Solution to the SRT8 brake dust, rotor scoring, and squealing problem

[ResumeSpeed]

Originally Posted by 1bad4dr

As much as we all appreciate the good news, DCX and Brembo are going to be releasing the Brake fix in June. Since this is a warranty issue, I would recommend that we all wait for the fix to arrive. I know I will be. Thanks for the heads up though.

Just a hunch, but I'm sure that whatever they come up with there will be some sort of warranty "limitations/exclusions/restrictions" based on mileage, "severity" etc. and that they will not just replace everyones rotors and pads.

[Rambit]

Dave, I see you're still online. Shouldn't you have finished changing by now and putting these pads on? We're ALL very interested to hear from you. Well I am for sure!

Rambit

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by Rambit

Dave, I see you're still online. Shouldn't you have finished changing by now and putting these pads on? We're ALL very interested to hear from you. Well I am for sure!

Rambit

LOL! My computer was on-line, but I was at the personal (non-work) computer making reservations for a few upcoming trips with my wife. I am dressed and ready to start wrenching now! It will take longer than normal becuase I plan to photograph each step for a DIY guide, plus I want to wash and wax each wheel while I've got it off.

[FreebirdSRT]

Originally Posted by DZeckhausen

I'm pretty sure I have found a solution to this problem. Aftermarket brake pads are arriving today (Saturday) by noon and I'm going to install and test them. If this works, there's an intial batch of five more sets of pads available and then a month or two delay before more are manufactured.

More details, photos, reviews as I go along. Stay tuned!

Dave. Nice find. Look forward to your review of these new pads.

I shipped you my SRT wheels. Looks like I should have had you hold on to the check you sent me,lol. Looks like I will be sending some of your money back to you,lol. I want to be inline for those initial 5 sets you have now.

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by FreebirdSRT

Dave. Nice find. Look forward to your review of these new pads.

I shipped you my SRT wheels. Looks like I should have had you hold on to the check you sent me,lol. Looks like I will be sending some of your money back to you,lol. I want to be inline for those initial 5 sets you have now.

And a fantastic job you did, packing those wheels! Tire Rack has nothing on you. I just feel bad for getting a week's worth of brake dust on them. They were pristine. And I do like the Eagle F1 Supercar tires on your wheels better than the Eagle RSA all-seasons on mine. Ride is a little harsher and they do make more noise. But the trade-off for improved dry grip is worth it to me. So I will keep them and sell my "old" wheels and RSA tires, as planned. As soon as I finish this pad project, I'll write up an ad for my wheels.

I just finished installing the pads on the left rear corner and wshed the wheel. While the wheel is drying, I'll upload the photos from my camera and do a quick write-up. This car is very easy to change pads on!

[DZeckhausen]

These instructions for the 300C SRT8 also apply to the Magnum, Charger, and Jeep SRT8, which all use the same calipers and brake pads. With a few basic tools, changing the brake pads on any SRT8 is a 10 minute job per corner. This is the easiest brake job you will ever do.

Step one is to jack up the car, using the rubber jack pad located 12" forward of the rear wheel arch.


Jack up the SRT8 using the rubber jack pad


After the wheel is up in the air, remove the 21mm wheel nuts. I use an impact wrench and a Griot's Garage aluminum socket. The socket has a nylon sleeve and insert to avoid scratching fancy wheel hardware or scuffing the inside edges of your wheel bolt holes. Griot's Garage sells a complete set of these sockets for about $60.


Griot's Garage socket set



Remove wheel nuts

The pads are held in place by a spring clip and a pair of drift pins. Use a small punch and a hammer to drive out one of the drift pins. Then remove the spring clip. Finally, drive out the second drift pin. These steps are shown in photos below:


Remove drift pin with center punch


Top view while removing lower pin – order is not important


Spring clip is easily removed, followed by 2nd drift pin


Normally, the next step is to remove the pads and then retract each of the 4 caliper pistons individually. However, I have a really slick tool that does it in one stroke. You can read more about the tool here. This is what the took looks like:



You simply stick the blades of the tool inside the caliper and hook them on the inner faces of the pad backing plates. Then you squeeze the handles. In one stroke, the pads are pushed apart and all four pistons are fully retracted. Then the pads simply pull right out. In the case of the SRT8 rear calipers, oriented the way they are, they literally fall out.

For the SRT8, this tool is a luxury, not a requirement. It is possible to pull the pads apart with your bare hands, then use a screwdriver to pry between the pad and the rotor, in order to push the pistons back into the caliper body. If you're only doing this job once, it's not really worth purchasing this tool.


