Want to replace front brake pads

[White Dog]

Any "tricks of the trade" not listed in the Clymer manual for R/R front brake pads?  What is the level of difficulty for someone like me who has never replaced brake pads on a BMW?  Thanks.

[Laitch]

What is the level of difficulty for someone like me who has never replaced brake pads on a BMW?

Chartreuse

[White Dog]

Litch, you are wasting broadband width with your attempt at humor.

[Chaos]

on a scale of 1 - 10 I'd give it a 3.  Some of the parts are reluctant to come out, and getting the springy thing lined up might be tricky the first time.  Need to retract pistons and keep an eye on the brake fluid too.  Definitely dooable.   Forgive Laitch, he is, well, himself. 

[White Dog]

on a scale of 1 - 10 I'd give it a 3.  Some of the parts are reluctant to come out, and getting the springy thing lined up might be tricky the first time.  Need to retract pistons and keep an eye on the brake fluid too.  Definitely dooable.   Forgive Laitch, he is, well, himself.

Yes, after removing the plastic covers, I can better understand how the pads are held in place.  I'll take my time and hopefully do it right.  Will lithium grease work for the "disc brake lubricant" mentioned in the Clymer manual?  If so, how liberal should it be applied?

As for Litch, did he self-appoint himself clown prince of this board? 

[Laitch]

Will lithium grease work for the "disc brake lubricant" mentioned in the Clymer manual? 

Read this. It'll take your mind off your troubles, White Dog.

[Motorhobo]

Brake pads as with pretty much anything are a snap as long as you put the right tool in the right place. I use these small, curved needlenose pliers I got dirt cheap at Harbor Freight. I put the tip of the pliers in the recession at the front of the pin and lever against the body of the caliper to draw the pin out. It can't hurt to put a piece of rag between the tool and the surface you're levering against to protect the finish on the piece. Once it's most of the way out you can grip the head with larger pliers and turn it back and forth, drawing it out all the way.



You'll see a clip in there that holds the small retaining rod in place. It doesn't matter much which pin you take out first, but to put them back in of course the pin that holds the enclosed end of the clip has to go in first.

You can use a flat screwdriver to spread the pads apart within the caliper. Take care, though, when putting the screwdriver in there not to get it between the caliper wall and the outside of the pad. There is a rubber seal that protects the piston in there that you can damage. I have had the seal fall out on me before. I just stuck it back in there hoping the pad will hold it in place. I'm sure I should have put some kind of grease on it before I put it back in, but I didn't and as far as I know it's still in there.

Take a picture of it before you do it, and take care not to lose the little retaining rod because it's small and if it drops, which it probably will, it can bounce out of the way and be hard to find.

[White Dog]

Read this. It'll take your mind off your troubles, White Dog.

Good write up.  Thanks for sharing.

[Martin]

Smear a light coat of Coppercote on the back of the pads ( stops the squealing ). I also smear a very light coat on the pins and spring to prevent corrosion. I use a pin punch from the opposite side of the wheel to push the pins out far enough to get a better grip, a small pair of vice grips with a rag around the pin to prevents marring.
C.heers Martin.

[White Dog]

Disassembly of the pads was easy peasey.  My pads looked almost new, so I elected to put them back in.  The sliders and spring pin were coated with a hardened lubricant that only came off with my wire wheel on my bench grinder.  I don't remember reading this but I found it easy to move the calipers to access the pads by loosening the caliper bolts.  A dab of disc brake lube on each slider and on the pin, tapped the sliders in place, tightened the calipers and installed the plastic covers.  I added just a tad of dot 4 fluid and I have smooth operating front brakes now.

[Motorhobo]

I almost mentioned that wire wheeling the parts isn't recommended because it can remove then cadmium coating and make the parts more susceptible to rust. I know this because it did it and the pins proceeded to rust to th point that I didn't think I'd be able to get them out of the bore without a drill. They did come out though but the rust remains. Moral of the story -- don't wire wheel your hardware because it removes the cadmium and you will soon have a big bag of rusty nuts and bolts and be looking for replacement  KBike hardware sets on eBay -- just like I did.

MH

[White Dog]

Thanks for the tip.  I knew about the cadium coating so I used a very fine wire wheel and light pressure.  Hopefully, all will be good.  With the ease of only having to remove a plastic cover to look at the sliders, I can keep an eye on them and replace if needed before rust sets in.

I missed the point about pinning the enclosed end of the spring first, but I didn't have any problems threading the pin thru the spring.  Your method would have been easier and quicker.

7/8 update.  Went back into the brakes, pulled the pads and smeared a velly thin coat of DB lube on the back side of the pads, as was suggested to prevent squealing.  Since I already had the lube, it was cheaper than buying a trap for a pig or bagpipes.