Brakes

[mmm-five]

You'll have to buy the pads, the sensors, the anti-rattle paste, the brake cleaner fluid (in case you get oil all over the pads/discs) and possibly some brake fluid to top up the system if it's low.

The sensors & paste normally don't come with the pads - unless you order them together. Cleaning fluid & brake fluid can be had from any motor accessory shop.

 

[peddy]

For the sensors....did you brake light come on in your dash? If not then the sensor is not worn.

No warning light as of yet, but BMW said that it's recommended to change the sensor if you're changing the pads.

 

[peddy]

You'll have to buy the pads, the sensors, the anti-rattle paste, the brake cleaner fluid (in case you get oil all over the pads/discs) and possibly some brake fluid to top up the system if it's low.

The sensors & paste normally don't come with the pads - unless you order them together. Cleaning fluid & brake fluid can be had from any motor accessory shop.

I'll get the sensors and paste from BMW as it's only going to be around £18. £32 for the pads from ECP and my local will charge £30, so £80.

Thank you and appologies for the newbiest question asked in this forum.

 

[Aebous]

IMO BMW want's to nickle and dime you. The sensors aren't that much, so yeah if you have the money go ahead. But I wouldn't replace em unless they were actually worn some.

 

[tdz840]

Hi I to am looking to replace front and rear brakes and pads. Ebay has a mountain of stuff including sensors front and rear for under £10.
This is one ebay auction (300320586657) grooved and drilled or you can get grooved and dimpled or just dimpled or just grooved or just plain!!!!!
Anyway to get back on track I reckon one of these companies would do a deal if we got together and ordered tham as a tranche. Delivery to specific address's should be part of the deal and I would be confident with over 10 people that we could get another 10% off so around £180 incl pads.
Im happy to organise and I will start the ball rolling and get some costs and product details.
EBC, Brembo are all available incl red or greenstuff pads althoughg these are a bit more expensive(around £40 overall I recall)
Let me know what you think
Russ

 

[peddy]

Hi I to am looking to replace front and rear brakes and pads. Ebay has a mountain of stuff including sensors front and rear for under £10.
This is one ebay auction (300320586657) grooved and drilled or you can get grooved and dimpled or just dimpled or just grooved or just plain!!!!!
Anyway to get back on track I reckon one of these companies would do a deal if we got together and ordered tham as a tranche. Delivery to specific address's should be part of the deal and I would be confident with over 10 people that we could get another 10% off so around £180 incl pads.
Im happy to organise and I will start the ball rolling and get some costs and product details.
EBC, Brembo are all available incl red or greenstuff pads althoughg these are a bit more expensive(around £40 overall I recall)
Let me know what you think
Russ

I'm only doing the front pads. and getting OEMs. If you think you could get a discount then let us know.

 

[peddy]

IMO BMW want's to nickle and dime you. The sensors aren't that much, so yeah if you have the money go ahead. But I wouldn't replace em unless they were actually worn some.

How can I check to see if they are worn? the warning light hasn't come on yet, but I don't want to change only the pads and then a few weeks later i get the warning light on the dash.

 

[tdz840]

IMO BMW want's to nickle and dime you. The sensors aren't that much, so yeah if you have the money go ahead. But I wouldn't replace em unless they were actually worn some.

How can I check to see if they are worn? the warning light hasn't come on yet, but I don't want to change only the pads and then a few weeks later i get the warning light on the dash.

the warning light is activated by the sensors which are attached to the pad. It can be difficult to see the pad thickness on some wheel types so thie sensor was incorporated.
If you have any 'lip' at all on the discs I would consider changing these as well.
Too be honest brakes are important things and not just for the driver. If you are unsure about the braking system leave well alone - unless of course you plan to buy the kit and give it to an Indy?
Russ

 

[peddy]

the warning light is activated by the sensors which are attached to the pad. It can be difficult to see the pad thickness on some wheel types so thie sensor was incorporated.
If you have any 'lip' at all on the discs I would consider changing these as well.
Too be honest brakes are important things and not just for the driver. If you are unsure about the braking system leave well alone - unless of course you plan to buy the kit and give it to an Indy?
Russ

OK no light and now i think maybe i'm wrong. but thought i needed to change it bec i could hear a slight crunching noise of metal... took some pics. let me know what you think... thanks!

front driver side:









back driver side:

 

[Tref]

Have you looked at/felt the inside of the discs? They will probably be worse than this. In my opinion the front discs definitely need replacing as some of the area swept by the pads is rusted over a lot. When you put new pads on they will not function effectively. The rear discs don't look so bad, but check the inside too. The rear pads you have shown look OK for a while to me.