Spread pads apart & retract caliper pistons with special tool


Caliper with both pads removed – pistons are visible and fully retracted

The rear brakes on the SRT8 are more prone to squealing than the front brakes. My own SRT8 developed an intermittent faint squeal from the rear calipers under light braking. If you're installing C-Tek pads or any other aftermarket pads which don't come with anti-squeal shims, I suggest transplanting the shims from the original Jurid pads (with "Brembo" markings). Transplanting shims to the C-Tek pads completely eliminated the squeal from my SRT8 rear brakes.

If you're installing Centric Posi-Quiet pads, the following steps are not necessary, since the Posi-Quiet pads come with composite shims pre-installed.


Remove clip-on shim from OEM pad, exposing composite shim underneath


Use screwdriver to gently pry off composite shim

Now take the composite (black) shim, which is probably curved like a potato chip, and bend it as flat as possible. Place it on the aftermarket pad, paying attention to the proper orientation. Clip the stainless steel shim on top.


Aftermarket pads without any shims


Composite shim transplanted


Clip-on stainless steel shim transplanted

Finally, you can insert the new pads into the caliper, being carefull not to let the shims get snagged on anything. Hold them in place with one of the drift pins. Tap the drift pin all the way into place with a small hammer, being careful not to chip the paint on the back of your caliper. Insert the spring clip into place and insert the second drift pin, working it all the way through the caliper while keeping pressure on the spring clip. Use the hammer to drive it all the way home.

Here's how everything looks after the new pads are installed:


Caliper with new pads installed

That's all there is to it. It took me much longer to write this than it did to do it. Much easier than changing pads on a typical American car.
Now it's time to proceed to the front brakes. Instructions for installing front brake pads

[DZeckhausen]

The other rear corner is done. It took literally less than 4 minutes. Just as much time spent moving the tools and jack to the other side of the car as it did to do the actual work. Wheel is drying and I'm taking a Diet Coke break!

[Rambit]

Fantastic write up Dave!

Rambit

[DZeckhausen]

These instructions for changing the front brake pads on the 300C SRT8 also apply to the Magnum, Charger, and Jeep SRT8, which all use the same calipers and brake pads. With a few basic tools, changing the brake pads on any SRT8 is a 10 minute job per corner. This is the easiest brake job you will ever do. The front brake pads are even easier to change than the rear brake pads! This is because you can turn the wheel, so you can see what you are doing. And the caliper isn't nearly suspended upside down, like the rears, so it's easier to see what's going on.

For the 300C SRT8, the hardest part is jacking the car up. For some reason, Chrysler didn't see fit to install a jacking pad behind the front wheel arch, so you have to go in from the front of the car. My jack is too tall to fit under the front air dam, so I had to drive up on some pieces of wood.


Drive onto some wood so the jack will clear the air dam



Roll jack under air dam and lift by chassis member as shown




This makes it more clear where to place the jack saddle


Once the car is up and the wheel is off, turn the steering wheel all the way to the right (when working on driver's side caliper) so you can see what you are doing. Remove the drift pins, just like you did on the rear calipers.


Use hammer and center punch to remove drift pins


Once the pins and spring clip have been removed, you can use the nifty pad spreader tool to loosen the pads and retract the pistons at the same time. If your SRT8 is relatively new, the pads can be pulled apart with your bare hands and the tool is not required. For just one brake pad change, it's a bit of overkill.


Use pad spreader tool to retract caliper pistons


Now pull the pads out. Here you can see the caliper pistons, once the pads have been removed.


Caliper pistons are visible when pads are removed


Now it's time to insert the new pads and hold them in place with one of the drift pins.



Use hammer to drive drift pin all the way home


Finally, you should reinstall the spring clip and hold it down while inserting the second drift pin.



Keep pressure on spring clip while inserting second drift pin

Use the hammer to drive the second drift pin all the way home and you're done!



All done!


Now it's time to reinstall the wheel and hand tighten the wheel nuts with a torque wrench to factory specs. Once the wheels are on and the car lowered to the ground, it's time to go out and bed in the brakes.

[Dan SS2471]

Excellent...Excellent write up. Can't wait to hear the results.

FWIW..with regard to the front jack point..If you look about 12" behind the wheel you'll see where the frame rail starts to jot out towards the outter edge of the vehicle a bit. There's a small (may'be a 1/2") triangle punched out for an OEM jack to fit. You can put your floor jack perpendicular to the car with a small piece of 2 x 4 on it's jacking pad (to avoid scratching the frame or plastic) and be able to fit nicely under the frame. It will also allow room for a jack stand just to the rear of the floor jack. It was pretty close as the top of the jack almost touched the plastic trim on the side of the car before I could get the pad placed correctly but it does fit.

Anxiously awaiting........

Dan