Time for new brakes

[dave99]

My 2002 tdi sport 130 is just about due for some new brakes. Last couple of times it has been in for service and then new tyres they warned me they pads and discs were low all round and getting the odd whine now. So how much should I be paying for the lot? Dealers quoted me 335 and an independant 360

Or is it a job I can do myself? I have replaced pads once a long time ago on another car and seem to remember it was easy enough. Whats the tdi 130 brakes like for changing? I am not really bothered about upgrading them, just need them to work really

 

[Nath.]

there is no way on this earth I would pay £360 to get a brake job done

I would do it myself no doubt about it, it's a well easy job and the parts are quite cheap

might be a good idea to bleed them while your at it too

 

[dave99]

I might think about doing it myself - dont have access to a trolley jack though so would have to manage with the wind up one that comes with the spare wheel

Are any special tools needed apart from the tool to wind the rear pistons in?

 

[Nath.]

get yourself a trolly jack mate, you can get a trolly jack and 2 axle stands for about £20

 

[Deleted member 13581]

You can get a 312mm Conversion for cheaper than they are quoting.

 

[RichieRich]

andy u still then need to fit them...

 

[Deleted member 13581]

True, but if he was making a go at it himself.

Has someone not made a guide for doing it Rich?

 

[mgrays]

I have a trolley jack.. but I just used the car jack.. but I did put a big old lump of 8"x8"x18" timber under the sill .. at the very least put the wheel under the sill.. this is something you should ALWAYS do .. trolley jack or not until you get that axle stand in.

Rears I did for about £45 including new disc/pads. Need a wind in tool and bolts quite tight but not too hard .. take a cup of brake fluid out of each brake too while you are it.. that is where the fluid "wears" out (ie pulls in water from seals and hose)

 

[RichieRich]

andy not that i know of but my mates is gonna do mine 2maz hopefully u still got the rear arb mate?

 

[Deleted member 13581]

Nice one.

Get him to take photos and maybe get a wee how to guide.

Its away mate. Not got anything for the car anymore. Everything is on it.

 

[RichieRich]

i dont wanna sound like an idiot lol its away? u said u had a spare one in ur loft? i so wanted it ages ago

 

[dave99]

well I really need to get the wheels off to have a good look (might do that at the weekend when there is some light!) - but poking through the alloys...

I dont think the rear discs need doing, barely any lip around the edge, but the pads are almost gone.

The fronts however do have quite a significant lip - 1-2 mm maybe, so I guess they really do need replacing.

I am coming up to 70k miles and dont actually remember having the brakes changed at all - but I guess the front must have been done at least once in that time!?

 

[RichieRich]

must have been my 1.4 i wore them out at 35k and was beyond the safe limit lol so much so my ex fs dad did them for me be4 he would let his daughter in my car again

 

[muddyboots]

Don't under any circumstances work on your car with it just supported on the lethal wind-up jack that comes with it.

They can slip out under the car VERY easily, I've had it happen to me - you don't get any notice, it just goes.
I'd only ever use the standard jack in an emergency at the roadside, I'd always use a trolley jack to do the lifting where possible, then axle stands to stand it on, and slide the removed wheel under the sill as a safety measure.

Put the car on decent axle stands before you even think about starting work on it !
Don't use bricks or breezeblocks as they can easily crack & split apart.

 

[dave99]

point taken - I can get axle stands, is it obvious where to put them under the car?

 

[dave99]

well I got around to doing the rear pads this morning. Wheels were a right pain to get off, there was a lot of furring (I guess thats corrosion of the alloys?) around the central hub bit and needed a lot of banging and waggling side to side to get them off, more corrosion on the rear mating surfaces which looks like maybe it was wet when the wheels were put back on? - not come across that before.

I have done 64k miles and I really dont think the pads have been changed in that time - could be wrong but really dont remember it. They were in a bit of a state and looked very old.

One side still had a few mm left, and there was a ring of corrosion around the edge of the disc about 8mm wide - bit strange as the pad should have been contacting some of this. A very light lip on the centre of the disc (seems like more pressure was applied nearer the center than at the edge) but I dont think it needed the disc changing.

On the other side the pads were quite a bit more worn down - all of the friction material had gone on one edge and the metal backplate had been in contact with the very outside edge of the disc. There was no apparent scoring of the disc though and no lip so I think this disc is probably ok too.

The caliper rewinding tool wasnt very easy to use - got one from halfords but didnt seem to fit all that well. Managed it in the end but wasnt easy.

Again, putting the wheels back on was a bit tricky and had to rub off a lot of the corrosion that was making it too tight to fit. Is there anything I can do about this? I wondered about putting copperslip around the wheel mating surfaces but decided against it.

Oh, should I have put any loctite or anything on the caliper bolts whe they went back in? They seemed to have some blue stuff on them but I have just bunged them back in without anything on.

So it was a relatively easy job but took a bit longer than I expected having to wrestle with the wheels. It has cured the squeaking noises too which is good.

Next job is the fronts - pads and discs needed there, next weekend maybe.

 

[mhill]

Again, putting the wheels back on was a bit tricky and had to rub off a lot of the corrosion that was making it too tight to fit. Is there anything I can do about this?

a little smigging of Coper grease should do the trick.

 

[kriso]

The rear caliper bolts should be ok without loctite as long as they are tightened up reasonably well. Only 30nm+1/12 turn on the rear ones.