kvr brake help

[valleyman]

I'm in the middle of installiing my KVR brakes. Am I correct in thinking that on the fronts that pressed metal dust shield or splash shield or whatever it is that protects (sort of) the forward portion of the rotor has to come off so it doesn't rub on the new rotor? And the front calipers appear interchangeable left and right: I'm assuming I decide which is which by choosing the mounting position that puts the bleeder valve at the TOP when the caliper's mounted, right?

Yeah, I know, I know. Why didn't I ask this stuff before I'm in the middle of it....

[sailsmen]

Some discard the spalsh shield, I don't know if it is required with the KVR, I have seen KVR's with the spalsh shield.

Yes the caliper should go on so the bleeder is on the top.

[valleyman]

Many thanks. (I love this site.)

[FordNut]

Yes, the dust shield is deleted.

[stevengerard]

the rotors are directional too, at least tmy KVRs are marked that way.

[David Morton]

There is no reason to toss the dust shields away as they do not interfere with any parts nor do they inhibit airflow through the rotors. Mine are still there and my wheels don't gather any more brake dust than they did stock.

Be sure to use Loc-Tite High Temp Red on those 8 big caliper carrier mount bolts and torque the pee out of 'em. KVR didn't give me a spec. for those but I've seen bolts that size take 200 ft. lbs or more. I used an extra long Mac box wrench and my 5-lb. dead blow hammer. Use the washers to make sure the carriers mount with equal clearance on both sides of the rotor.

The fluid they give is compatible with stock fluid, it will mix well and flush out the old if you bleed the reservoir almost empty (be carefull, don't let the M/Cyl suck air) and then add the new fluid. Bleed down to near empty one more time and you'll get out 95% of the old or more and still have one pint left over (unopened) for later maintenance.

The rotors are directional and if put on backwards will give excellent cooling in reverse over 45 mph. :D
Think of them as radial compressor blades helping to push the air outward since that is the way the air wants to go from the centrifugal force anyway.

[valleyman]

I'll be waiting a while to put the brakes on because it seems that KVR sent Dennis who sent me the wrong calipers.

After I got everything off and the new rotors on (facing in the right direction) I noticed that the calipers weren't cooperating in going on easily. Long story short, they're the wrong part. The distance between the two anchor bolt holes is about 3/8" shorter than the distance on the anchor plate. Fortunately I checked the fitment before I glued the brake pads to the calipers.

Oh well. I guess another couple weeks wait won't hurt.

David Morton, please tell me you mean 4 and not 8 bolts that mount the caliper assembly to the anchor plate. The shop manual calls for 118 ft/lbs on those puppies. I was planning on using red Loc-tite because it withstands the extreme heat better, right?

[David Morton]

There's 8 fat bolts, the four short ones already on the car which you will reuse and four long ones you get from KVR that go through the carrier, shims and washer/spacers into the adapter plate.

The plate is steel and those long ones are the ones I took a hammer to. I want to get every bit of stretch out of those two so they don't go stretching under stress. 118 ft. lbs. sounds about right for those short ones as the spidle is aluminum and they're only under the stress of shearing but those long spacers are gonna try to lean under heavy braking so it's good insurance to make extra sure those long bolts won't stretch. I'd have to get out a bolt size/grade torque chart to find what they can take but I'd guess breaking point on those is over 500 ft. lbs. so I'd put 200 on them if your wrench will go that high.

[valleyman]

Well, once again I'm sure I've got the wrong calipers: no bolts came in my kit.

[dflynn5]

The rotors are directional and if put on backwards will give excellent cooling in reverse over 45 mph.

Just loved this quote.

[valleyman]

I'll probably be putting the front KVRs on the car this weekend and I still haven't decided whether to leave on or toss out the dust shields (or whatever they are) on the inside of the rotor. My deciding criterion is heat: is there a possibility that shield actually directs MORE air flow onto the rotor or do you think it impedes air flow? Or David Morton, convince me it makes no difference so I can stop obsessing about this. :o

[FordNut]

My Ford Van came from the factory without any dust shields. I figured if an OEM application with a heavy vehicle like that can get by without the dust shields, the MM should be fine. In addition to that, if I had left the dust shields installed I wouldn't have a good airflow path for the brake cooling ducts I installed.