front rotor replacement
 

All,

1969 911T

I am attempting to replace my front rotors and the 911 repair book writes of only the back rotors. I got very far with the attempt but no cigar.

The clip that hold the front brake lines does not seem removable. That would mean bending the metal tubing to get the caliper off the rotor. That seems wrong with the flex hose next to the clip and the need to change brake pads periodically. How do I move the caliper with the flex hose bending?

There is no (2) screws holding on the front rotor as described in the 911 repair book for back rotors. Do I need to remove the big nut for the bearings? That seems wrong. There are 5 nuts that hold on the rotor but these nuts are not on studs. These nuts have a bolt with a head that is behind the rotor and in front of the shield. I can not get to these bolt heads because of the shield.

Thanks for reading my woes. Any answers or suggestions?


Steve

Steve, our cars are almost 20 years apart (mine is an 88), but I'm in process of doing this job now and sounds same as yours. First, to replace the rotors you must remove the calipers. As you've noted, you can't just move them out of the way. This means disconnecting the hard line from the caliper to the clip that as you've noted can't be removed. I suggest you order new hard lines and soft lines and replace them when you are doing this job. Once you have the caliper off, you must remove the wheel hub and rotor together. Then you can get a socket on both sides and remove the rotor. This is a good time to replace the wheel bearings. John

I think your 69 is pretty similar to my 87 (experts will pinch in i'm sure)

There are 2 bolts holding the caliper to the bracket. I believe I used a 19mm socket to loosen the bolts. The bolts are on the back side of the caliper.
Once loose, you can move the caliper back a little. Move it back a little as possible and you won't damage the brake line. Make sure you have zip ties or a coat hanger handy to hang it from a hook in the wheel well. You don't want the caliper to hang from the brake line.

Then you need to knock off the metal plug that's in the middle of the rotor. Use a rubber mallet. Hit down on the plug, rotate the rotor, hit down on the plug, and rotate the rotor... repeat until the plug falls out.

You will have to remove the nut that's holding the bearing. Make sure the bearing doesn't fall on the floor.

Refer to this article:
Paul’s Garage Blog » How to replace the front brakes and wheel bearings on a Porsche 911SC
But unless you feel like bleeding the brakes, don't remove the hard line.

Make sure you pump the brakes a few times before moving the car. Since you'll have pushed the pistons all the way in the calipers, it will take a few pumps before the pistons will contact the rotor.

If you're not 100% confident in your mechanical skills, you can get the parts from our hots and pay your mechanic to do the job. It shouldn't take them too long to complete the job and it will be done safely.

Post a pic of your rotors, so we can stop guessing what you may or may not have to assist you please :D

Thanks All.

I got it now. Ain't simple. Got to remove solid brake line and don't let the bearing fall on the floor.

Steve

Congrats :-), well that was an easy one.

That's a new one for me. Do you have an image of this 'plug" in the rotor?
Bill K

The bearing cap, I assume.