was the tie rod. i think i used a 2-jaw puller for that; it's been so long i can't even remember. you'll need a ball-joint seperator (fork) and a BFH for the ball joint. i pulled my knuckles off of a car that had no rust or corrosion underneath, so i didn't need air tools...a breaker bar was enough. you'll also need a line wrench to remove the brake line (forgot the size) and a 36mm axle nut socket so you can push the axle out of the hub after you've popped the ball joint. depending on wether or not the brake parts are included when you buy the knuckles, you may need a T60 torx bit to remove the calipers. the rears are pretty easy to remove, but you'll need a good breaker bar for the caliper mounting bolts. the '94+ e-brake cables however are a total PITA to remove from a donor car it took me about two hours to pry that cable bracket off of the donor cars frame. Quote
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