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Brake pads

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:27 am
by Turnipman
Ok this one seems like a no brainer, I need new pads on the front but the disks are fine, the disks are the solid ones not the vented ones by the way.

I would assume most people go to kwik fit, but i fell uneasy going to a place that has the name kwik in it.

Where do you guys normally go and what type of price am i expecting, pads at euro car parts are like £25 for a pair?


Vocalise you merry bunch of informaion people of great power. :wink:

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:33 am
by dragon
I go to my driveway and do it myself :lol:

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:52 am
by Turnipman
Granted I don't have machanical mind but i am not a muppet, could this job be done easily or will i bring in the sunset tonight under my car?


:kill: cos you can

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 12:02 pm
by dragon
Well it took me, on my first ever brake change (I'm not overly mechanical-minded either), with rusted bolts to contend with a little over 2 hours to replace my front pads AND discs -
so just pads ought to be about an hour. If you do do it, it's worth wire-brushing your calipers to get most of the rust off them before you put the new pads in, particularly the channel the pads get pushed along in by the hydrauling ram. Don't forget to open your brake fluid resovoir to allow you to push back the rams easier (still quite a hard part of the job as they are very stong)

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 12:03 pm
by pol
It is a very easy job and probably the first thing I ever did on a car myself which got me started on everything. Even haynes manuals are good for this job. All you need is the big allen key for the caliper and you're away. The pads just clip into the caliper once its removed. It's only 2 bolts so get out there and learn!

pol

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 1:34 pm
by chris1roll
Once you know exactly what your doing its a piece of piss. We changed rpruens pads in 15 mins including jacking up and down.
As Dragon said if it was discs as well, when i did front and rear discs and pads i was doing all sodding day cos of the stupid rusty bolts. (ts not just 480's though, theres a mates golf in our workshop cos he rounded off a caliper bolt)
Proper volvo front pads are only £35ish.

So go and do it yourself and save the money that you would have paid a monkeh to do it for you, and spend it on optimax or something!

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:02 pm
by martinholmesuk

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 6:36 pm
by Turnipman
Ok so i went to halfords got the pads easy, got home jacked up and manage to get all bolts undone exept the locking bolt. You all know what kind of shape it is, so the outer ring completly snapped off, not my day it seems.

While i am at work tomorrow my dad says he will try heating up and cooling it down see if that does it.


But if doesn't, any ideas of how to get it off.

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 7:33 pm
by chris1roll
exept the locking bolt. You all know what kind of shape it is, so the outer ring completly snapped off
youve got me a bit confused by that:

1) loosen wheel bolts
2) Jack up
3) take the wheel off
4) remove the metal spring.
5) using two 13mm(iirc) spanners, loosen the upper caliper bolt
6) remove hte lower caliper bolt
7) swing up the caliper,
8) remove old pads

and then put back together.

Image
ignore the arrow, see where the tools are, these (and the same at the top)are the only bolts you need to touch to do the pads. Are you having trouble with these?

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 7:43 pm
by chris1roll
Xtra hint, use a pair of plumbers grips to push the caliper back in with. make sure it goes in straight else it will be a pain, you may have to squeeze on one side then the other, you'll know what i mean when you do it.

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 9:54 pm
by deviliShred480
abc

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 10:44 pm
by pol
I don't know what locking nut you could mean?

pol

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:02 pm
by chris1roll
Try a piece of wood across the piston and lever roughly in the middle to push it back evenly. Another trick is to place a socket in the recess of the piston and push on that to put the force in the center of the piston.
Hate to try to teach someone how to suck eggs but sometimes we get set in our ways and don't always go looking for alternative solutions, and also I thought it was also the idea of the forum to exchange ideas.
Thatas a better idea actually.
I shall try that next time, sure mine are coming up for renewal, done about 10 thousand miles with these :shock: grooved discs shred them!

Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:33 pm
by Murf
are the front ones the same as the back where you have to wind back the auto adjuster bolts? or do you just push the piston in with a g-clamp?

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 12:11 am
by JohnTurbo
G clamp the fronts, wind in the rears. G clamp is the best way by far, but not everyone has a g-clamp that big. Luckily i do :)