# 2.0 TD rear brakes



## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

Good day everyone,
Getting ready to do rear brakes on a 2014 Cruze diesel (Canadian). I have not worked on rear brakes myself on this car (have not pulled them yet, parking brake is working on this), lot of experience working on other cars.
couple of questions please,

1. rear brake pistons, screw in piston style? screw in clockwise or counter-clockwise?
2. ordering new rotors and pads, shows as 292mm diameter (11.5 inches). Correct?

thanks in advance!
Dale


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## TheRealHip (Sep 1, 2014)

Screw in clockwise and I think you are correct on the rotor size.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

292mm rear rotor diameter is correct. 300mm is front. (268/276mm rotors are for the Gas Cruze.) Many of the parts catalogs are going to note the rotors as being for "15 inch wheel" or "16 inch wheel." Completely ignore that, since no Cruze comes with a 15" wheel, models with both brake packages use a 17" wheel, and the 18" wheel actually uses the smaller rotor. Usually the "15 inch wheel" rotors are for the gas, and the "16 inch wheel" models are for the Diesel, but it's not reliable. 

You will need pressure and rotation to turn back the piston, so the little dice-shaped tool on the end of a socket won't do it. It will have to be the actual screw-driven brake tool you can rent at auto parts stores or buy at Harbor Freight. 

Since parts catalogs are really bad on properly identifying brake parts for the Cruze between the gas and Diesel, so 2 other ways to double check you're getting the right rotors are:

1. If the rotor is also listed as a fit for the Buick Verano, you have the right one. 
2. If the bolt pattern of the rotor is 5x115, it fits the Diesel. (If it has a 5x105 bolt pattern, it is the rotor for the gas Cruze.)


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

Thanks for the help.
Canadian Tire here in Canada has a tool loaner program but I ordered the 8mile tool kit from amazon, should be here today. Years ago I had a Mini Cooper S that had rear pistons that needed to be screwed in with pressure, bmw Canada would not even sell the tool needed and kits at the time did not come with bmw/mini adaptors, had to screw them in with needle nose pliers (what a huge pain in the a$%!)
ordered a brake kit with 292mm rotors and pads, fingers crossed they send the correct parts

will update when I tackle this,
cheers
Dale


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

Just checked that brakes I ordered are supposed to fit 2014 Buick Verano


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

dsc cruze said:


> Just checked that brakes I ordered are supposed to fit 2014 Buick Verano


Welcome Aboard!

This is the front brake tutorial for a Gen I :How-To: Replace Front Brake Pads & Rotors Could you follow along and possibly create one for the rear disk brakes. I have also included the How to to adjust the drum brakes tutorial as a possible template for doing the same on the rear disks.

How-To: Write a Tutorial
*How to Adjust Rear Drum Brakes*

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

Blasirl said:


> Welcome Aboard!
> 
> These are for the gasser Cruzes, but I imagine it will be very similar. If you could, as you go through the brake change, read these and note any differences so we can update it for the diesel.
> 
> ...


The front procedure is identical for the Diesel. We just have different part numbers. If a more extensive repair were being done, even our steering knuckles, calipers, and caliper brackets use a different part number, but it's all the same design, just with different geometry. Changing the rotor in the above procedure would just involve removing the other guide pin, taking 2 bolts off the caliper bracket, and removing the mounting screw on the rotor, then reverse for reinstallation. 

We have 4-wheel discs on the Diesel, so if there's a How To on the rear disc brakes from the RS and LTZ gassers, the procedure would match with ours, just with different part numbers due to brake geometry again. The drum brakes are on the LS, and Eco. LT is a mix of discs and drums, depending on which LT trim level, model year, and option packages.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

revjpeterson said:


> The front procedure is identical for the Diesel. We just have different part numbers. If a more extensive repair were being done, even our steering knuckles, calipers, and caliper brackets use a different part number, but it's all the same design, just with different geometry. Changing the rotor in the above procedure would just involve removing the other guide pin, taking 2 bolts off the caliper bracket, and removing the mounting screw on the rotor, then reverse for reinstallation.
> 
> We have 4-wheel discs on the Diesel, so if there's a How To on the rear disc brakes from the RS and LTZ gassers, the procedure would match with ours, just with different part numbers due to brake geometry again. The drum brakes are on the LS, and Eco. LT is a mix of discs and drums, depending on which LT trim level, model year, and option packages.


You are absolutely correct. I forgot the diesel is based on a 2LT trim package. I have updated my original response.


