If you hear a humming or grinding noise or if your brake pedal travels nearly to the floor
and need additional stopping time or simply want to change your brakes for any reason then this guide is for you.
Tools Needed:
Socket set
Hex key bits
Torque Wrench
Pliers
Files
Screwdrivers
Tie-wraps
Trolley Jack
Axle Stands
Parts Needed:
Brake Pads (4 in a set)
Brake Discs (2 in a set) Can be vented or solid dependant on model.
Fitting Kit(2 Spring Clips)
Copper slip grease.
Brake Cleaner
Rags
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Brakes!
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Shiney and New
Stop Me Now!
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Firstly you will need to remove the wheel trims if fitted then slacken the front wheel
nuts on both sides of the car then chock the rear wheels to stop it from rolling away whilst you jack it up.
Place the trolley jack under the rear of the gearbox cradle and proceed to jack up the front of the car,
you may notice that the car will drift slightly, this is normal so don't worry too much,
but as always keep your hands and feet well clear just in case.
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With the front in the air you will need to support the weight of the car with the axle stands for safety.
Place these under the chassis legs just after the lower arm mounts.
Slowly lower the car down onto the stands, make sure they are secure and the car wont fall.
If that's fine, just make sure you pump the jack up so its just touching the gearbox cradle,
this is for added safety, if one of the axle stands gets knocked then the weight of the car would still be supported.
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Now that the front of the car is in the air you can completely undo the wheel nuts and remove the wheels.
Now you will see if your brakes are worn.
As you can see from the pictures below, my brakes were completely worn and definitely needed replacing.
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Start to dismantle the calliper by removing the spring clip by holding it with a pair of pliers
and prise it out with a screwdriver.
Next remove the plastic blanking plugs from the back of the calliper to reveal the hex bolts
that hold the calliper to anchor bracket.
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Use a hex key socket bit and slacken them off fully. This will then allow you to pull the
calliper free from the anchor bracket.
One of the brake pads will remain attached to the calliper and one will still be attached to the anchor bracket.
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At this point you will be able to see what kind of a state the pads are in,
mine are completely had it! Worn and cracked with less than 1mm of friction material.
Prise out the pads from the piston on the calliper then balance the calliper on top of the disc/hub.
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Repeat this for the other side of the car, then open the bonnet and disconnect the brake
fluid reservoir multi-plug then unscrew the cap and place a rag around the bottle to catch drips.
Using a G Clamp gently compress the piston back into the calliper keeping an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir,
when it gets too high remove some of the fluid using a oral medicine syringe(available from the chemist).
Keep compressing the piston and removing the fluid as you go until both the pistons are flush with the calliper opening.
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Brush away any brake dust taking care not to inhale it as its dangerous.
Now the pistons are flush, use some brake cleaner and clean all the pad mating surfaces
on the calliper (piston face and 2 forks).
Using a large tie-wrap carefully suspend the calliper from the spring so its out of harms way.
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That's the callipers cleaned and out of the way now you can move onto the discs.
Depending on the car, the disc might be secured to the hub in one of two different ways,
one being a small screw at the side of the wheel stud, or like in my case a small metal clip
pushed over the wheel stud really tight.
To remove this get a pair of pliers around it and twist it enough so you can get hold of it with your
fingers and completely remove it and place to one side.
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To get the actual disc off you will need to remove the anchor plate from the hub,
this is done by removing two 17mm bolts, then the plate will drop off and the disc be pulled off.
Clean the hub mating surface with the cleaner and a wire brush to remove the rust to allow the new hub to sit flush.
When the surface is clean use some copper slip and apply a thin layer to the hub,
this will stop the disc from seizing to the surface.
Repeat this for both sides.
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Before we go any further I will show you the new brake set up and what's included in the box,
as you can see there are 2 discs and 4 pads.
Also shown here is the copper slip and the new retaining spring clips.
Notice that the discs are supplied in bags with oil in to stop them from rusting in transit.
This oil needs to be cleaned off with brake cleaner prior to fitting.
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Shown below are the old discs side by side with the new disc, notice the thickness
of the new discs as this could cause a slight problem in the next section.
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After the new discs have been cleaned they can be installed onto the hub and the
little retaining clip be pushed onto one of the wheel studs to keep the disc in place.
I also put the wheel nuts onto the studs to help the alignment of the pads/discs.
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The anchor plates now need to be cleaned and possibly filled down in the disc recess to allow the new thicker discs to fit.
Don't be alarmed; all you are doing is filling off the old rust build up.
Whilst you are cleaning the plate, make sure that you remove all traces of rust and dirt from the cut outs for the pads to sit in.
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Test fit the anchor plate to the hub and hand tighten the bolts. At this stage try and rotate the disc,
if it rotates then you don't need to file any more off but if it fouls on the
anchor plate you will need to remove the plate and file some more off, keep repeating this for as many times as needed.
Once the plate doesn't foul on the disc you can tighten up the anchor bolts to the correct torque,
which is 60NM. Then use a small amount of copper slip and grease the pad guides on the plate.
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Shown below are the old pads side by side with the new ones, as you can see they were completely useless.
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Now cut down the calliper from its hanging position and grease the piston with copper slip and push
the new pad that has the metal prongs into the open end in the piston taking care not to contaminate the braking surface.
Grease the odd shaped ends of the pad backing where they slide along the calliper base.
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Again grease the two forks that come into contact with the other pad backing and the edges as above.
Balance the calliper on top of the disc/hub carefully.
Get hold of the pad with no metal clips on and grease the odd shaped edges
and place this pad into the groves on the calliper anchor bracket,
then place the calliper around this pad making sure that both pads are within the callipers metal "Reach".
Hand tighten the hex headed bolts that hold the calliper to the anchor plate.
Using the torque wrench proceed to nip these up to the specified torque of 35NM then replace the rubber dust covers.
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Then the last thing to do is to fit the new spring to the front of the calliper to
hold the outer pad in place and to help stabilise the complete unit.
Then you are left with a nice new shiny set up.
Repeat the above for the other side then refit the road wheels,
lower the car to the ground, tighten up the road wheels.
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This part is vitally important, so please do it!
With the engine off, gently keep pumping the brake pedal until it feels firm,
this moves the pads close to the disc. If you didn't do this then you wouldn't have any brakes.
Check the brake fluid level in the reservoir and top up or remove the fluid as
required then put the cap back on and reconnect the wiring.
Start the engine and pump the brakes and alter the fluid as required again.
Now you have finished but you will need to drive carefully and avoid excessive
braking for the next 100miles as the pads and discs bed in.
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On a final note here are some pictures of how much fluid was removed and of how much the pads had worn compared to the new ones,
Please go and check your brakes, as these are vital for all of our safety on the roads.
I have been informed that these pads had around 2 days life left in them before total failure!
I have been lucky but you might not be! Get them checked!
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Then that's that, job done. Safe Driving and braking now!
Hope this guide helps alot of you.
Guide Written and © On 23 Mar 2006 by Andrew Whiteman (AW3K)
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