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Back to info. What do I need to do a Z32 Brake Conversion?
Instructions (brake installation): If you are thinking about getting the Z32 master cylinder, new or used, this would be the optimal time to do it, bleeding the brake system isn't fun to do over and over. I did a complete swap, new front and rear rotors, new front and rear brake pads, front and rear stainless lines, z32 master cylinder, and speed bleeders. I started at the front, it doesn't really matter. Jack up the front end and remove the wheel. Attach a tube of some sort to the bleeder screw (I used a vaccum tube) and have it empty into a bottle or something. Open the bleeder screw and pump the brake pedal until you see nothing coming out of the lines anymore. Then tighten it back and proceed (so you don't spill any leftover fluid). 2 12mm bolts hold the caliper on, remove those, then remove the little C clip on the strut body, and push the caliper aside. Bust out your 10mm wrench and go to work unbolting the brake line. You will be loosening the hard side of the line, which will be above the little bracket which is attached to the body. Be careful not to strip that nut, they can be on pretty tight and you don't want to strip it, so be careful with it. After you have it loosened, remove the C clip from that bracket and pull the rubber line out, and toss the line and caliper aside. Now for the brake pad bracket thing (I like to be very technical), there are two bolts holding it to the spindle. I believe they are 17mm, break those loose and set the bracket aside, with the brake pads. Now you should be down to bare rotor. If it gives you any crap when you try to take it off, get your trusty rubber hammer and start smashin. It will come loose, then just put it aside. If you are doing a 5 Lug Swap, you can remove the dust shield when you change out the hub. It comes off pretty easily with a rubber hammer. If you are sticking with 4 lug or you already have 5 lug, you need to cut the dust shield with whatever cutting tools you have. I used a dremel, but it's a long and tedious process with that crap. Use your imagination. After it's modified, put the new rotor on. Spin it a few times to make sure it's not scraping anything, then put the caliper into place and put the two spindle bolts back on (at this point, I would suggest that you already have the new brake line installed and tightened down on the caliper, that way you just have to tighten it to the hardline), lightly tighten them down, and spin it again, if it's not scraping anything, torque them down, I believe 60 ft-lbs. Then mount the line in the C clip on the strut body, mount the C clip on the body and tighten the stainless line to the hardline. Then do the same on the other side. Make sure you bleed all the old fluid out of the old caliper first. Bleed the brakes (I would do all 4); RR, LR, RF, LF. Down a bottle of your favorite brew while admiring your work and call it a day. Instructions (master cylinder, S13): Someone was using their head over at Nissan when they were thinking of parts interchangability. Z32 master cylinders have the exact same bolt and line locations as the S13. S14 owners, not so lucky. Anyway, for NON-ABS S13, there are 3 lines off the master cylinder, use your 10mm wrench on them and make sure not to round them off. Break them loose and then there are two more bolts (I believe 10mm) holding the M/C onto the brake booster. Loosen those, and the old M/C will come off, installation is the reverse of removal. ABS S13's only have two lines off the M/C, which can be good or bad, and I will explain later. The center line will have a cap on it. Instructions (master cylinder, S14): S14 owners have two options if the stock M/C isn't to their liking with Z32 brakes. Either get a Z32 M/C (in which case, you will have to bend hard brake lines, which can be screwed up fairly easily) or get the M/C off of an S14 K's clip. S14 Silvia K's in Japan use front brakes that are almost if not the exact same as Z32 front brakes. As such, their master cylinder is bigger, and someone at Nissan got smart and decided to use the same M/C for RHD/LHD S14 chassis. The only problem with the latter is that you can't just go to AutoZone and pick up a replacement M/C. But there are enough clips laying around, you should be able to source them fairly easily. Other than those snags, installation is the same as S13. S-Chassis M/C Options, the details: Nissan used 3 different M/C sizes, at least 2 different companies, and just had no rhyme or reason towards what goes on what car. The general consensus is that you want either the 16/16" or 17/16" M/C. It seems that just about any M/C for a Z32 made before 8/91 is the 17/16" M/C. Now, the problem is that the Z32 M/C usually won't have a flair fitting for the center line (Z32's all have ABS). Which is fine for S-chassis cars with ABS, not fine for Non-ABS. So, here are your options: Find an M/C and check to see if the middle has a flair fitting. If it doesn't, you need to either source flair fittings (check the community) or cut up your old M/C with a rotary tool or something. If it does have it, no problem, just put it all back together. I kind of took the easy way out with this step, but not on purpose, I was going to destroy my old M/C. I went to Napa and bought a Z32 M/C for a car made before 8/91. The reason I bought from them was that the salesman was the only one from all of the parts houses who assured me that it was a 17/16" plunger. So I bought a brand new one for I think $140. When I got it, all three holes had green twist off caps on and to my delight, the center hole had a flair fitting in it already. To my dismay, which I didn't realize until months later is that this may not actually be a 17/16" plunger. Supposedly the 15/16" and 17/16" both have their measurement in the casting, and the 16/16" did not. Mine has no measurement in the casting. Honestly, if it's a 16/16" that's ok, the trade-off isn't that big. The part number for the M/C from Napa is 47-39777. |