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

If time permits I will take a bunch of photos and do a write up.
have a ton of other things on the plate, this is not a daily driver right now
Dale


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)




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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

the problem with most auto parts websites ( and this forum) is theres always confusion aboot what fits gassers and what fits diesels....it happens regularly on this forum when ppl dont realize what car is being talked aboot.

so go to a parts site that specializes in only the diesel cruze 









Centric Rear Brake Rotor (Cruze Gen1)


292mm rear brake rotor for the 1st generation Chevrolet Cruze diesel. Does not fit gasoline models. Sold in pairs....



www.idparts.com





they only sell diesel cruze parts, no gasser parts....

so you can buy from them and be sure it fits, or you can cross reference the info on the website and purchase elsewhere


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

anyone try needlenose pliers to rotate the piston back in?


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

I did the needle nose pliers with my mini cooper S in the past. 
Don't ever want to do that again.
The 8MileLake brake kit from amazon.ca was $30.99 delivered.
Will be using that once brake rotors and pads arrive in the next few days.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

dsc cruze said:


> I did the needle nose pliers with my mini cooper S in the past.
> Don't ever want to do that again.
> The 8MileLake brake kit from amazon.ca was $30.99 delivered.
> Will be using that once brake rotors and pads arrive in the next few days.


the brake parts have arrived at my house ( im away at work camp), i live too far away from can tire or parts stores to do the loan a tool

i hate buying something ill only use one every 5yrs, even $31....it eats at me, lol

so i guess ill be swearing and doing it the caveman method in 3wks, lol


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## TheRealHip (Sep 1, 2014)

brake tool

I used this and worked fine.


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

needlenose pliers will work, i don't have the patience anymore. I have a lot of tools over the years that see occasional use. This was 30.99 delivered to my door. It even included a set of mechanics gloves


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## BDCCruze (Jul 12, 2017)

I just use a beefy needle nose pliers to turn in the screw type calipers.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

i used these vise grips to turn the pistons in










was super easy...the jaws stayed open versus needle nose pliers where you gotta 'fight' with them to stay open, but then the handles are spread apart

and free


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

I used a set like that years ago on my Mini Cooper S. Decided to go different route this time. Been so busy haven't had a chance to do them yet (not daily driver right now)


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

Have had a pile of things on my plate but about to start the brake job this weekend.
Quick question, are the pistons both right hand threads to retract or are they separate right hand/left hand thread?
thanks


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

disregard above question, both sides are 'right hand thread'


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

dsc cruze said:


> disregard above question, both sides are 'right hand thread'


I'm glad you posted that - I'll be doing our rear brakes this week or weekend. Right rear brake decided to probably go metal-to-metal one day into our 9 day vacation.


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## dsc cruze (Jun 22, 2020)

The rear brake job on the Cruze went very well. That tool kit I bought was worth every penny. Made life very easy.
Been on a 'brake' bender...
last week helped my neighbour with new brakes on his chev van, yesterday was new rear pads on my Ram 3500 dually, today a friend's Toyota Venza front brakes.

time for me to take a break...


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Sweet - I bought the type of tool kit shown in an image earlier in the thread, so that should be here when the pads and rotors are.

I do find brakes pretty relaxing to do - usually - but that might be a bit overkill! I did the fronts on the Cruze last October, then I did my brother's front brakes on his '01 Century about a month ago. I didn't do the brakes on his '01 Mustang when I upgraded all the suspension, but I did have to remove the front brakes (to get the control arm low enough to get the spring out, as well as to make my life a lot easier lining the spindle back up to the strut when reassembling), so I kind of did them in a way, haha.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

left rear has been metal on metal for aboot 3mos or 4000 miles

parts were late in the mail

then got them, but that caliper was sticking....and i was scared of wrecking that caliper during the effort of removing the stuck pin, so put her back together and went back to work for 3wks

came back, tried again this time with a new caliper from local parts store, was just gonna swap out the bracket part, but, didnt line up with the bolt holes...dunno if it was wrong part or wrong part in box, but took it back, put the old parts back on and went back to work for 3wks

im home in 3 days for a month, waiting for me is replacement caliper which i hope is wrong again, really dont think ill need it, ive figured out a way to remove the pin w/o wrecking it, and besides i ordered a spare pin from the web, so im finally expecting success

i hope


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

That's going to be the biggest thing - I'm not sure if the pins are stuck or not, or worse, if it's a hung piston. There's a consistent sound while driving, without being on the brakes - but if it's metal on metal, it could just be the backing plate riding on the rotor. Oddly, though, the outer pad looks fine for thickness...but the outer face of the RR rotor looks like absolute ****. The LR rotor outer face looks fine, and the outer pad on that side looks to be about the same thickness. I'm expecting it's the inner pad on the RR that's grinding though. The pics below are from about nine days ago, two days into vacation, and about a day after it starting making noise.

