Thanks again, C5Pilot. I appreciate the guidance.

Given what time it is now, I'm going to put the brake job off until next weekend. It's just as well - better to be fully prepared before starting and doing something wrong. With everything that's been covered in this thread, I feel ready!

 

Hi guys. I managed to flush my brake lines today. The job went smoothly, and the brake modulation feels firmer now. I ran out of time to work on the rear brake pad and rotor replacement, but am hoping to tackle that tomorrow morning. While the wheels were off, I managed to get a good look at what I'll be dealing with. I had two questions for those of you who have replaced your rear pads before:

1. Does the parking brake cable really need to be disconnected? The spring is pretty stiff, and I'm worried it'll be a PITA to put it back on if I remove it. It looks like the parking brake will have to be disengaged, and that's fine. Have any of you successfully changed out rear pads without removing or disconnecting the parking brake cable entirely?

2. Do you have to use a C-clamp to loosen the caliper? I tried just wiggling it off earlier today without first applying a C-clamp, and while it was a bit loose, it didn't want to come off by hand.

Is the right procedure to undo the two bolts holding the two caliper pieces, and then remove the part attached to caliper piston first? Then undo the two bolts holding the other part of the brake assembly that the pads are attached to and lift it out in order to be remove the rotor? Any tricks to be aware of?

Thanks again!

 

Sheesh, nobody? Sigh...I wish the X-Type community was more mechanically savvy.

Anyway, I managed to figure it out, and got my rear pads and rotors swapped out today. Here are some tips in case it helps anyone going forward. The tips assume you've jacked the rear end of the car up instead of using a lift. The parking brake needs to be disengaged for this procedure, so you have be really conscious of safety:

1. The parking brake on the X-Type acts on the discs instead of a separate set of drums, so you won't be able to change out the pads without disengaging the parking brake. Leave the transmission in park, and put wheel chocks on all the wheels that are still on the ground. I put my spare tire flat against the rear wheel as an added precaution.

2. With the parking brake engaged, and the wheel removed, loosen the 4 bolts on the caliper, as well the bolt on the bleeder screw. Close the bleeder screw hand tight once you've cracked it open. Since these bolts are likely to be stiff and may have to be whacked to break them loose, its safer to loosen all 5 bolts with the parking brake engaged.

3. Once the 4 caliper bolts are several turns loose, use this opportunity to whack the rotor hub to break it loose. I sprayed some PB Blaster penetrating oil into the bolt holes first and it helped. Again, it's better to so this with the parking brake engaged. You'll see and feel the play in the rotor once it's broken loose.

4. To pull the top part of the caliper off, disengage the parking brake lever (i.e., put the handbrake down from inside the car) and wiggle the caliper loose. You don't have to remove the parking brake cable or undo the spring, as C5 Pilot indicated earlier. It's actually helpful to have it remain connected, because the parking brake cable acts like extra support for the caliper body when it's hanging free. I used a couple of bungee cords to give it more support.

5. Clean and re-lubricate the caliper sliders using silicone grease, or a synthetic lubricant designed specifically for brake calipers. Don't use any other kind of lubricant because it won't be able to withstand the heat and will dry out, causing your brakes to bind.

6. I used the cube tool to turn the pistons back in. On the passenger side, you turn clockwise. I was able to do that one by hand. The drivers side is much harder for some reason (and the piston turns counter-clockwise). On the drivers side, I used a variant of C5Pilot's c-clamp method. I didn't have an 8" C-clamp, which is what would be required, so I used a bar clamp with a trigger handle, the cube and a ratchet. Similar principle. It worked really well, allowing one-man operation of the whole setup.

7. When you turn the pistons in, make sure you have the bleeder bolt open. It makes the job a lot easier, and is much safer since you're less likely to force gunk back into the sensitive ABS sensor (possibly damaging it, and triggering the ABS light from hell). Opening the bleeder screw has a downside in that you're lkely letting in a bit of air into the caliper, which means you'll have to bleed the rear brakes when you're done - it's a minor inconvenience to avoid a major ABS repair.

8. Once the rotor and pads were replaced and I put everything back together, I re-engaged the parking brake before doing final tightening of the four caliper bolts..

9. Bleed the rear brakes (starting on the passenger rear side), tighten the wheels, top off the fluid in the master cylinder, bed in the brake pads (follow manufacturer's directions for proper procedure), and you're done.

 

QUESTION: Mechanic says that i need a new caliper on the back driver side because he cannot wind the piston far enough to put the new pads on. There was no prior leakage or vibration when depressing the brake pedal. Do I really need a new caliper or is this an issue where he just doesnt want to spend the time putting in back on? One side went on easily.

 

TJ, it is possible that the caliper has an issue, but normally the caliper doesn't fail that way. To me, it seems like he is having an issue with pushing the piston back in and probably needs to open the bleeder port a little more. if he is trying to push the piston back in with the bleeder port shut, then yes, even if you are spinning it in the right direction, it isn't going to go.

 

good lookin out ...... ::0

 

A few Auto-Parts Stores will rent the tools required for your brakes. Check with them prior to using other methods, a lot safer.