Small D.I.Y. question

Cartel Mike

Nct comming soon and as a cost cutting measure i'm giving alot of the work a stab myself although i admit to zero experience in the maintainence area but want to broaden my horizons (i feel ripped off in garages)

Anyhoo , got a few bits n' bobs and am going to change the front pads and discs this weekend. I have drums/shoes at the back (these don't need replacing)
I bought a 'one man brake bleeding kit' in Halfords for £8 (any one use this?)
Question is do i have to bleed all four wheels(nipples)when im done or just the the ones im working on(front calipers).
I can't find an answer to this anywhere and its the only part of the process that worries me.
My car has abs braking(like most). I won't be going near the back brake lines.

Thanks.

Mr.David

Unless you plan on changing the brake fluid you shouldnt have to bleed either.

You can change the discs & pads without disconnecting the hoses.

Enjoy

Oh, and if you do disconnect the front hoses they are all you should have to bleed.

Just be careful not to introduce air into the system through the fluid resevoir - or else its a right pain. Keep it topped up.

Cartel Mike

Mr.David wrote: »

Unless you plan on changing the brake fluid you shouldnt have to bleed either.

You can change the discs & pads without disconnecting the hoses.

Enjoy

Oh, and if you do disconnect the front hoses they are all you should have to bleed.

Just be careful not to introduce air into the system through the fluid resevoir - or else its a right pain. Keep it topped up.

Thanks Dr David. Thats music to my ears.

I printed off the procedure from a site and the guy in his method took the calipers off the hoses and pistons to give them a good clean but if i can avoid that i will.

Thanks.

Mr Benevolent

Cartel Mike wrote: »

Thanks Dr David. Thats music to my ears.

I printed off the procedure from a site and the guy in his method took the calipers off the hoses and pistons to give them a good clean but if i can avoid that i will.

Thanks.

You definitely won't need to touch the calipers unless they're rusted to bits.

biko

You don't need to bleed as mentioned.

There are plenty of vids on the net how to change pads discs, if you say what car you have I can look for a detailed walk through.

Most vids forget to show that before fitting new pads you need to press the piston back, otherwise the new pads won't fit properly.
When you do this be careful so you don't break the rubber seal.
Piston usually goes straight in. Don't go too fast as you are pushing fluid back up into the reservoir.

Also use a layer of "copper ease" or similar on the back of the pads (side NOT facing disc). If you don't they may vibrate and squeal.
They probably will squeal anyway for a while after the swap but that should stop once they're broken in.

Good guide here with pics
http://www.doggy-online.com/how_to/how_to_corolla_front_pads.html

Cartel Mike

Cheers lads and Biko ,good info there.
I have a rover 45 but at the moment no computer so i can't watch any vids.
Theres loads of info there though so hopfully it will work out grand cheers.

DublinDilbert

Pick up a Haynes manual if you get the chance.

Quick tip, After you remove the calliper don't let it hang on the hose, have some string/rope/cable tie there so you can suspend it off the strut.

Cartel Mike

Update.

Right . Got up at 8.30 this morning with a plan to get this done before the All blacks game.
Plan worked, great decision.

Took me 45 mins to get car up on axle stands as my car jack has a short reach. Found block of stone to put under jack . Worked well.

Took out my notes and removed 1st screw (12mm) guide pin under caliper . This enabled me to pull caliper upwards and slide out pads on either side.
Little copper grease on back of pads and slid the new ones in including shims .
Simply cannot believe how easy that was!

Now i wanted to put the new discs in.
This involved unscrewing two 17mm bolts at back of caliper to remove it from the discs.
These screws were an absolute bastard.
**** me anyway . 1 and 1/2 hours later i got the first one out which seemed to loosen the other one. Same goes for the ones on the other side.

I had no real bother with the rotor screws at all . Removed them with a small screwdriver and fanny's your Aunt.
Simply attached new discs and screwed all pieces back in .
Approacing 1pm now.

Got the madness now to paint calipers and back drums with 2 cans of spray hammerite bought in town yesterday.
Went for it.

Wire brush , brake cleaner,6 newspapers, large roll of masking tape .
Spent 1hour masking re-attached calipers at front with tape and newspaper breaking for 5mins for a fag and to admire at a few newsp pics of Kate Middleton who is a fit burd.
Sprayed calipers black 4 coats, drums silver 4 coats.
May have made a mistake here as there is no drewth in the air and looks like car will be out of action until this time 2morr at the soonest.

Anyway thanks for all advice here . The only thing i can add is to start early (around 9am) as it gets dark early and you might not see well after 3pm and lift a few weights night before to takle those **** double 17mm screws at back of calipers.

Verdict - if someone like me can do this anyone can.
Dont know what a garage might have charaged for this but if your thinking about doing it yourself my advice ....in the words of Al Pacino is.... 'Do it'.

Andrew Campbell

word of warning, dont forget to pump the brake pedal a few times before you drive the car to get the caliper pistons back into the normal position and don't expect the brakes to be great for the first couple of Km till they bed in.

ytareh

Do much of my own servicing but have to admit never brave enough to tackle brake pads etc ....seems like the one area you DONT want to compromise on .You reckon it was handy enough?From what Ive seen of it the job often required a long bar to force the piston back in the calliper which looked very tricky and would leave you very high and dry if it didnt work...

K2

A C clamp and a short piece of wood make pushing the piston back childs play. I find the setting up on servicing (jacking up and taking the wheels off) to be the long boring bit of the entire job, draining oil, removing filters, plugs and fitting brake pads are the fun bit! Been doing it before the recession hit and will continue to do so. A Haynes manual is a must if you new to this sort of work or have very limited knowledge/experience...like me.

Cartel Mike

ytareh wrote: »

Do much of my own servicing but have to admit never brave enough to tackle brake pads etc ....seems like the one area you DONT want to compromise on .You reckon it was handy enough?From what Ive seen of it the job often required a long bar to force the piston back in the calliper which looked very tricky and would leave you very high and dry if it didnt work...

Yip. I managed to print out notes of a simiar car to mine.
For this i bought a g clamp €5 and re-attache a wheel nut back onto rotor for balance .

Voodoomelon

Just a word of warning, stone/concrete should not be used to hold the car up, it may seem stronger than wood but its far more likely to crack. Either use wooden ramps or jack stands.

slimjimmc

Was any thread lock visible on the threads of those 17mm calliper screws, if so did you put some back on?

New brake discs have a light coating of oils from manufacture and to help resist corrosion while in the packaging, I hope you cleaned this off with some brake cleaner before fitting them.

Well done on the DIY.

VinnyTGM

A brake caliper windback tool make changing pads a pleasure.

nophd08

Hi guys,
One word of warning when prising back pistons. I have seen on too many occasions when forcing fluid back it can damage seals on master cylinder leaving you with major surgery. Because of this I now always clamp brake hose and open bleed nipple so when prising piston fluid will drain to a container. When pads are fitted tighten nipple and release hose clamp and bleed brakes. Job done.
Now I know people think this is a waste of time but think of the consequences of damaged seals in master cylinder...Most skilled and experienced mechanics do brake pads this way.