Driving home - about 250 miles - I felt the rear wheels when we stopped for diesel - the RR wheel was _slightly_ warmer than the LR wheel, but that may very well have been just from the braking we had to do the last 10 or so miles, and especially the last mile. Metal to metal makes for some serious heat. If the piston was hung, I'm expecting the wheel would be realllly hot, so it might be okay.

Brakes should be here today, caliper piston tools here tomorrow, so I should be able to tackle them once those arrive...assuming nothing is impossibly stuck...


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Unrelated to that...anybody have the torque specs for the rear brakes (for the caliper bracket to "knuckle", and caliper to bracket - I'm assuming there aren't any more?).

"Auto Repair Source" is listing torque specs the same as the front brake caliper bracket, requiring some decent torque values + angle (74 ft-lbs + 15-30 degrees), and then 21 ft-lbs for the pin bolts.

I'm just surprised the specs are as high as the front, given the caliper is much, much smaller.


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

MP81 said:


> Unrelated to that...anybody have the torque specs for the rear brakes (for the caliper bracket to "knuckle", and caliper to bracket - I'm assuming there aren't any more?).
> 
> "Auto Repair Source" is listing torque specs the same as the front brake caliper bracket, requiring some decent torque values + angle (74 ft-lbs + 15-30 degrees), and then 21 ft-lbs for the pin bolts.
> 
> I'm just surprised the specs are as high as the front, given the caliper is much, much smaller.


Here's what I got off Chilton's web site. It agrees with your numbers.

I take it the rears on the diesel are the same as the gas?

Doug

Front Brake Caliper Bracket Bolt (15 inch Brake System J67 and J93) 
First Pass 100 N·m 74 lb ft 
Final Pass 20 – 30 degrees 

Front Brake Caliper Bracket Bolt (16 inch Brake System J60) 
First Pass 150 N·m 111 lb ft 
Final Pass 45 – 60 degrees 

Front Brake Caliper Guide Pin Bolt 28 N·m 21 lb ft 

Rear Brake Caliper Bracket Bolt 
First Pass 100 N·m 74 lb ft 
Final Pass 15°–30° 

Rear Brake Caliper Guide Pin Bolt 28 N·m 21 lb ft 

Vibration Dampener 9 N·m 80 lb in 

.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I believe they are - based on what I saw on RockAuto, the calipers are the same, they just use a different pad on a larger rotor.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

So, are we in agreement that the torque specs for the rear brakes on the diesel are the same as the gasser?

The caliper does appear to be the same, so I'm imaging that is the case - it's just mounted slightly further out with different pads for the larger rotors.

Planning to get out there and tackle these today - hoping the one caliper piston isn't hung, though I'm thinking it's probably not, since that wheel should have been REALLY hot, and I don't expect we'd have gotten 49 MPG on the trip back if it was hanging.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

MP81 said:


> So, are we in agreement that the torque specs for the rear brakes on the diesel are the same as the gasser?
> 
> The caliper does appear to be the same, so I'm imaging that is the case - it's just mounted slightly further out with different pads for the larger rotors.
> 
> Planning to get out there and tackle these today - hoping the one caliper piston isn't hung, though I'm thinking it's probably not, since that wheel should have been REALLY hot, and I don't expect we'd have gotten 49 MPG on the trip back if it was hanging.


i would go with specs from verano, shares same rear end, dont they?


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

From what I see on RockAuto, it shares the same rotor and pads, but _not _the caliper.

It conveniently didn't bother to tell me torque specs on "Auto Repair Source" in the installation procedure, but the tightening specs seemed to be the same, so I think it should be good.

It's too late anyway, car's all done as of about 3 hours ago, haha.

All pretty easy I'd say (I hadn't done rear disc brakes before on a vehicle) - though the lower bolts/mass dampers are a bit problematic in my mind...that nut is NOT very well defined. The wrench that fit the best was actually a 1/2" and it was a super tight fit...still tried to round itself off (the left side was worse than the right side - the wrench came off and I whacked myself in the face, thankfully just with my hand, but with a fair bit of force).

