Brake Pads on S2

[trev260764]

I need to replace the pads and discs on the front so was having a look to see what was involved. It's been a few years since I last changed some of these on a car (Opel Manta GTE I think!). Took the weel off, folded down the crucifix, pressed back the pads to compress the pistons - but couldn't get the pads out!

The discs are quite badly worn and do have a lip, do you reckon it's the lip stopping the pads coming out, or have I missed something simple?

 

[Diver944]

It could be you have the beginnings of the dreaded plate lift.

The stainless steel plates above and below the pads can get squeezed together by corrosion between them and the alloy caliper. They press on the top and bottom of the pads and make it very hard to pull them out. You may have to 'drift' them out from the hub side of the caliper.

 

[Alexw]

As Paul said, sounds like plate lift. I've not long sorted this out myself, bit of a time consuming job but not overly difficult.
I used a screwdriver in the little holes to pry them out, along with a pair of grips and a lot of swearing. On 2 of the calipers I had to take the caliper off to remove the pads! Hopefully your won't be as bad as that though.
I wouldn't have thought it was the lip, maybe try pushing the pads back against the pistons to see, mine had squeal shim on so I got a thin screwdriver between the pad and shim and forced the piston back that way.

 

[trev260764]

Mmm.Wondered what those bits were!

 

[billus99]

im tackling just this job, at the weekend....

 

[edh]

could be the lip - try pushing the pistons back by using some pliers (water pump pliers?) on the top part of the pad & the caliper body.

When everything works, the longest part of the job on pad changes on these cars is getting the wheel on & off []

 

[billus99]

job done, but not that easy - i think that "plate lift" was what i had - the steel plates at the bottom of the caliper slot? the last one seemed to have lifted off the body of the caliper by only 1 mm or so.
Whilst there was a lip, it was clear it wasnt that.
Once I eventually got the last pad out, I ground a little off the edge of the new pad, to make sure it went back in ok.
Only finsihed just as it got dark, (last pad took 1.5 hours to get out!!) so havent road tested it yet. never easy, is it!

 

[trev260764]

Very interesting. When I had my Blue One MOT'd a couple of months ago, he said that he had to do some 'grinding' to get the pads in [it had failed on brakes].

Having had some experience now, and some comments from you guys I can see whats needed!

 

[billus99]

Road tested today - brakes were fine and I'd lost the noise and squeal from the previous pads.
One other point to note, I had fitted new front tyres a few weeks back, and still had a bit of steering wheel vibration even though the wheels had just been balanced. When doing the brakes, I removed the non std locking wheel nuts (which were steel and heavy), as I realised how light the original nuts were, and this has cured the problem.

 

[zcacogp]

Plate lift is a common problem, but the advice is always to cure this problem rather than curing the symptoms by grinding the pads. Yes, grinding the pads will work in the short term, but if plate lift isn't tackled properly then it will get worse and worse, and eventually render the calipers useless.

It's not a hard job if you have a half-decent workshop, and it is very satisfying to sort out.


Oli.

 

[dodgydal]

ive got to change my front pads and discs very soon , which discs and pads did you use and how much did they cost

 

[trev260764]

How do you 'cure' the problem? I take it you need to replace the steel plates? Is this a difficult / expensive job? If, as seems the most usual cure, a couple of mm are grinded off the pads, how long will it take for the plate to snag the pad again?

 

[ChasR]

ORIGINAL: dodgydal

ive got to change my front pads and discs very soon , which discs and pads did you use and how much did they cost

My S2 is on ATE discs and Pagid Pads. I think it works out at around £100 (maybe a little more) per corner. EBC may be cheaper (even for the Reg90) but IME they are completely pants.

Trev, search on the site (if you can) where it will detail on how to deal with plate lift. Failing that, go onto Cannell's site and look up the article on Brembo calipers. It will tell you on how to deal with the lift. From what I understand I think you can use a blowtorch on the plates to attack the nuts, but I am not sure how people attack the nuts with some welding nuts on, some being able to use the allen key attachments and others I think using mole grips (latter I cannot see how)(ideas and preferred method guys?). I think they you scrub away the corrosion and paint the affected part of the caliper, and grease up the bottom of the plate and possibly even lightly paint the plates so as to give them another protective layer. Using Stainless steel screws also helps.

As for how long will it take for the plates to lift up more in their current state, how long is a piece of string. It could be years they could be fine for or it could months. But as said it's best to tackle the root of the problem. With the plate lift problem tackled as above I think they say they will last about another 5 years, maybe more if you keep on top of it when you change your pads.

 

[944Turbo]

Ashamed to admit it but once you get to about the edge of the pad material with grinding the pad lift doesn't seem to get any worse - I bought new calipers for the front as they were a good price at the time - due to other commitments the rears just got a grinding (again). They don't seem to have got any worse but they will be sorted next time. I guess there is a limit to how far the plates can lift, but in this state when braking hard there will probably be some movement as the plate compresses.
Tony