 

[Aebous]

Were the rotors wet or splashed with water before you took those pics? The rust (on the main face of the rotor) looks like the surface rust you'd get after washing but haven't had time to dry it.
Although, as Tref said, there looks to be a little too much rust around the edges where the pads rub.
Some of those pads definitely need to be replaced, and seeing how low some might be it may be rubbing on your wear sensor. Again as Tref said, the inside pads are probably worse.

 

[tdz840]

the warning light is activated by the sensors which are attached to the pad. It can be difficult to see the pad thickness on some wheel types so thie sensor was incorporated.
If you have any 'lip' at all on the discs I would consider changing these as well.
Too be honest brakes are important things and not just for the driver. If you are unsure about the braking system leave well alone - unless of course you plan to buy the kit and give it to an Indy?
Russ

OK no light and now i think maybe i'm wrong. but thought i needed to change it bec i could hear a slight crunching noise of metal... took some pics. let me know what you think... thanks!

front driver side:









back driver side:

The pads are below min depth IMO and need replacing. Why the sensor hasnt gone off I dont know, perhaps its on the limit. Fitting new pads to those crusty old discs is bad practice, you also have a undercut which on ventilated discs increaces the issues.
Mine are in better condition than yours........
Im changing pads and discs and flushing brake fluid.
Russ

 

[peddy]

just felt both side of the front disc and the front side of the rear disc (there's a case stopping me feeling the back of the rear disc). it all seems smooth and the same to me? the rear disc where the pads touch has about the same amount of rusted patches as the front do (the picture taken of the rear disc was taken with poor light so maybe why it's not obvious). both sides have much more patches of rust at the bottom half of the disc than the top half.

how bad is it and how much will it lower my braking effectivness? 10%, 20%, or more? can I get away with it with normal(ish) driving.

bottom half of the rear disc (the front is the same):

 

[Tref]

As I said already. The front discs and pads need changing. These will fix the braking power. The light rust on the friction area will come off as you drive - its just because it has been raining. The rust at the outer edge of the discs is pretty bad on the rear, but the pads look OK from the photo. Rear brakes affect how the pedal feels and the handbrake (of course they slow the car too, but the fronts do all the work).

Lots of money = change the whole lot
Medium money = change the front discs and pads
no money = to me the car is driveable, but change the fronts asap.

 

[Herminator]

Rust normally dissapears after a decent drive, just use your brakes fully a couple of times.
Although I do think it can cause problems if you leave your car standing for months at a time. My father is quite a heavy braker and does often leave his car standing for 3 months, he goes through discs much quicker than he should do if it was just his heavy braking taken into account.

 

[Aebous]

Did you feel with your fingernail or just your finger? Your fingernail will notice grooves/lips a lot quicker than your finger will. Chances are if you replace pads and go away from OEM that the rust around the edges will be an issue.

 

[peddy]

Should I be feeling the part of the disc that the pads touch?

Does anyone know what the OEM discs are? is it ATE?

 

[Aebous]

You want to feel the entire surface of the disk that the pad touches. Around the outer edge of the disk is the spot where there will most likely be a lip (as we can tell from the darker rust color around it).

 

[peddy]

why is the outer edges important? they don't touch the pad? the edges are quite rough and bumpy (is that what you mean by a 'lip') and i can easily peel the rust off (well something is peeling off... i'm guessing it's the rust) on the edge and width of the discs.

 

[tdz840]

why is the outer edges important? they don't touch the pad? the edges are quite rough and bumpy (is that what you mean by a 'lip') and i can easily peel the rust off (well something is peeling off... i'm guessing it's the rust) on the edge and width of the discs.

The periphral edge is not part of the braking surface. However your 'old' pads have bedded into a unique profile. The new pads even if replacing with OEM will bed into their own profile which is likely to 'cut' into the small lip we can see top and bottom of some of the discs. If some of the loose rust is dislodged it could be picked up by the new pads.
This is the reason some manufacturers are stating change pads and discs, that and the fact the pads are harder (to reduce dust) and abrading the discs far more effectively.
You may get away just pads and the costs would be low. Those of us who feel no issue changing discs and pads ourselves are in the position of changing the braking system for under £200. If you take to the indy the cost to remove the hub and replace should be no more than a hour (perhaps 2) for both axles, so around a ton.
Russ