Front rotor and pad replacement DIY

[B_Boy]

HEY! I work for a living. And to tell you the truth, the light hasn't gone on yet and I haven't checked the wear since the last time I looked. I have about 1000 miles to drive next Friday and was thinking if the breaks haven't worn out too much in the last 1000 I drove, I might wait till next week-end. OR depending on the check tomorrow, I'll be doing it this week end!!!!! you sound like my kids.

hahaha i hear ya! sorry mom/dad......are we there yet? are we there yet? i wont ask again....are we there yet? :)

[Kay15]

Yet? :P ahah

[eaniemeanie]

Yup done! I'll post pics and a little write up later. I'm making lunch and having a beer for my reward. Then the kids want me to take them to the dirt trails down the road to ride their bikes.

FYI piece of cake!

[eaniemeanie]

[eaniemeanie]

Updated first post.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Nice show and tell, but I had to laugh. Your last line is "piece of cake" and your first picture has a tranny sitting behind your wheels on the ground.

[eaniemeanie]

You are correct! Piece of Cake compared to the rear main seal, intermediate shaft bearing retrofit, clutch, air/oil seperator bellows repair, throwout bearing fork replacement, and chain-adjustment changeout I have on the 911...... And I thought I was just going in to replace the clutch! I'm three times in what I figured I was going to spend.... ugggg.

[Kay15]

Yes please and maybe some pictures of tools used? Also how hard was it to get the pads to sit right? I heard you need a special tool to push them in or something?

[eaniemeanie]

The pads fit right in without adjustment, you can see the hangers they rest on in picture 6 above. The last photo in post 45 shows the spreader that I modified to fit into the small hole on the outside caliper face, leave the old pad in to press the caliper back so that you can fit them on the rotor. All the other tools are basic tools including a torque wrench...

I don't want to give to much detail since I'm worried that someone uses the DIY and screws up. If you're comfortable in doing the job you should figure out as you go.... it's really simple.

[Kay15]

Well some more detail may help guys get through it a little easier :) .. that Spreader is the only thing anyone would really need to look into.

[eaniemeanie]

Right! honestly it's real simple. The spreader was a whole $8 at the auto store. That's $12 in Toronto, $9 in Don Mills and $22 in Oakville..... ;)

The spreader needed to be modified because it was made to be used on a caliper that had a large opening. The Audi one doesn't have anything more than a small hole (seen in photo 2) So I had to bust off the end of the spreader and funnel it through the hole then attach the black bit on to push against the outer part of the caliper. I've got photos with arrows on the photos for you but they are on the other laptop that the wife is using to shop (damn). I'll put those in when shes not on the comp....

Ask a question and I'll answer it.

[cory_can]

sweet Estwing......classic....I have a couple of them.

[eaniemeanie]

sweet Estwing......classic....I have a couple of them.

Yeah nice tools, thanks! That one is about 7 years old. I use it out in the field and when working in the mines. Great tool, pretty darn good at breaking rotors free too! Note the marks on the rotor... I don't recommend metal on metal impacts but i was wearing safety glasses and wasn't hitting an edge or using a splintered hammer.

I remember working nights as a supervisor many moons ago and a mechanic was hammering out a pin on a 992G Cat loader. The pin fragmented and a piece the size of your fingernail broke off, went through his coat and coveralls and ended up in his gut about a half an inch deep inside. They medivaced him out because they didn't know how deep it went!

[cory_can]

Yeah nice tools, thanks! That one is about 7 years old. I use it out in the field and when working in the mines. Great tool, pretty darn good at breaking rotors free too! Note the marks on the rotor... I don't recommend metal on metal impacts but i was wearing safety glasses and wasn't hitting an edge or using a splintered hammer.

I remember working nights as a supervisor many moons ago and a mechanic was hammering out a pin on a 992G Cat loader. The pin fragmented and a pice the size of your fingernail broke off, went through his coat and coveralls and ended up in his gut about a half an inch deep inside. They medivaced him out because they didn't know how deep it went!

7 years....almost brand new :) One of mine was given to me by my father and its probably 40+ years old, leather handle is in perfect condition.....and still the first hammer I pull out.

[eaniemeanie]

I'll give you more details later I gots to go to bedz.
I've put about 500 miles on the new pads and they're great!



pad release hole


two bolts


pad placement


brake pad sensor area


Brake pad spreader (modified)

[MiracleWhips]

I'll give you more details later I gots to go to bedz.
I've put about 500 miles on the new pads and they're great!

Particularly interested in dust and noise of these pads.

[eaniemeanie]

I'll be putting on approx 1000+ miles the next few days.....we'll know then!

[eaniemeanie]

Less dust but at low speed (in a drive through) they did squeek a bit. But they seem to have a linear or smoother braking.

[kngfisher]

what are torque specs for caliper bolts?

[coolwater]

I posted this iny my S5 Brakes thread, but maybe this location is more appropriate.
Am I getting close to needing new pads? I think it should be ok, but some articles I've read online say when you are near 1/4inch to change the pads.
Yellow line measures about 3/8 inch and X marks where the wear sensor pin is I think....



-cW

[eaniemeanie]

I posted this iny my S5 Brakes thread, but maybe this location is more appropriate.
Am I getting close to needing new pads? I think it should be ok, but some articles I've read online say when you are near 1/4inch to change the pads.
Yellow line measures about 3/8 inch and X marks where the wear sensor pin is I think....

