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Epic brake upgrade fail
- Thread starter BeemerGuy
- Start date
if its a rubber brake hose...you can get a brake hose clamp tool to stop the fluid. means you only have to bleed a little air out of each one...
Time for an update...bit of a mechanical tale
So the saga continued until last weekend when I finally got the brakes working, tested and fully operational. MOT tomorrow!
There were a few more mishaps along the way, and it wasn't quick or cheap - I didn't really expect it would be, but I'm pleased I did it and would be much more confident in the future - many a lesson learned.
Finally new carriers arrived and I set about fully replacing the front 300mm to the 330mm disk / calliper setup. I also decided to order some new disk guard bolts (as one wasn't catching properly), new guide bolts, and new brake pad retaining clips. I also realised from more research that my issues with the brake hoses were down to me trying to loosen the calliper side and not the connection into the brake pipe first (consequently somewhat mashing the calliper side tightening male connector nut....so I ended up ordering a set of Hel braided hoses to resolve any chewed nut issues and further improve braking...
Having been struggling on with a single set of axle stands, I also decided to buy another set, to make bleeding less of a faff...various other tools were bought like torque wrench, bleed spanner, and elongated T30 torx.
I decided to spray paint the break pad retaining clips red for a bit of bling....I later decided to scrub up the OEN ones and spray pain them satin black, as the red calliper paint seemed a bit flakey….or maybe t was the quality of the clips (or not prepping them properly)..
So got the front done with not too much trouble this time, and moved on to the rears....more trouble with the parking brake...
..I tried the wind back technique from the youtube techno tutorial, winding back with a screwdriver, but there was no way that was going to work - it wasn't for budging (perhaps because the had been locked in position, even while off the car). Additionally it was very difficult to get the bracket off the electric motor/calliper...and I ended up chewing the torx bolt and having to drill it out and stamp in a bigger bit to get a catch and remove it. In the process of hammering the torx after clamping the calliper, I managed to hammer out the parking brake piston from its seal and couldn't get it back inside it's gaitor - after more research I realised it was assembled from the read not from the front and that (at that point) looked well beyond me so decided to throw more money at it, and replace the rear callipers under a core exchange...also ordered some more torx bolts.
Anyway when they arrived some weeks later, it proved a fairly straightforward task to replace both sides, and to bleed all round via an Eazibleed kit.
Overall it came together I hope, and there haven't been any leaks as far as I can tell...garage I hope will confirm all is well...as I still have a couple of doubts over how the new narrower brake hoses seat in the connection with the brake pipes...the retaining clips I think might need bulked up with an extra washer or so, but I think would only be a slight wear risk over many thousands of miles) on a non critical part of the hose (says the novice) - one to keep an eye on!
I guess there's more I could have done...maybe cleaned up the rear carriers etc. In the end I was glad just to get it done, even although it didn't really need to be :tumbleweed:
So the saga continued until last weekend when I finally got the brakes working, tested and fully operational. MOT tomorrow!
There were a few more mishaps along the way, and it wasn't quick or cheap - I didn't really expect it would be, but I'm pleased I did it and would be much more confident in the future - many a lesson learned.
Finally new carriers arrived and I set about fully replacing the front 300mm to the 330mm disk / calliper setup. I also decided to order some new disk guard bolts (as one wasn't catching properly), new guide bolts, and new brake pad retaining clips. I also realised from more research that my issues with the brake hoses were down to me trying to loosen the calliper side and not the connection into the brake pipe first (consequently somewhat mashing the calliper side tightening male connector nut....so I ended up ordering a set of Hel braided hoses to resolve any chewed nut issues and further improve braking...
Having been struggling on with a single set of axle stands, I also decided to buy another set, to make bleeding less of a faff...various other tools were bought like torque wrench, bleed spanner, and elongated T30 torx.
I decided to spray paint the break pad retaining clips red for a bit of bling....I later decided to scrub up the OEN ones and spray pain them satin black, as the red calliper paint seemed a bit flakey….or maybe t was the quality of the clips (or not prepping them properly)..
So got the front done with not too much trouble this time, and moved on to the rears....more trouble with the parking brake...
..I tried the wind back technique from the youtube techno tutorial, winding back with a screwdriver, but there was no way that was going to work - it wasn't for budging (perhaps because the had been locked in position, even while off the car). Additionally it was very difficult to get the bracket off the electric motor/calliper...and I ended up chewing the torx bolt and having to drill it out and stamp in a bigger bit to get a catch and remove it. In the process of hammering the torx after clamping the calliper, I managed to hammer out the parking brake piston from its seal and couldn't get it back inside it's gaitor - after more research I realised it was assembled from the read not from the front and that (at that point) looked well beyond me so decided to throw more money at it, and replace the rear callipers under a core exchange...also ordered some more torx bolts.
Anyway when they arrived some weeks later, it proved a fairly straightforward task to replace both sides, and to bleed all round via an Eazibleed kit.
Overall it came together I hope, and there haven't been any leaks as far as I can tell...garage I hope will confirm all is well...as I still have a couple of doubts over how the new narrower brake hoses seat in the connection with the brake pipes...the retaining clips I think might need bulked up with an extra washer or so, but I think would only be a slight wear risk over many thousands of miles) on a non critical part of the hose (says the novice) - one to keep an eye on!
I guess there's more I could have done...maybe cleaned up the rear carriers etc. In the end I was glad just to get it done, even although it didn't really need to be :tumbleweed:
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A little late reading this but what a good and honest write up. Thanks.
BeemerGuy said:
I’m all for DIY maintenance but you should not mess around with brakes. It is a bit more complicated than just changing brake pads, and even that can be a complicated job for a noobie. I’ve been working on my own cars for many years and feel comfortable working on my car’s brakes and have even done a caliber and rotor swap on it as well.
I find it best to get a buddy with more experience to guide me on the first time, especially if it is something that needs to work in order to be safe out on the road.
Very nice... After I had completed at my lock down leisure... Well sort of with a lot of hiccups... I had to get my car MoT'd so explained at my local trustworthy garage and asked them to check over. Thankfully all was fine. I have subsequently realised that I shouldnt really have fitted the existing rear brakepad wear sensor as it is now indicating a wear issue and I know there is not.... The problem was it was a bit job or seemed so to run the new cable and I was already feeling slightly overawed by the task. Now having dismantled the front to add an MMI I might have another go on that :headbang:
