How to add 6th gen front brakes to a 5.5 gen Maxima:

Ok so i was curious on doing this mod and found out it is not hard at all.  All you really need is to be mechanically inclined.  So i ordered the front brakes:

Rotors

Calipers

caliper Brackets

from a salvage yard i found on car-parts.com.

The lot came with EVERYTHING.  It came with calipers, rotors, brackets, shims, and all mounting bolts.  I have not received the rotors yet as they are still enroute.  I did not take pics of the parts as they arrived (dirty) so all i have is pics of nice clean painted calipers and brackets.  i used Duplicolor silver caliper paint to paint the parts.  i must say after cleaning the parts and painting the parts they came out extremely nice.  Looks like it will withstand nature.

The tools i used to clean the parts

and what i have so far

So now for chaning out the 5.5 brakes for the 6th gens.

First and foremost safety it key.  Make sure you jack the car up and place jackstands so nothing comes down on you.  If you screw something up, I am not responsible. You assume all responsibility for your actions. Your mileage may vary. Look both ways before crossing the street. Don't drink and drive. Eat your veggies and above all, be good humans.

ok so lets begin. 

Tools needed:                                                                                                                          

10 mm wrench and socket

12 mm socket

14 mm socket

19 mm socket

plenty of rags

old coke bottle (2 oz)

foot long of vacuum hose

drain pan

funnel

brake fluid (Nissan specifys DOT 3)

So the first thing is to jack the car up and remove the wheel.  I started with the farthest away so the passenger side.  Once the wheel is off get your 14mm socket and ratchet and undo the 2 bolts holding the caliper to the bracet.

Once you have removed the caliper take you 19mm socket and ratchet and remove the bracket.   I reccommend to either use a 1/2 drive ratchet or a 3/8 with a long handle.  These bolts can be very tough to budge and you need some leverage and torque to remove it.  Once the calipeer bracket is removed you can remove the rotor.  Clean all mounting spot and flat surfaces so rotor, wheel and all other components are flush when reassembling.

5.5 cal vs 6th gen cal

I didnt take a pick of the removal of the caliper for a few reasons,  I need to get the new one attached before the fluid dripped out and caused a Valdez.  The other reason is my hands were covered in brake fluid, so make sure to put down the drain pan.  TO remove the brake line you need the 12mm socket and ratchet.  I recommend breaking this loose before unbolting thee caliper. 

6th gen rotor vs 5.5 gen   old rotor measures 11.68 and 6th gen is 12.68 inches and is thicker as well.

ok so all parts are removed, get your new parts ready.  Attach them in reverse order. Caliper to brake line first, then rotor, then bracket, then attach caliper to bracket.  It should look like this now.  What i did to get the caliper piston seated against the rotor is to keep cover on master cylider, start car and then pump the brakes a few times.  Now shut car off and we can bleed the brakes. 

Place the vacuum line over the bleeder screw.  Insert the line into you coke bottle or whatever catch device you have.  Check and make sure the fluid is full in the MC.  Once your full your ready to bleed the line.  I gravity bled my brakes as i was by myself.  Loosen the bleed screw with your 10mm wrench and you will see the fluid to slowy drip into the bottle.  Do not pump brakes while bleed screw is open.  YOu will see the fluid drain in to the bottle and it will probably be bronze in color.  Let it bleed until it is a steady constant drip and keep checking to make sure the fluid is at max in the master cylinder.  Once you get to 1/4 of the 20 oz bottle full, close bleeder screw.  now start car and pump the brakes 3-4 times.  The pedal will feel spongy so dont be alarmed.   Ok shut car off and start bleeding again until the 20 oz bottle is half full.  Keep checking brake fluid level in the master.  By this time you should see the clean fluid making its way thru.  once the bottle is half full your done this side.  Close the bleed screw and pump the brakes again.  It may feel spongy but all is good. 

So your half done.  Now go to the driver side and do it all over again.  Once the drivers side is done and your wheels are back on the ground all you need to make sure is you are at max fluid level. If so your completely done.  Back your car out and safely test the brakes at 2- 3 mph to make sure you can stop.  If its good you can road test it.  So you know your pedal will not feel its greatest until the car has been driven a bit and the pads are bedded.  I dont have a bedding procedure, you can find it online.   

Now it fills the space between rotor and wheel.

i have GLE wheels and i have plenty of clearance.  Say 12-14mm from the caliper to the inside of the rim. About the same from the spoke to the bracket.

At first i didnt notice ahuge difference.  But after the pads were bedded its noticeably improved.  Regular stops  seem to bite in better.  Stops from higher speeds to say 10-15 mph seem to take 1/4 of the time.  Vastly improved braking and looks as well.  Enjoy.