IMHO I would say that you won't need brake pads until the pad thickness is the same as the metal backing that the pads are built on. You are close. ( See Post #44 Picture#4 for reference)
I still didn't have the brake wear light come on but changed the pads under the recommendation of the dealer (stealer). It was right before the wear light would have came on after looking at it.

But I will be pulling these pads off next month since they are becoming a big problem with noise and vibration. I'd rather spend $110+ on stock and live with the dust compared to $180+ and the fricken squeal. (The wife is complaining about it so I'm screwed, add the fact that for a while I've been creeping along on the 91 in traffic and have to deal with the squeal and vibrations every other day... ugg)

[coolwater]

I ordered some posi-quiet pads to replace my fronts. Only $65.00, seems to have some positive review. No squeak, close to OEM performance and less dust.

-cW

[simplicity]

Anyone has the torque specs on the 2 front caliper bolts?

[eaniemeanie]

Anyone has the torque specs on the 2 front caliper bolts?

Call sunset parts in Oregon, they'll tell you.

[simplicity]

Assuming we're talking about the same bolts, it should be torqued to 42 ft-lb correction: 140 ft-lb.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...Tech-ST-60-BBK

[martian421]

this might be a dumb question, but is there a measurement (in MM) where the brake pad can go up to until it is required to be changed?

i.e. if i have about 3MM left on my brake pad, should they be changed?

[simplicity]

this might be a dumb question, but is there a measurement (in MM) where the brake pad can go up to until it is required to be changed?

i.e. if i have about 3MM left on my brake pad, should they be changed?

There should brake sensors to tell you if they need to be changed but that being said a rule I go by is to check if the pad material is less than the thickness of the pad back plate then it's about time to change....this way I dont need to replace the brake sensor.

[martian421]

does the same rule apply for rotors?

[simplicity]

No, you can measure the caliper or replace it every other pad change....

[Emission]

There should brake sensors to tell you if they need to be changed but that being said a rule I go by is to check if the pad material is less than the thickness of the pad back plate then it's about time to change....this way I dont need to replace the brake sensor.

+1

I replace when the material is just a little thinner than the backing plate. You want to try to save the sensor (to keep costs down).

I only replace rotors when they are heavily scored or they measure too thin (with calipers).

- Mike

[Smeghead]

Assuming we're talking about the same bolts, it should be torqued to 42 ft-lb.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...Tech-ST-60-BBK

Are you sure? That thread said 150 something. And it felt like way more than 42 when I was removing the caliper

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[simplicity]

Are you sure? That thread said 150 something. And it felt like way more than 42 when I was removing the caliper

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You are correct, 140 ft-lb for the caliper bracket bolt.

[Smeghead]

Damn, what a bitch that was. After 40000 miles everything was seized pretty good. Have nice new brakes on now though, so all's good. Thanks for the write up OP.

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[Smeghead]

One other thing. When I pulled my old pads there was a shim behind the front pad, is that supposed to stay or go? Seems to get in the way of the pad seating properly.

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[Emission]

One other thing. When I pulled my old pads there was a shim behind the front pad, is that supposed to stay or go? Seems to get in the way of the pad seating properly.

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The answer is... sometimes. I have seen replacement pads with shims (additional metal plates) manufactured into the pad backing... while other times I have to use the shim again. It all depends on whether you are going OEM or aftermarket pads.

- Mike

[Ox2gen]

Very good DIY writeup. I'm about to attempt a rotor/pad install myself and have some questions about the torque settings...

I see the two 20mm bolts that holds the caliper in place has to be torqued to 140 ft-lbs per factory spec, are there any other bolt pieces that must be torqued to a certain setting?
Like the 30-torx for the rotor, any specific torque setting required there?

My other question is about the "no-brake-squeal" lubricant. Where do you lube up? Just the surface area between the caliper and pad?

Really looking forward to doing this myself but I'm a noob when it comes to brake replacement and want to do it properly and correctly the first time around.
Any input would be greatly appreciated

[Emission]

Very good DIY writeup. I'm about to attempt a rotor/pad install myself and have some questions about the torque settings...

I see the two 20mm bolts that holds the caliper in place has to be torqued to 140 ft-lbs per factory spec, are there any other bolt pieces that must be torqued to a certain setting?
Like the 30-torx for the rotor, any specific torque setting required there?

My other question is about the "no-brake-squeal" lubricant. Where do you lube up? Just the surface area between the caliper and pad?

Really looking forward to doing this myself but I'm a noob when it comes to brake replacement and want to do it properly and correctly the first time around.
Any input would be greatly appreciated

The small Torx is just used to hold the rotor in place (so it doesn't fall off) before installing the wheel. Hand-tight is fine, and I put some anti-seize on it.

I use the 'brake lube' where the caliper touches the brake pad. That is where you are most likely to get a vibration (aka squeal).

- Mike

[Ox2gen]

The spreader needed to be modified because it was made to be used on a caliper that had a large opening. The Audi one doesn't have anything more than a small hole (seen in photo 2) So I had to bust off the end of the spreader and funnel it through the hole then attach the black bit on to push against the outer part of the caliper.

I bought one of these spreaders from autozone. How did you bust off the end of the spreader?
Anyone else use something different to compress the caliper piston?

[Emission]

I bought one of these spreaders from autozone. How did you bust off the end of the spreader?
Anyone else use something different to compress the caliper piston?

I used a spreader from a Harbor Freight kit. Worked okay, but slow.

- Mike

[AdrianLee]

Does anyone know the torque specs for the Carrier to hub bolts, torque spec for the two caliper slide bolts and the torque spec for the 4 torque bolts on the caliper itself? Any info would be much appreciated.