Brake disc removal

[SmoothAssault]

I thought I'd have a go at replacing my brake discs and pads myself today while the sun was out. I've had a good read through the Haynes and watched a 'how to..' video here and it seems easy enough, but I've gone and got stuck at the first hurdle...

I can't get the ****** calliper retaining bolts out! I'm a total beginner but I can only assume these are the ones that need removing...

...but they just won't shift!? Any ideas?

 

[SmoothAssault]

I'm gonna keep trying for another 5 minutes, then hopefully one of you guys skiving off work will share your wisdom.

 

[AndyMac]

I seem to remember you need 2 spanners of those bolts as there's a locking nut to stop them working loose. So you have the 13mm visible nut in the pic above then there's a locking nut on the other side of the caliper, where the rubber boot is. I could be wrong though as it was a while since I did mine.

 

[SmoothAssault]

Ahhhh, cheers Andy. I'll go have a look now.

 

[SmoothAssault]

Yep, you were exactly right Andy! For reference if anyone else needs it; here's a pic of the two spanners on the bolt and locking nut. (Mine was covered in so much crap it didn't even look like a nut.)

Now, I've got the calliper tied to the suspension on some wire so I don't put any stress on the hoses, and the pads have been removed. So here's hurdle number two...

The bolts holding the calliper carrier won't move...

...and it was all going so well

Anyone know any good tricks for getting these pesky allen key bolts to loosen up?

Thanks

 

[Blue_Thunder]

WD40 and a few light sharp taps with a hammer should help you out.

 

[SmoothAssault]

Thanks, that's what I've been trying but I guess I can try more WD40 and slightly harder taps with the hammer.

Cheers.

 

[SmoothAssault]

Still no ****** luck. This would have actually been a really easy job if the bolts weren't mysteriously fixed in place. This is SO frustrating!

 

[Markey]

Lots of grrrrr thats how i got mine undone.

 

[SmoothAssault]

I've been building up my "Grrrrr" at the gym for years, lol; I can't believe I used it all up on 2 tiny little bolts and they still didn't even move a millimetre.

I'm leaving it for another day now. I tried both sides and got stuck at the carrier bolts on the passenger side too. I've taken out the pads, loosely put everything back together and will give it another go tomorrow after I've done/attempted the fronts. Maybe I'll have better luck after leaving the WD40 to work its magic over night.

Cheers for the advice guys!

:icon_thumright:

 

[AndyMac]

Yes the allen bolts were the ones that took me awhile. You need the right sized allen key (which I seem to remember was an odd size) and then use a longish metal sleeve of some sort to give you maximum leverage, and then hit it with a hammer to break the seal. Sometimes it's actually easier to hit it the opposite way i.e. to tighten it rather than loosen it in orde to break the seal.

 

[stapo69]

Took me ages to get the callipers undone on mine last week, we found the right socket helps to start with.....oops! Then we used the longest breaker bar we had with a piece of mateal tube slid over the end for big leverage then planty of grrrr! and they came loose. Ended up just taking one out on each side then hinging the calliper round to leave enough space to remove the disc, then a big mallet to "persuade" the calliper back into alignment and all was well again. It's always the "simple" jobs that take 'kin ages!

 

[jcb]

windy gun

 

[IN-A3]

Hope you got the car supported on stands and not just the jack as in post 1.
Tip: use a hex bit and a breaker bar. Push down towards the ground as you can apply more force and have more control. Good luck getting the disc off the hub. Has been known to need to cut them off with an angle grinder.

 

[OllyS4]

Anoher tip is to hit the bolt on the end i.e on the head towords the caliper this can also helps to unseize bolts.

 

[sitrials]

HEAT HEAT HEAT.
you can pry the discs off with a big screw driver and a hammer. this did take a while before stapos even budge a wee bit!
oh and i hope you haven't been reading the haynes manual to much! dont forget to diconnect your battery! !LOL! I DO NOT LIKE HAYNES!

 

[Markey]

Good luck with this today

Had to take my fronts off last night as there was a grinding noise i have no pad left on the front drivers side and the metal is nearly gone. Whoops

 

[SmoothAssault]

Just my luck the weather turns crappy today. I think I'll just continue my fight with the carrier bolts, the fronts can wait.

I've got plenty of ways to attack them thanks to all your suggestions

sitrials: You're right; the Haynes hasn't been much help. I used to have a MK2 Punto and the Haynes for that was brilliant! Although you could pretty much take the whole car apart with a single allen key anyway. I'm more than a little disappointed with Haynes' A4 manual, but that's why I always take pictures when I do things myself; to help anyone else and fill in the gaps Haynes missed out.

 

[SmoothAssault]

Well; I tried for about 4 hours and still couldn't do it. Some beefy pneumatic tools would have probably done it easy; but it seems the contents of my average sized tool box and my dads 100 year old socket set weren't up to the job.

