200OZ

I just found this sight for the GM mini-vans, looked for brake upgrades on here, but I found nothing. I've had a '04 Venture for 6 years now and have always been unsatisfied with the brakes. 11" rotors with a vehicle this heavy? I saw the w-body guys doing '06 Impala front brake swaps and did some cross referencing and found the spindles, and wheel bearing are all the same.

Stock '04 Venture front rotors on the right, stock '06 Impala front rotors on the left. About 11" compared to about 12".

Stock '04 Venture calipers and pads on the left, stock '06 Imp calipers and pads on the right.

Stock Venture brakes.

'06 Imp brakes on a '04 Chevy Venture with 16" '02 Impala SS wheels.


This was literally all bolt on, other than some slight tweaking of the flexible brake hoses, it couldn't have been easier, and it uses all cheap, easy to find GM parts. You will need to run at least a 16" wheel with this set up though, and while the brakes still won't stop you on a dime, it does feel quite a bit better. I hope you all find this post useful.

Mike

bigworm

hi we bought a 2003 chevy venture lz with the same rims on it I was replacing the front brake pads and found that they had no pad on the bottom but the top was still all there and has been going over the top of the rotors have you had the same problem the caliper housing looks like the kind that are suppose to be on there but I have no idea why the pads have gone over the rotors please email me back kbsweeney1980@yahoo.com

200OZ

It sounds to me that you have some miss matched brake parts.

I replaced the factory front wheel drive Venture front brake pads, calipers, and rotors with parts originally designed for a 2006-2010 (maybe later years as well) Chevy Impala, and the rims I have are from a 2004 Impala SS.

Is your Venture all wheel drive? The AWD Ventures used slightly larger front brakes than the FWD model. Maybe the previous owner installed FWD rotors (smaller dia.) on you AWD Venture? I/we would need more info/pictures of your specific van and the issues you're having to help you out.

Mike

bigworm

hi the rims are the same. tires are 225/60/16 the rotors look just like the one on the right in your picture.and the caliper and housing look just like the one on the left the pads I took off kind of look like the one on the left only by the steel part with the caliper housing tabs the pad itself looks like the one on the right with the line down the middle our van is awd but it is disabled because the abs wire harness corroirded from under the hood before it goes up I got the hub because that's what I thought it was till I took it all apart and seen that it was the wires not the hub it was fine haha so guna get the abs wire harness tomorrow to see if that will enable our awd but I really need to find the right pads for the front because I don't want the pads to wear over the rotor again never seen anything like it been working on cars my whole life.so its kind of like the pads are to big and the rotors are small but idk what size rotors does our 2003 chevy venture awd versitrak need??? and if need bigger would the rims fit? and also the caliper on the left in your pic would it fit??? thanks

200OZ

The front and rear brakes on an AWD Venture are different from the FWD Venture so be sure to get the right parts. The fronts are very similar, but do not interchange, the calipers, pads, rotors, and wheel bearings are all different. It sounds to me like you may have FWD rotors on your AWD. The larger rotors will not effect the wheel fitment as the caliper would make contact with the wheel first.

Rotor Diameters:
'97-'05 FWD Venture - 11"
'02-'07 AWD Venture/Uplander - 11 1/2" or so
'06-'12 Impala - 12"

bigworm

that's kind of what I thought ok so do I get the awd front pads or the fwd front pads so the pads don't go over the rotors??? can you show me picks so I can see what ones might fit

200OZ

You will want all your brake parts for an AWD Venture, pads, rotors, calipers.
It's all gotta match, that's why engineers make the big bucks.

I don't have pics, other than the one's already in this post.

Go take a look at http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/catalog.php They have some pics, and a good selection of brands.

capezig

Our 2004 venture seemed to warp front brake rotors in awfully short order. My solution was to upgrade to cross drilled rotors...seems to have been a good solution so far.

200OZ

I tried drilled/slotted rotors a few years ago with mixed results. Still "warped" rotors, but not as quickly, and the winter salt slush rusted the holes and they started to crack at the holes. Drilled/slotted rotors= not good for a daily driver in the snow belt.

What caused the "warped" rotors was uneven brake pad material deposited on the rotor surface because I never bedded in new pads, and the way my wife and I drove. I've been a GM tech for 18 years, and when a buddy told me about the warped rotor issue in a article by Stop Tech, I was skeptical to say the least. It's a bit of reading, and a little wordy but very worth while.

-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

I had the warped rotor issue whipped at this point because of the technique Stop Tech showed me in that article. I went with big brakes for shorter stopping distance. I don't have official measurements, but in the seat of your pants testing it's feels much better.