Changing discs and pads

Just make sure you have all the correct tools prior to starting, grab a Haynes manual if you can and give it a good read, and leave yourself plenty of time as it will take you a lot longer than you think. In theory it's an easy job but it can quickly become a pain in the rear if you try and rush it, ie - like pushing pistons back (make sure the brake reservoir is undone before starting) as you can easily damage seals.

And as someone else said, Plusgas or WD40 Penetrant is better than vanilla WD40.

Most importantly though, be safe whilst jacking the car and sticking it on axel stands; i tend to (carefully) stick the tyres under the car in case jack/stand collapses - a car coming off a stand isn't the prettiest of sights, especially if someone is under it.

BUDFORCE said:
Surprised no one mentioned grease.
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Similarly, brake cleaner to clean discs (with a clean rag) prior to fitting.
 
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I'm not saying you need all the below, but this is what I generally take round to cars that I work on from my shed when I'm doing brakes:

Haynes manual and/or phone with list of torque ratings
Torque wrenches
Breaker bar
Impact gun
Axle Stands
Socket set
Trolley Jacks
7mm Allan key if your car is one that uses this size for caliper slide bolts
Lever bars
Wire brush and sand paper
Grease (generic and/or red rubber compound)
Copper slip
Disposable gloves
Mask (breathing in brake dust is not good)
Goggles for when sanding/flicking all the dust off
Brake cleaner (or carb cleaner or solvent)
Old tooth brush and brushes
Newspaper to lay down underneath to not stain the drive
Wind back tool
Vernier calipers if you want to measure your disc to check wear
Brake fluid
Plus gas or WD40
Heavy duty zip ties to tie the caliper up with, or use another axle stand to hang it on
*Whatever other tools I forgot I need when I'm halfway through, with bloody knuckles and general **** caped all over me :)

### Tips ###
- Remember the front wheels can be turned to assist with access for wrenches and such
- Place wheels underneath the car/sills as an extra emergency brace if the worst were to happen and the car slip of the axle stand/jack
- Some brake discs can be taken off without removing the carrier bracket if you angle them and rotate. Saves trying to undo 20 year old seized highly torqued bolts.
- Don't contaminate the discs/pads by touching them with your grubby paws
- Buy a wind back tool
- Buy and use torque wrenches. Don't guess.
- Take the brake fluid reservoir cap off when you push the brake cylinder back and line the outside of the reservoir with kitchen towel for any overspill. Clean up any brake fluid immediately. It is corrosive to paint.
- Check youtube vis and have a plan as to what you need to do. As said, rear brakes are typically harder due to handbrake configurations.
- Be generous with grease on the caliper slide bolts
- If you ever are unsure about how to safely lift a car, do not proceed. Get proper advice. Cars of any weight are not to be taken for granted. Chock the wheels to stop roll for example. Lift in the proper places. Consider damage to the driveway that can be done too.
 
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jaybee said:
I'm not saying you need all the below, but this is what I generally take round to cars that I work on from my shed when I'm doing brakes:

Haynes manual and/or phone with list of torque ratings
Torque wrenches
Breaker bar
Impact gun
Axle Stands
Socket set
Trolley Jacks
7mm Allan key if your car is one that uses this size for caliper slide bolts
Lever bars
Wire brush and sand paper
Grease (generic and/or red rubber compound)
Copper slip
Disposable gloves
Mask (breathing in brake dust is not good)
Goggles for when sanding/flicking all the dust off
Brake cleaner (or carb cleaner or solvent)
Old tooth brush and brushes
Newspaper to lay down underneath to not stain the drive
Wind back tool
Vernier calipers if you want to measure your disc to check wear
Brake fluid
Plus gas or WD40
Heavy duty zip ties to tie the caliper up with, or use another axle stand to hang it on
*Whatever other tools I forgot I need when I'm halfway through, with bloody knuckles and general **** caped all over me :)

### Tips ###
- Remember the front wheels can be turned to assist with access for wrenches and such
- Place wheels underneath the car/sills as an extra emergency brace if the worst were to happen and the car slip of the axle stand/jack
- Some brake discs can be taken off without removing the carrier bracket if you angle them and rotate. Saves trying to undo 20 year old seized highly torqued bolts.
- Don't contaminate the discs/pads by touching them with your grubby paws
- Buy a wind back tool
- Buy and use torque wrenches. Don't guess.
- Take the brake fluid reservoir cap off when you push the brake cylinder back and line the outside of the reservoir with kitchen towel for any overspill. Clean up any brake fluid immediately. It is corrosive to paint.
- Check youtube vis and have a plan as to what you need to do. As said, rear brakes are typically harder due to handbrake configurations.
- Be generous with grease on the caliper slide bolts
- If you ever are unsure about how to safely lift a car, do not proceed. Get proper advice. Cars of any weight are not to be taken for granted. Chock the wheels to stop roll for example. Lift in the proper places. Consider damage to the driveway that can be done too
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^This is a good list. Just a few bits to add:

A turkey baster is useful to draw fluid from the brake reservoir to avoid it overflowing when pushing back the caliper pistons.

