Suspension Brakes How NOT to do a brake job!

Discussion in 'Tuning and Performance' started by Dwight, Mar 7, 2011.

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  1. Dwight

    Dwight Racing with the Gods
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    Just spent +1 day doing my first brake job. Put on EBC front Sport rotors and Red Stuff pads and followed the instructions to the letter. Trouble was a couple letters were missing! After thinking it was done I noticed that on one of the boxes the rotor came in that the letter "L" was stuck on the part number. Instant dumpster diving produced the other box with an "R" on it. Guess which rotors I put where? The pic shows the wrong install. Nowhere in the instructions did it mention a right and left rotor and the two rotors look identical. Got to do it all over again. GRRRR! :mad5:

    BTW, an old brake man gave me a warning about new rotors. Even though they look clean and shiny, clean them TWICE with brake cleaner and rags. There is a fine oil on them to prevent corrosion while in storage. Cleaning them first makes bedding in a lot less dramatic with no foul smells, smoke or grabbing. I also learned that the BMW TIS site is wrong on removing the MCS rotors. You don't just rotate the caliper up and tilt the rotor to remove. The caliper holder has to come off before the rotor will clear. Learned a bunch of DIY stuff doing this, first being I ain't doing a brake job again anytime soon! :mad2:

    PS: Anybody have a need for 1.7 cubic feet of brake dust? LMAO
     

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  2. TGS91

    TGS91 New Member

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    Sounds eeerily like my MINI first brake job! :lol::incazzato:

    They do get MUCH easier after this

    I can swap out pads and bleed em' in about a hour now
     
  3. PGT

    PGT Wheel Whore

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    its only hard the first time....
     
  4. Johngo

    Johngo New Member
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    The mental drop down list of potential responses to this comment was almost endless... :D
     
  5. Justa Jim

    Justa Jim Well-Known Member
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    Tell me about it. I let it pass, as I could not pick just one. :lol:

    Jim
     
  6. Nitrominis

    Nitrominis Banned

    May 9, 2009
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    What I am curious about is the "R" and "L" why there would be specific sided rotors? I had this same discussion a few year ago about direction of holes and slots in rotors and come to find out it makes no difference? The off gases are not direction sensitive. It was always a looks thing not function as to the directions.


    The "old Brakeman" as I am should have also recommended that you get the rotors turn even though they are new does not make them true!

    Otherwise :Thumbsup: on your first brake job!
     
  7. beaner

    beaner New Member

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    As a +50 y/o, I agree with PGT's view. As far as brakes are concerned, I have learned to change 4 pads and wheels/tires in under 45 minutes. Im not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was...
     
  8. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    It's not the holes or slots in this case. It is the vanes cast into the rotor and how they pump air through the center.

    Ask Todd at TCE about this, he knows a heck of a lot more about the subject.
     
  9. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Nathan's got it right, it's the cooling vanes cast into the center of the rotor, spin them the wrong way and they don't cool very well....

    And the other's are right about experience being a great teacher - the next time will take you less than half the time, the one after that even less. It's the one after that you have to worry about, where you think you've got it down cold and forget to tighten something that later bites you in the ass!

    Oh, and the air doesn't pump into the center, it flows from the center out...
     
  10. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    This might shed more light on the subject as to L and R rotors...

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Dwight

    Dwight Racing with the Gods
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    Thanks for the cheering up guys, but it didn't last long. With the front end now straightened away, I decided to do the "simple" job of putting Red Stuff pads on the rear. HA! Literally ran into a stone wall. The caliper piston won't retract unless you have a special BMW tool. "Special" indeed! $160 and it only works on BMWs. Found one at Outmotoring for $40 that not only works on all MINIs, but on most of those other things on the highway, too. Guess which one I ordered? Didn't really want to work on brakes for a few days anyhow! :rolleyes: :D
     
  12. TGS91

    TGS91 New Member

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    Back brakes are a BEOTCH compared to fronts. Still got mental scars putting in that left rear the first time (It was the right one) AND I put it in backwards to boot! :blush2:

    I got a Harbor Freight special which does the trick for the piston, sure Aaron's will work just right
     
  13. moreorless

    moreorless New Member

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    No special tool required.

    Use a C clamp to compress and a pair of needle nose or channel locks to rotate.

    Easy as pie.

    .....Les
     
  14. SNEEEZY - Erika

    SNEEEZY - Erika M/A Wrenchin' Babe!
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    Too true!
     
  15. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Go buy the Harbor Freight tool, it's only $20 and it will do the trick easily. The rest is no different than the fronts, in fact it's easier as you don't have to remove the caliper frame to change out the rotors.
     
  16. Todd TCE

    Todd TCE Member

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    I've accumulated a vast number of rotor images over the years. Here are a few:

    [ame="http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o269/ToddTCE/Rotors/"]Rotors pictures by ToddTCE - Photobucket[/ame]
     
  17. Dwight

    Dwight Racing with the Gods
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    Disagree on that easier part. The rear caliper piston must be twisted as it is compressed. A regular piston retaction tool will not work on the rears. The local HB had nothing that could do that. The Outmotoring tool arrives Fri. I may have recovered from the front brake fiasco by then! LOL :D
     
  18. Eric@Helix

    Eric@Helix New Member
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    May 4, 2009
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    The C-clamp-n-Pliers method will work in a pinch, just take care not to rip the piston boot while doing it. If you carefully lift the end of the boot away from the piston journal and spray some non-petro based lubricant in the journal, you're much less likely to damage the boot. For the home mechanic, the Harbor Freight tool is a good investment, and makes it much easier than the above method. Oh, and next time you do front rotors, TIS is actually right, you don't have to remove the caliper bracket to get that rotor off.
     
  19. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    The HB tool most certainly does work just as easily as the OM tool. Works just like it to rotate the piston as it is compressed. Been using mine for about 10 years now.

    http://www.harborfreight.com/18-piece-disc-brake-pad-and-caliper-service-tool-kit-97143.html
     
  20. PGT

    PGT Wheel Whore

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    posteriquote® for this forum's resident "know-it-all" (though notably not in this case :arf: )
     

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