Caliper seemed to be okay, though - RR outboard pad absolutely was metal-to-metal, but the inboard pad actually was fine and had a little bit of life left. Left side both pads still had thickness as well. Maybe when the front right brake went metal-to-metal last year, that accelerated wear on the right rear to compensate?


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Pics in the What Did You Do thread:









What did you do TO your Cruze today?


Where did you get the filter from ? Amazon. $15 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KUL71CE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1




www.cruzetalk.com


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

MP81 said:


> From what I see on RockAuto, it shares the same rotor and pads, but _not _the caliper.
> 
> It conveniently didn't bother to tell me torque specs on "Auto Repair Source" in the installation procedure, but the tightening specs seemed to be the same, so I think it should be good.
> 
> ...


the yt video on the diesel rear brakes said to use flat mouth vise grips for that damper bolt


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

MP81 said:


> Caliper seemed to be okay, though - RR outboard pad absolutely was metal-to-metal, but the inboard pad actually was fine and had a little bit of life left.


This usually indicates the caliper is not freely moving on the slide pins, and is staying toward one side after the pedal is released, thus causing the uneven wear. I hope you cleaned and re-lubed the slide pins and their mating holes in the caliper.

Used to, I didn't always do that when I was doing brakes, but, over the years, I've added it to my list.

Doug

.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

boraz said:


> the yt video on the diesel rear brakes said to use flat mouth vise grips for that damper bolt


That would probably be a better option. It's only torqued to 21 ft.lbs, so guesstimating torque while tightening is pretty easy to do. I think it's _intended_ to be a hex, but it's terrible.



plano-doug said:


> This usually indicates the caliper is not freely moving on the slide pins, and is staying toward one side after the pedal is released, thus causing the uneven wear. I hope you cleaned and re-lubed the slide pins and their mating holes in the caliper.
> 
> Used to, I didn't always do that when I was doing brakes, but, over the years, I've added it to my list.
> 
> ...


That's the thing: all four slide pins moved in and out plenty freely. I pulled the boots back and squirted some extra brake lube in there and worked the pins in and out, just to be safe, but yeah, they all seemed to be pretty good. 

The pins themselves stay in the caliper bracket and have boots to keep any kind of debris out (rather than like on my Cavalier, where the caliper itself rode on the pins, inside sleeves, but with no boots), and then the caliper bolts to those pins.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

MP81 said:


> Sweet - I bought the type of tool kit shown in an image earlier in the thread, so that should be here when the pads and rotors are.
> 
> I do find brakes pretty relaxing to do - usually - but that might be a bit overkill! I did the fronts on the Cruze last October, then I did my brother's front brakes on his '01 Century about a month ago. I didn't do the brakes on his '01 Mustang when I upgraded all the suspension, but I did have to remove the front brakes (to get the control arm low enough to get the spring out, as well as to make my life a lot easier lining the spindle back up to the strut when reassembling), so I kind of did them in a way, haha.


Brakes are very easy and smooth to do. IF not drums, can’t stand drum brakes. Thankfully they aren’t super common to do and only her 16 spark has them.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

pandrad61 said:


> Brakes are very easy and smooth to do. IF not drums, can’t stand drum brakes. Thankfully they aren’t super common to do and only her 16 spark has them.


The drums on my Cobalt were _suuuuper_ easy to do. One big U-spring - that's it. 

The drums on the Cavalier were much more complicated with approximately 4,000 springs. Which is why I have no interest in doing the drum brakes on my brother's '01 Century, just to do them (he's maybe at 120k, so they're probably fine anyway).


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

MP81 said:


> The drums on my Cobalt were _suuuuper_ easy to do. One big U-spring - that's it.
> 
> The drums on the Cavalier were much more complicated with approximately 4,000 springs. Which is why I have no interest in doing the drum brakes on my brother's '01 Century, just to do them (he's maybe at 120k, so they're probably fine anyway).


On our old 85 318i they sucked. I’m glad I don’t do drums anymore. Disks all the way.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

pandrad61 said:


> On our old 85 318i they sucked. I’m glad I don’t do drums anymore. Disks all the way.


Drums are great out back, for most cases - they last **** near _forever, _but yeah...most are an absolute nightmare to deal with replacing the parts. The old big finned drums, like on my '81, actually look pretty sweet, but newer ones are boring to look at.


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