A one way valve for bleeding makes life much easier, and for the sake of a few quid I'd say it's a must have for doing brakes.

An old washing up bowl is very useful to dump hand tools and bolts, pads etc. in as you work. It saves putting stuff on the ground and possibly picking up dirt, or losing small parts. Plus, once you've done one corner you'll have a bowl of tools to take round to the next corner.

A good supply of clean rags is very useful and better than tissue paper IMO. An old t shirt or similar cut up into A4 sized pieces is ample.
 
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Lopéz said:
This may sound cavalier, but replacing brake pads and discs is actually one of the more straightforward mechanical tasks that you can do.
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Maybe but its also one of those things that probably shouldn't be tackled unless you're reasonably competent, it could be argued it should be illegal to be tackled by anyone who's not qualified as its a critical safety component
 
Blackjack Davy said:
Maybe but its also one of those things that probably shouldn't be tackled unless you're reasonably competent, it could be argued it should be illegal to be tackled by anyone who's not qualified as its a critical safety component
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I would agree, I'm fairly confident (grown up around cars my dad owned a small indy growing up), but brakes always make me nervous and I find myself checking checking and checking again when working on anything to do with the brake system.
 
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ChrisLandin said:
Ive got a comprehensive set of tools, where I get a bit lost is some people are saying I need a piston rewind tool? Others are saying I can get in with a large flat head driver and work the pistons back that way.

The Tiguan does have an electric parking brake does that make it much more difficult?
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Don't use a screwdriver! You'll end up scratching the piston/piercing the seal on the calliper, and then you're in a whole world of trouble for the sake of a £25 tool off ebay that just works.

I have probably the cheapest rewind tool on ebay, it works flawlessly and saves you a lot of ball ache, you can however get a bit of wood thats wider/bigger than the piston and then place the calliper onto something on the ground (like another bit of wood so not to scratch it or the drive) and simply get a big bar/pole and push the wood centrally - I've done that before when caught short helping a mate with limited tools.

To save yourself a load of hassle, if you have vented discs and not solid, you can simply put a screwdriver in one of the vents on the disc so when the disc rotates when undoing the brake discs's locating screws on the hub, the screwdriver will hit the calliper and stop the brake disc spinning - sounds obvious but so many people take the calliper off first then have a nightmare undoing those disc location screws - if you can source them, definitely buy new locating screws as they're really a one time usage and love to round.

IF you don't have vented discs and they're solid, simply get someone to press hard on the brakes and undo the locating screw first before doing anything else ;)

Also get yourself a £7-12 ebay special 'impact screwdriver' it's a massive stumpy rotating half inch racheting screwdriver, that allows you to fit half inch sockets onto it and comes with many attachments, you simply set it to undo counterclockwise and smack the end of it hard with a hammer/mallet, and the shock force will undo those pesky brake disc location screws easily without rounding them, as they're usually allen or phillips, both of which easily round due to age/corrosion if you try and use say a screwdriver or rachet, so this cheap tool saves you so much hassle!
I use it for everything I undo first time on a new car, and obviously copper grease everything you reuse fixings wise.

Make sure you get some brake cleaner and spray it all over both sides of the new discs then wipe it off with a clean rag, as they'll come with a anti corrosive coating as standard which you need to remove or the brakes will be rubbish/risk infecting the brake pads, oh and give the hubs a good old wire brushing so the mating area to the new discs is nice and consistent - doesn't hurt as well to give the hubs a bit of copper grease either, even just 4/6 dabs evenly around them, means again no corrosion in the future when doing it again, but is optional :)

Oh and get yourself a bungie cord and hook the calliper onto the shocks spring so it's out the way and the brake hose isn't under tension :) or IF the hose is long enough on some cars you can sit it on the wishbone behind the hub out of the way, whatever provides the least tension/pull on the cable and sits in a natural postion versus being twisted etc...

It may seem daunting but this is an easy and very satisfying job that saves you a tonne of money! Just take your time and do 1 side at a time.
 
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Blackjack Davy said:
...it could be argued it should be illegal to be tackled by anyone who's not qualified as its a critical safety component
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"Qualified" means squat.
When i was young i had a local place, that luckily now doesn't exist, forget to fully tighten a bleed nipple on one of the calipers after a pad, disc, brake fluid change which made things interesting when coming to a set of lights after picking it up :cry:
They were more than apologetic when i took back obviously but personally, i trust myself more than your typical backstreet garage with stuff like that now.

stigggeh said:
... I find myself checking checking and checking again when working on anything to do with the brake system.
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And that's how it should be working on most parts of the car to be honest.
 
Blackjack Davy said:
Maybe but its also one of those things that probably shouldn't be tackled unless you're reasonably competent, it could be argued it should be illegal to be tackled by anyone who's not qualified as its a critical safety component
Click to expand...

Ah yeah brakes would cost £500 min labour to change because a qualification is needed lol, honestly.
 
Blackjack Davy said:
it could be argued it should be illegal to be tackled by anyone who's not qualified as its a critical safety component
Click to expand...


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