Doing the front brakes today on my 2005 STR and was wondering if I should put anti seize on the big caliper bolts when I put it back together? I think I will do the fuel filter also while I have the wheel off. Great video on U tube from Vance on how to do the fuel filter. I decided to go with Centric rotors and pads from Rock Auto.

 

I put antiseize on brake bolts.

Yes Vance is da' man!

 

Well I got the front brakes done and one problem I had was the hardware kit that came with the front brake pads. When I opened the package I thought great, it comes with new pad retainer pins and new flat spring plates (Brembo brakes).The problem with the pins was that there is a little split bushing that is supposed to be knocked into the caliper that holds them in place. The bushings were made oversized and would not go in. The spring plates were made with wings (that hold the pads down) that were too narrow. I ended up wire brushing the original pins (which were a much higher grade) and using the old spring plates. Sometimes oem is the way to go.

The fuel filter took me a while to get off the fuel lines even though I had just bought the disconnect tool. Maybe the fittings were a little sticky if it had not been changed in a while. Vance on U tube made it look so easy!

 

Sounds like they were probably Brembo but not the right Brembo parts.

 

The hardware was actually Centric brand that came with the Centric front brake pads. The original Brembo pins were nicely machined the replacements were not.

 

Fine to reuse the originals I found.
Biggest problem I had was when I removed the main, large calliper bolts I found the internal alloy threads were damaged..
It's possible it was the anti seize..

 

Something else I noticed about the original pins was that they were machined smaller in the middle and this "grove" centered the flat spring plate. The generic pins that came with the pads were not machined in the middle and if they had worked, you would have to center the spring manually.

I went past my mechanic today to make an appointment for an oil change and to have the rear brakes done. He lets me bring in all my own parts, great guy, works on Euro cars only. I mentioned the trouble I had getting the filter off even using my new disconnect tool. He agreed they can be a problem and gave me a couple of tips. If they are are sticky he blows out the fitting with compressed air and sprays a little lube or maybe penetrating oil in the connection. He said they can get dirt and or rust in the connection.