Removing rear brakes and rotors

[TCHUN003]

1. Is there only one 13mm bolt holding the rear caliper in place?
2. When I get the caliper off, will the rotor just slide off or are there bolts that I need to remove?
3. Will this work to compress the rear caliper?

[Ill 3.0]

There should be two bolts. The bottom one is a big PITA. I removed the rear shock to gain access, a couple of other people have shaved off the hex bit to fit a socket wrench in there. The rotor will "slide" off but depends on how rusted it is on there. Might take a good hammering to break it loose. I'm not sure about the caliper tool since I replaced my fluid.

[ryannorthcott]

^what he said about the bolts is true, you pretty much have to remove the lower strut bolt to get a breaker bar in there in order to loosen the bolts.

now that cube tool can be used with great difficulty, i used it and eventually got the piston screwed in. however, if i were to do the job again i would definitely invest in rear caliper retraction tool like the one on ECS.

when i used the cube thingy, i just clamped it down into the piston with a c-clamp and while tightening the clamp i turned it with a little socket extension.

hope that makes sense

[pondside36]

Like the guys said above, there are two recessed allen head bolts, but I believe they are 8mm, one is longer than the other so take note. Removing the strut is the best option to get the lower bolt as well. Ensure the allen is in as far as possible or you will strip one and have a hole other problem to deal with. I believe it is recommended to replace these bolts as well, which I did when I did my rears. The Shwabben brake tool is much easier to use as well. Good luck

[akaEsCo01]

Best bet for that rear allen bolt is a stubby allen socket. I tried with a regular allen socket with no availe, the stub too some strength but it was much easier. I only took out one bolt and pulled the carrier back far enough to angle the rotor off. I had over 90K when I did this and it case off pretty easy.

[TCHUN003]

Alright I think I get the picture now, thanks for all of the helpful info guys and I think I'll definitely go buy the ecs caliper tool!!

[fla4sline]

Dunno if I'm late w/ my 2 cents, but I just did my rear brakes and have to say it was easy!!! Surprised me. I used a bolt buster spray, waited 5 min and the back allen bolts came off w/ a tap of a mallet on a breaker bar (used the car's jack handle). If you go to an automotive parts store like Autozone or Advance Auto, you can rent the caliper tool for free w/ a deposit.
The 2 most important things are first, take your time. Second, read any forum here and other Audi forums before. The info I got from these guys is great.
BTW, when I did my brakes I took pics of every step. I have basically step-by-step of a rear brake job if anyone wants to put a DIY together. I know there are DIYs out there, but these pics are real good.

[pondside36]

^^Post up the DIY with the pics, this topic comes up almost every week...

[Papachristou]

its not that hard just use your head to get to the bottom bolt...

FYI ecs just sells a rebranded harbor freight tool + $20... i was a sucker

[dimmer]

you dont need to remove the bottom bolt to get the rotor off, once you have the top one off just tap the carrier back about 1/2 inch and the rotor will then come off. just reverse the procedure to move the carrier back