I heated it as much as I dared, but with it being so close to the hoses I got scared I was going to serious mess things up for myself so went back to trying to maximise the leverage. I even tried using the handle off the jack; which I found fit quite neatly over an allen key. But all that happen was the key started to bend then popped out of the bolt.

So, defeated; I left the A4 sitting **** up while I stormed around the house ****** off that I was beaten by some tiny little allen key bolts...

...then came to the realisation that I was going to have to put everything back together with the old, crappy parts so I could get to a garage. So I reluctantly did that, then gave the old girl a good clean to make myself feel better...

At least I now know that I'm fully equipped for changing the pads myself even if replacing the whole disc is a little out of my reach.

But I still desperately need the discs doing, so it's a good job my little brother works at Marshall's organising the services for fleets of vans. And that he's mates with one of the guys in the garage who says he'll do the whole lot for me (discs and pads all round) and fit my new springs... and all for under 100 quid. I just have to take my car over to the workshop on Saturday. Bargain!

...Still wish I could have done it myself though.

 

[Nessy]

I had the exact same hassle changing the front and rear discs on my car a year or so ago, couldn't get those damn allen-headed bolts undone at all!
Not sure if memory is playing tricks with me but I thought the allen-bolts are different size front and rear?
Something like 7mm hex at front and 8mm on rear? Don't hold me to that though,lol.
Rears went ok but managed to shatter one half-inch drive socket when doing the fronts, really think its a stupid design for a fastener in such a relatively inaccessible place!

 

[Turbo Lag FTW]

I used a TORX bit to get the allen bolt out, I think its a 7mm as the 8 is too big and the 6 is too small. Im trying to remember what size my torx bit was, I think it was 45. Came of a treat with a 1/2 drive bar, with a pipe extension (would of been so easy had the car been on a ramp in the air lol)

The worst thing is probably putting it back together because in the ideal world you really should be using a torque bar and getting it at the right tightness. Also another good tip is to use ****** good tools if your considering removing these buggers lol.

 

[philla4tdi]

just reconditioning my rear caliper as the dust cover split and caused the piston to rust and ultimately stick. remember the 8mm allen bolt? was pushing that down and was so tight, that when it went, i shot forward and got a face full of arch, almost knocked myself out! my mate helping me was in hysterics, while i was seeing stars!
keep going mate, the 'pros' will only get a bigger extension bar untill they snap it.....

 

[aragorn]

ive just done this today and used a 8mm allen key socket on a 3/8" drive ratchet with a big bar on the end of that

a normal allen key is completely useless for something like this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Quality-10-Pi...ryZ30917QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

something like that is what you need so you can put a proper ratchet or breaker bar on the end!

fitted the new disk and pads but it seemed that the caliper that was fine might now be sticking slightly as the disk was VERY hot when we got home, its about 12 miles on a windy backroad from the workshop to home though so i'm hoping its just the fact that the disk is new. The other side was also hot when we got home after changing the caliper, disk and pads last weekend so i hope its going to go back to normal after they've bedded in a little

 

[SmoothAssault]

Since having all my discs and pads done, they're a bit squeaky when slowing from a low speed to a full stop. Is this normal? I know it will take a while for them to bed in, but the brake squeak is getting me lots of unwanted attention through the high street, lol.

 

[jcb]

tools on eBay.......not sure I would be parting with my hard earned for those.
get some decent 3/4 or even better 1/4" drive hex heads sockets.
nothing worse than discovering your new toys are made of chocolate when you put your extra long breaker bar on!
been there, nothing quite as depressing as when the hex bit twists off the socket bit and leaves you with a flush bolt head!

 

[aragorn]

heh i use a halfords pro set which i find is pretty good value and pretty strong

the ebay link was more an idea of what tool he needed rather than a prompt to buy taht particular one!

 

[jcb]

I know, I have the halfords set as well.
wasn't a stab at you, just makes me squirm when I think how many tools i bought and then had to buy the proper ones to remove the broken bits from the ones I bought cheap !!

 

[Nessy]

Since having all my discs and pads done, they're a bit squeaky when slowing from a low speed to a full stop. Is this normal? I know it will take a while for them to bed in, but the brake squeak is getting me lots of unwanted attention through the high street, lol.

I'd say this isn't normal, changed all the discs/pads on my A4 about 18 months ago and they were silent before the change and after...............I presume all the seating surfaces where the pads slide in the calipers were cleaned etc?
It might be down to the type of brake linings you are using........I fitted Porsche alloys to my Beetle last year which necessitated fitment of new discs/drums (due to the different wheel stud pattern), in went new Pagid pads/shoes from German & Swedish and from the word go I was plagued with a squeal that was there in the last few seconds as the car came to a full stop....
Tried chamfering the leading edges of the pads in case it was due to the pads chattering against the disc but no joy, the noise drove me nuts!
In despair I bought a different brand of front pads from Euro Car Parts (this time ATE / Alfred Teves) and the brakes were silent from the moment the new pads were fitted!