DIY Car Mechanics Explained - Changing Brake Pads & Discs

Is there anyway we can vote for threads to be archived? Also lopez, how do you rate the cheap discs for sale on a popular auction site? I am thinking they are dangerous and not a good idea?
 
Cheers for the replies, here are the answers to a few points.

Copper grease is great, but I've never ever ever had squeal except on Fiestas so I don't bother with it any more :) I did use some on the hub but my hands were covered in the stuff and I'd run out of gloves so I was trying to be sparing with the pics before my A80 started looking like it had been subjected to a black/copper respray :p

Yep, a G clamp is good for pushing the pistons back - they also come in handy to pinch the bottom of a balljoint when the thread keeps turning.

Been using cheap discs for years and never had a problem. Good pads are a wise investment though - these Apec's are cheap but they usually last well so all the local Taxi firms use them.

Pumping the pedal pretty much comes naturally, the brakes were back to normal by the time I'd moved the car off the ramps (I cheated a bit and had the luxury of air tools and a proper workshop, but it's just as easy to do on the driveway. :)

If anyone wants a decent thread archiving, just use the RTM button (the exclamation mark under the avatar column) so it brings it to our attention.

Glad some people found the thread useful anyway. :)
 
F355 said:
Good thread! More of these threads and less "Here is my daddys car" threads would be a great thing for Motors.
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because there are hundreds of "here's my dad's car" threads. *** ****? :confused:

great guide lopez :)
 
Slime101 said:
3 Things...

1) Do you not use copper grease on the back face of the pads?

2) If you dont have a winding tool a mint G-cramp is ideal

3) I would always reccoment pumping the pedal a few times BEFORE driving off to get back the feel!
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agree should also put copper grease on back of disc> hub therefore you wont need to beat 7 shades of crap out of it next time you need to remove it! Smart huh?
Edit: seen you said you done that now :)
 
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Top class, needs to be archived/stickied or whatever.

We also need "Hire-a-Lopez" - you ring him and he comes round to do the crappy jobs you dont want to do yourself.
 
Nice one Lopez, 1 week after having bought all the parts to do mine and chickened out because the Haynes BOL seemed vague.. Could have saved myself £40! The new discs and pads for my Xantia 110 HDI were £102!! (INC VAT) which I bought from a parts shop and then £40 for labour from the local scallies that buy and sell vans next door to my work.
 
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When i took my front breaks apart to inspect for grit and the like because they were squeaking (infact still do!) I never used a clamp or winding tool.

My mondeo looks the same as yours but where u have used that tool on the piston there is just a hole on my caliper. The back of the break pad had a simple metal spring on it which slotted into this hole.

I don't understand why it is different.
 
cableguy2003 said:
One thing, if the car is equipped with ABS then they bleed nipple should be opened rather than the fluid cap opened to wind the pistons back in.
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That's mainly (IIRC) to prevent dirt from inside the caliper blocking filters inside the system? I've seen it mentioned on websites for various car maintenence in the past - interestingly, the Haynes for the Mondeo (which has ABS) and many other cars of a similar age makes no mention of this technique, so I don't know if it's system specific or just a general thing.

I remember being concerned after reading this when I first got the car, so I asked a few mechanics I know what they did. The universal response was "nobody bothers with that", so I've never bothered doing it. :)
 
Tesla said:
When i took my front breaks apart to inspect for grit and the like because they were squeaking (infact still do!) I never used a clamp or winding tool.

My mondeo looks the same as yours but where u have used that tool on the piston there is just a hole on my caliper. The back of the break pad had a simple metal spring on it which slotted into this hole.

I don't understand why it is different.
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It's not different - I've only photographed the caliper with the tool in place.

Look:

Caliper.jpg


That's the caliper fully rewound. On my old Sierra I could push the caliper in by hand, but for the given effort it's easier to use a clamp or winder.
Incidentally, if you are just cleaning the brakes and not renewing the pads you won't need to push the piston back in because the pads are staying the same size. As the pads wear over time, they get thinner - this means the caliper piston has to push out further and further to apply the brakes. So when you come to put in new pads, they don't fit in the gap because the piston has come out too far. :)
 
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Worth noting that some calipers need winding in rather than simply forcing back in. My rover and lots of honda's need the rear calipers winding in.

It's also a good idea on ABS equipped cars to open the bleed nipples when pushing the pistons back rather than forcing fluid through the ABS unit. Just make sure you give them a quick bleed after to get rid of any bubbles and old fluid, I always give the brakes a quick bleed whenever changing pads anyway. Also the brake warning like should come on at the correct time when they need replacing again.

Proper grease is better than copper slip for the pad sliders, copper grease has a habit of going solid with heat
 
Simon said:
Worth noting that some calipers need winding in rather than simply forcing back in. My rover and lots of honda's need the rear calipers winding in.
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Yup, winding tool has a proper locking attachment for those - the Cossie calipers I put on the back of my Sierra had to be wound, the piston has patterns cut into it for the winding tool to lock against.

Simon said:
Also the brake warning like should come on at the correct time when they need replacing again.
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This is bangernomics! Pads with wires cost more you know young man! :p
 
The pad warning light system on my mondeo is screwed anyway. At some point some water has got into the nearside cabling and corroded the cabling which is part of the cars wiring loom. imo not worth fixing so I removed the bulb from the AWS unit. lol.

What is the best way of bleeding the break system? (For a newbie with few tools)

Lopez, thanks for clearing up my question :)
 
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