Brake pad replacement questions.

Charlie Farley

Charlie Farley

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Afternoon chaps,
after ordering new pads i am hoping to get a more concise insight into the replacement methods for both fronts and backs.
I am no newcomer to pad replacing , god i've changed a lot over the years from cars ,bikes and tractors but cars these days do vary to differing degrees on fitment methods, differing tools etc, not a skill thing just a need to know what the form is situation.
So then , with pads expected tuesday i was hoping to become fully conversant with as much info as possible before i rip the old ones out.
I suspect the pistons will need winding back , my 2006 subaru legacy only needed the use of the trusty G-clamp, will this work on an A4 or is it another special tool for my collection.
is there a quick way or is it prettywell a fixed sequence of events that need just a few tools.
As they say, knowledge is power, or in this case pad replacement.
Any feedback would be great chaps.
rgds
rob
 
A4Rob said:
Afternoon chaps,
after ordering new pads i am hoping to get a more concise insight into the replacement methods for both fronts and backs.
I am no newcomer to pad replacing , god i've changed a lot over the years from cars ,bikes and tractors but cars these days do vary to differing degrees on fitment methods, differing tools etc, not a skill thing just a need to know what the form is situation.
So then , with pads expected tuesday i was hoping to become fully conversant with as much info as possible before i rip the old ones out.
I suspect the pistons will need winding back , my 2006 subaru legacy only needed the use of the trusty G-clamp, will this work on an A4 or is it another special tool for my collection.
is there a quick way or is it prettywell a fixed sequence of events that need just a few tools.
As they say, knowledge is power, or in this case pad replacement.
Any feedback would be great chaps.
rgds
rob
Click to expand...
dead easy very straight forward took my front 1 off fine with no need to touch pistons only problem i had was removing the wire for the sensor off the capilar and remembering how the spring clip went on so take a pic also a small tip i got off a utub video was to cable tie the capilar up when removing the disc.
 
thanks for the reply, backs are really low, and i mean low so pistons will need to be retracted back a fair way, i would use the g-clamp method but wanted to be sure it was just a case of retracting them straight or do they need to be twisted as they are retracted.

cheers
rob
 
Fronts aren't threaded so don't need a winder, they should push in easily. I usually just use a screwdriver on the old pad to lever them back before I remove them. I also usually open the bleed nipple a bit before winding the rears in to remove some of the pressure as the rears will be much harder to retract than the fronts, it's possible to damage the threads if you go too hard on them.
 
now this is why i asked if there was a quick way or long way, splitting sounds like the long way round, any links to the short route ajax.
 
Not really, they're no different to 99% of calipers on the road. If you can rebuild the heads on a V8 Rob then these will be a breeze for you, take a wheel off and have a look.
 
thanks for the reply ajax, better with bikes than cars to be honest as i grew with bikes, but as one gets older ones looses a bit more self confidence etc with jobs that used to be easy with your eyes closed.

cheers
rob
 
I did my s4 discs and pads recently. Pushed the cylinder back using a G clamp. Only difficulty was space, wasn't a lot or room to loosen the nuts required to free the caliper. Also had to buy large torx socket as I didn't have.
Rears were a nightmare, all nuts were severely rusted on and didn't budge. The guide screws on the discs were also rusted and rounded off. Rears needed a cylinder wind tool as said above.
I had to take to a garage to get done in the end. Halved the labour costs by doing the fronts anyway.
 
A wind back tool makes it very easy and will fit many cars, bit of tool investment there. Both the rears wind in clockwise on all VAG cars, as far as I know. I did have a Toyota Auris :puke2:couple of years ago and they wind in clockwise on one side of the car and anti clockwise on the other side.
For the rears, slacken the hand brake cable adjuster right off before you start.
I suggest you remove brake parts as far as possible and tie up the calliper in the wheel arch so the flexi brake pipes are not under strain. Give all the parts a good wire brushing and soaking in brake cleaner. When re-assembling, a smear of brake grease or copperslip on the edges and back of the pads will reduce squealing. Use threadlock on the calliper bolts when refitting.
When all done, press the brake pedal several times to take up the slack in the brake pistons until the brake pedal is hard. The rears take quite a while to wind back out to their normal position.
Adjust up the handbrake cable then go for a test drive, carefully.
The handbrake cable will more than likely need re adjusting after the pads are fully bedded in, to get the right number of clicks on the handbrake ratchet.
 
I wouldn't touch the handbrake cable as it auto adjusts once the pistons have been pushed out by the pedal, in fact I'm not even sure if you can manually adjust it.
 
I've always slackened handbrake cables when changing rear brakes else the handbrake lever ends up the wrong height.
The adjusting nuts should be under the rear of the centre console, at least they are on all other VAG I've owned in the past. Haven't looked at the S4 one yet.
 
I don't understand why the lever would end up at a different height.
The throw of the handbrake cables and lever should not really be affected by new pads or wear etc. That's the reason the pistons are threaded so they gradually move out to allow for wear and then retract only the amount the handbrake allows which is fixed due to the stops on the caliper. I think even the stretch of the cables would be lost with the pistons winding out then moving back the fixed amount.
Just my understanding of it so could be wrong but I've not messed with adjusters on my last few vags for quite a few years now.
 
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Well , been out in the garage this evening and its mission accomplished , and i must say it was a very quick and easy job to be honest, no nasty shocks with any solid bolts or pistons , all very smooth and easy to loosen etc , windback was very easy and smooth.
so fronts and backs all done just need to do a few miles to see how they perform and how much dust they create.

must say, handbrake hight and clicks have'nt changed either, just as before i started.

anyway ,all done now so a big thanks to all you guys for your help on this one.

cheers
rob
 
A4Rob said:
Well , been out in the garage this evening and its mission accomplished , and i must say it was a very quick and easy job to be honest, no nasty shocks with any solid bolts or pistons , all very smooth and easy to loosen etc , windback was very easy and smooth.
so fronts and backs all done just need to do a few miles to see how they perform and how much dust they create.

must say, handbrake hight and clicks have'nt changed either, just as before i started.

anyway ,all done now so a big thanks to all you guys for your help on this one.

cheers
rob
Click to expand...
Which pads did you go for?

Did you do discs too?
 
Went with EBC ULTIMAX2 OEM pads front and rear, went out on a 200 mile trip today and 1st impessions are very good, they have very good feel and dont appear to have the grabbing effect the old audi (ferrodo) pads had, and the brake dust accumilations on rims has reduced by a massive amount, hardly any dust on rims at all, after 100 miles on the old pads and the rims would be covered let alone after double that milage.
Thus far its looking like a winner, but will wait to see how they wear to make a deffo conclusion but liking them at the moment.
both F&R disk are pretty new and didnt need replacing .
 
Brake dust really annoyed me so I was looking at the ebc's. Please keep me updated as I think I might need some soon!
 
Hi Rob, now it's been about a month, any update on mileage covered, brake feel and brake dust?
 
morning chap, yes its been a few weeks and thus far i am very happy with them.
I havent checked the exact milage yet but its been a fair bit to be honest, and a good mix aswell of local , m-way and lets just say " spirited " driving .
The reduction in brake powder on the rims has been very noticable, only a very light dusting compared with the same time period the old pads were in use the rims were filthy.
braking performance is good too, much better feel than the old pads, nice progressive bite now compared to the grabby old ones.
hope that helps a bit, i'll workout the milage too for you chap.
rob
 
Thanks - thats a very helpful update. The fact that you are very happy with the performance (as well as brakedust) is good news. Think I will be following suit with the choice of pads!
 
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