2006 Chevy TrailBlazer SS - Cool Your Jets

For all-wheel-drive TrailBlazer SS vehicles: The drive axle was removed by loosening the 36mm nut on the wheel hub. We left the 36mm nut partially on the threaded end of the drive axle to provide a surface to strike with a dead-blow hammer.

For all-wheel-drive TrailBlazer SS vehicles: The drive axle will need one or two mild blows to free the axle splines from the wheel hubs. We noticed once it came loose that the axle will compress slightly toward the center of the vehicle when struck with the dead-blow hammer.

The front hubs had electronic wheel speed sensors bolted to them that needed to be removed to swap the brake rotor backing plate. We were very careful with this component because it is a sensitive, fragile electrical sensor. We then swapped the backing plates and reinstalled the sensor, without any damage incurred.

When we reinstalled the sensor, we wiped a light coat of wheel bearing grease onto the O-ring, which made it much easier to slide into the hole on the hub.

Using an 18mm swivel socket on an impact wrench, the three bolts holding the hub on the spindle were removed. It was possible to do this step with a standard 18mm socket, but the swivel sockets make the job much faster. With the bearing carrier hub loose, we pulled it off the spindle until the production brake rotor backing plate could be removed. Our next step was to thread the wheel speed sensor through the opening in the brake rotor backing plate, which enabled us to fully remove the factory backing plate from the vehicle.

The GM Performance brake cooling kit came with left and right rotor backing plates (arrow 1) that were installed on the vehicle by removing the stock backing plate (arrow 2). To determine which plate goes on which side of the vehicle, refer to the label that appears on the outer face of the GM Performance brake rotor backing plate. With the new Brake Cooling System backing plate in place, we installed the previous components and torqued them to the recommended levels.

The TrailBlazer SS front fascia and area behind the bumper were originally designed for this cooling system, so the opening in the bumper for the cooling duct and area behind the bumper do not have any components obstructing the system.

Installation of the GM Performance molded plastic brake duct began by pushing an anchor nut onto the metal tang of the radiator support bracket. A bolt will be threaded into this to hold the duct onto the vehicle.

There were two ducts in the kit and they are specific to each side. They only fit in the appropriate side. We started by sliding the rectangular section of the duct over the backside perimeter of the opening in the front body fascia. The duct fit snugly over this rim and easily slid into place.

We then hand-threaded the 8mm mounting bolt into the lower hole on the duct flange and the anchor nut to hold the duct in place, then installed the pushpin into the upper hole on the duct.

This is what the installed brake ductwork looks like on the TrailBlazer SS. Now we are headed out to enjoy the improved performance of our brake system.