Brake question

[Steves72]

Greetings to all. I am new to both this board and being a Subaru owner. I purchased a 2000 Legacy Outback at the end of August (just shy of 50K on the odometer) and have slowly discovering several issues why the car was on the lot. The first problem I ran into were the front brakes. The rotors are warped and the pads shot. I will do this job myself but discovered from reading this board that the front brakes were increased in size from the 2000 to the 2001 model year.

 

Now, here is the interesting question. I obtained a set of 2001 calibers, backing plates and other parts necessary to put 2001 brakes on my 2000. When I went to Autozone and NAPA online both sites list the same rotor for the 2000 OBW and the 2001 OBW. Are the brakes really different or do the auto replacement stores simply selling a one size fits many model years rotor?

 

I will post seperate messages for the other issues if I require assistence or advice. For now stopping properly is the number one problem.

 

Steve

[RallyKeith]

I would guess that the rotor didn't change. Unless the base wheel for the car goes up in size the rotors can't usually get any bigger. What probably did change was the size of the pad and as such the caliper size. Anyway, don't be afraid to call the parts department of your local subaru dealer and ask them the questions. They will defenitley give you the correct answer. Since I see you're in SE PA you can call "My" dealer. Steve Moyer Subaru Reading, PA 610-916-7000 press 4 for parts. Mark Gift runs the parts department and is a really nice good guy.

 

Keith

[nickb21]

You'll need 16" wheels to fit the 2001 (larger) rotors+caliper setup.

 

I recently put new front rotors on a 2000 Legacy. The aftermarket Bendix rotors were actually a bit smaller than the OEM! So far they are solid though, I guess sometimes it's quality not size.

[Bill90Loyale]

  nickb21 said:

I guess sometimes it's quality not size.

That's what I've been telling my wife for years.