This weekend I am going to be doing the following repair to my '83 Z28....

Valucraft Non-Asbestos Organic (Front): $8.99
Valucraft Non-Asbestos Organic (Rear): $8.99

Valucraft Hub/Rotor Assembly (Front): $24.99
Duralast Rotor Only (Rear) $25.99

*******************
Brake Pad Cost Only
*******************
Subtotal: $17.98
Tax: $1.26
Total: $19.24

***********************
Rotor Cost + Brake Pads
***********************
Subtotal: $119.94
Tax: $8.40
Total: $128.34


I am hoping that I only need to replace the brake pads, however, I've never done ANY kind of repairs to a car before, so is there anything that I should know?

Also, how will I be able to tell if the rotors are bad? And how hard are those to install, along with the pads? Can anyone out there tell me what I need to do?

Yes, I'm a car maintenance and repair noob.

Brent Genito
1983 Camaro Z28 305 owner
New Port Richey, FL

 

You really should invest in a repair manual.

 

i wouldnt go with the valuecrap pads

at the very least go with some sort of semi-metallic, u will stop better than nao pads

the pads are easy enough to change
if the rotors have grooves on them go ahead and change them

changing the rotor isnt really hard but its more involved than newer cars because of the wheel bearings

a cheap service manual like chiltons or haynes will explain the process thoroughly, because u need to clean and re-pack the wheel bearings when u remove the rotor

if u dont want to get the service manual, do a search i'm sure u'll find the steps to wheel bearing maintanance

 

I remember reading somewhere that Chevrolet made a repair manual specific to the car that I own (ie. just for the 1983 Z28 model), and I think I read it here at CamaroZ28.com - does anybody know where I can get this manual from and about how much it would cost?

And just to update on the progress of my repair this weekend, my uncle is a car guru and he is helping me today to fix both front and rear brakes - he's going to walk me through everything so I should know exactly what to do next time (or at very best, if I cannot remember EVERYTHING I should only need a minor refresher course).

As stated earlier, I'm a complete noob when it comes to things like this, and honestly, I've never had any ambition to be hands-on with a car before. Of course, that's before I got my Camaro, and I can't necessarily explain why, but I feel the need to be hands-on with this baby.

Kinda funny that I'm considering trading it in later on (about 6 months from now) because of how bad it is on gas: anyone have any ideas on how to get better gas mileage?

Thanks!

Brent Genito
New Port Richey, FL

 

Agreed. Brakes are one area I Never skimp out on. I'm amazed coming from the BMW camp of how little emphasis most American muscle car enthusiasts put on this. Not to be snobby but European car enthusiasts change brake fluid once per year and usually only buy the very best pads and rotors. They'll think nothing of paying $150-200 for a set of Pagid pads. I ordered a set of PBR ("OEM") rotors for my '99 SS and they were made in China! WTF? China?? My jaw about hit the floor when I saw that. My Tupperwear bowls and toothbrush are made in China. The most critical component in the braking system on my 350 horsepower, 160 MPH car should NOT be made in China. Needless to say, I sent them back and bought OE AC Delco ones from the dealer. Spend the money and get good brake components, IMHO.