BAER Brake Install

Let me start of by mentioning that after receiving these BAER brake products, they are top notch and top quality! Everything comes with this kit to complete the install and that makes things VERY EASY when installing these! The Rotors & Calipers seemed to impress everyone who came through our doors and people were amazed at the quality of the parts..

After some review we decided to go with the 4-piston calipers vs the 6-piston, reason for this was cost vs actual difference. Performance wise there really isn't much difference between the 4 & 6 piston calipers (per Rick E.). Since we have 18" wheels on this car we obviously wanted to go as large as possible yet still keep within budget. We decided on the BAER Track4 for the front which has 13" rotors & 4-piston calipers mounted on OEM spindles. This whole set up comes Pre-installed on the OEM spindles right from BAER. Makes for one hell of an easy installation.

There is a bunch of room left behind the CCW 18" wheel that I even believe the Track4 system will work with most 17" wheels but should always be checked with the BAER template to be sure. (In PDF file located at the bottom of post)

For the rears we decided on BAER's NEW SS4 system which has 12" rotors & 4-piston calipers with the emergency brake!


Today we got some time to start the front brakes and in just 2 hrs the front brakes were done!!! Yes just 2 hrs....

Old Caliper & Rotor set up taken out:There are many ways/methods to doing this but this is what worked for us and was safe for us.

What we did was:
1) Remove the top nut on the sway bar link.
2) Remove the nut holding the tie-rod to the spindle turned the nut upside down and threaded it back on and hit the nut with a hammer and the ball joint & tie-rod popped right out.
3) Removed the nuts holding the upper & lower a-arms to the spindle, turned those nuts upside down and threaded them back on till they were flush with the top of the threads. Hit the spindle with a hammer until it broke free and was now held on by the nuts. Now take a floor jack and put it right under the lower a-arm joint, jack up untill you support with some pressure and remove both upper & lower nuts. Remove brake line from car and slowly lower the jack about 2" OR until the upper joint comes loose. Once it's loose you can push the upper a-arm up and simply pull off the old set up all in one piece.



Old "Stock" vs the New!



Here the New BAER brake set up is installed:
Upper ball-joint Torqued to 65 ftlbs.
Lower Ball-joint Torqued to 80 ftlbs.
Tie-rod ball-joint Torqued to 35 ftlbs.
Banjo fitting Torqued to 20 ftlbs.
Cotter pins were yet to be installed last. (Don't get any easier than that for a complete Bolt-in kit!!)




Finished!! Everything is double and triple checked and cotter pins installed. Repete process on other side and your done!




Stay tuned, The rear system is next!

** Below is the PDF file for BAER brakes **

Scot W.

John,

Those you bought were well taken care of and look to be a nice set of wheels, can't wait to see them mounted.

BAER hasn't sent my my cables yet so as soon as they come in I will post pic's and document everything on the back brakes.


Scot W.

Looks good Scott!

100% correct!! This system was chosen for the stopping power and Ease of installation, the "Sex Appeal" was just an added bonus!!

Proportioning Valve..

Today we installed the proportioning valve. At first the plan was to come up through the floor by the drivers seat for easy access on adjustments but decided against it for several reasons.

First I made a bracket to mount the valve and got it mounted in place,the only thing left is bending the lines and hooking it up.. Don't look too bad, Easy access and out of the way of the elements.

Rear brake install

Okay, It's time for the rear brake install...

First of all you want to remove all of the stock brakes right down to the axle tube. Now is also a great time to replace your Axle bearings & Seals seeing you will have it all apart anyways!
In the image below you may notice 4 holes in the axle tube backing plate vs the 2 holes at the bottom when stock, this will be covered later..




Now You will be installing the BAER Rear disc brake backing plates. To get the right ones you make sure the (Caliper mount is facing the rear of the car, and the emergency brake actuator is at the bottom) Like pictured below for the RT side wheel..




** BAER's Instructions say to put the bottom stock 8mm bolts back into place to hold the backing plate in place (As pictured below) and drill the top holes in the axle backing plate. CAUTION: BEFORE DILLING tape off the axle opening so No metal shavings can get into the axle tube!! First I used a 3/8" bit to get a good centered mark in the backing plate with my drill then I used a small 5/32" bit, then a 15/64" bit, then the 3/8" bit. Install the 3/8" bolts with nylock nuts.. BAER then says to torque all 4 (the two 3/8" and the old stock 8mm to 45ft lbs) Well I had one of the stock 8mm bolts bust in half before ever getting to the 45ft lbs so I just drilled out the bottom holes too and installed two more 3/8" bolts with nylock nuts and then torqued all 4 to 50ft lbs instead. I figure it will be Much better in the end anyways by using (4) 3/8" bolts and the stock brake system can still be put back on except you will have to use 3/8" bolts to go back with, No big deal...



Showing all (4) 3/8" bolts in place and torqued to 50ft lbs holding the BAER backing plate onto the axle.

When you are done mounting the backing plate you will need to remove the lower shock mount bolt and move the shock out of your way so you have room to install your caliper and route your brake line.




Now you can install your axle back into the car, install C-clips and pin..

Once the axle is installed you can now install the rotor making sure it's on the correct side (sweeping grooves facing front of car) and then the Caliper is ready to install. (as pictured)....

Note: The reason for the axle & rotor not looking like they are fully on, is due to the pass axle out..




Here is an image of the hard line hook-up. I'm not too happy with how it turned out so I will be using the braided to Hard line kit that BAER includes with this kit. I thought I could get away without using it and just use the existing hard line but it just does not look good..




*** Over all this whole kit from BAER has been well beyond my expectations and Super Easy to install.. This is a true Bolt-On brake kit that is well worth every penny.. No hassle, No fuss, No parts hunting, Everything is there in the kit and everything Fits the first time!!


Scot W.

A little different than the picture just above this one where it was 'Hard Lined"!! This will allow the caliper to move more freely if it needs to and be easier to change pads in the future..

Here is the Braided Brake line kit installed that comes with the BAER kit.





** In closing, If your thinking of upgrading to a BAER disc brake system for your G-body and are wondering just how much their system pushes the wheels outward, This BAER Track 4 system will push the front wheels out exactly a 1/2" Per Side! AND The SS4 Rear system will push the rear wheels out exactly 1/8" Per Side...


Scot W.