The 328i - A bit of a project

Update:

So today I took the day off work and headed into BMW nice and early and got the locking wheel nut remover, for a whopping £4.11...which for a nut remover is actually quite expensive, but it was needed, so I was happy to pay it. I also popped into Halfords for some more tools to add to my collection...but that is irrelevant.

Anyway. I headed on down to Howard's this morning so we could crack on with the brakes and get them sorted finally.

The tool I borrowed from my brother for the calliper carrier bolts was fine, but it also required what neither of us had...an air ratchet or impact hammer. So after taking the calliper off and not getting anywhere we headed to a local garage who took the pesky bolts off for me and put in the new ones, at a cost of £10.

We then went back to Howard's and got cracking with the brakes. Driver's side took about 20mins total once we'd sorted the carrier bolts. Passenger side was stubborn and so took a bit longer, but it now has shiny new brakes on the front.

We didn't do the rears due to lack of a huge jack or a pillar lift...plus the ground was sodden and we were hungry. The rears don't need doing for a while as the pads and discs have plenty of travel left on them but I ordered it all so I can get it done whenever and know it's all new. I'll be doing the rears over Easter most likely as I'll have the use of my brother's garage once again. :D

And pictures, I can't be bothered to organise them into what is what, just marvel at me looking like a gimp (and I don't like the band on the hoodie...that's why it's my car work hoodie).

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Why did you need a ratchet gun to take off the caliper carrier bolts? Six sided socket, proper long breaker bar and if still no joy you just put a scaffolding tube over the end of the breaker bar to extend it further (trust me this makes a world of difference) If I can undo hub nuts like that I'm sure you could do caliper carriers!

Another way is to shock them off - get a decent sized combination spanner (with a six side on the ring end if possible) and link another spanner to it, doubling the length. Hold the two steady with one hand and strike the end of the spanner HARD with a lump hammer.

Agreed with what Clarkey said earlier - if your 12 side socket was rounding the end of the bolt, then just putting more leverage on it will just do the same. If it's rounding the nut then insufficient leverage is not the issue!
 
As I said before, bolt head was rounded, so sockets wouldn't grip it. I had no 6 sided sockets. The bolt head was buggered, and to keep a 6 sided socket on would have needed a lot of pressure on the socket, which is hard to give in the wheel arch space.

Believe me, if I could have breaker bared with scaffolding I would have, I've done it plenty of times before on other cars.
 
InvaderGIR said:
As I said before, bolt head was rounded, so sockets wouldn't grip it. I had no 6 sided sockets. The bolt head was buggered, and to keep a 6 sided socket on would have needed a lot of pressure on the socket, which is hard to give in the wheel arch space.

Believe me, if I could have breaker bared with scaffolding I would have, I've done it plenty of times before on other cars.
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Put it on full lock, there is loads more access then :)
 
Doesn't stop the bolt head being rounded thanks to Ben. :p

By rounded I mean there wasn't much in the way of flat sides on it. :(

Still, all sorted with some nice fresh bolts. :)
 
Firestar_3x said:
Why did you jack and support it with the axel stands so close to the centre of the car, aka making it more likely to tip to the side?
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I wanted the axle stands under the jacking points, but the jack couldn't get it high enough due to the surface it was jacked up on. The car was perfectly stable though, else I wouldn't have carried out the work.

[TW]Fox;13754190 said:
Why didnt you just get a dealer to do it, I mean this is a ridiculous amount of faff for new brakes surely?
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I'd rather the faff and learning than spending ridiculous amounts on dealers thanks. Some of us like to work on cars instead of have others do it for us.
 
I bet everything went to plan in your instance :D

I like doing things like this, fixing/taking apart/learning about mechanics is all good fun. And don't worry, the car was a lot more stable than it looks in those pics, haha
 
InvaderGIR said:
I'd rather the faff and learning than spending ridiculous amounts on dealers thanks. Some of us like to work on cars instead of have others do it for us.
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Surely there is working on your car and taking 2 weeks and 71 attempts to complete a simple task :p

FWIW we did my own brakes.
 
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