Brake disc change

[oldgit9]

both caliper bolts are def 14mm.

Are you sure your not taking off the carriers that are screwed to the hubs? they are 17mm

You replied as I was typing my last post and I missed it

There are only four bolts that I could see….and they were all 17mm. I did have a good look around but I could only see the four on that side.

Mind you, my car is a “VR4 five stud” and not a “V6 Galant four stud” if that makes any difference.

[AlanDITD]

weird then yours a FL or PFL?

Im sure mine were 14mm on the slide pins and 17mm on the carrier bolts.

Take a pic?

[oldgit9]

weird then yours a FL or PFL?

Im sure mine were 14mm on the slide pins and 17mm on the carrier bolts.

Take a pic?

mine is a PFL 97. im at work at the moment. i'll take some pics when i get back home.

[oldgit9]

ok...i have taken a pic...but because of the sun and the position of the car, it's not a good pic. and I've had to use photoshop to make it a bit more clear for you all to see and to label the parts.

[Wodjno]

Your caliper bolts in the pic are your slide bolts.. And the carrier bolts are the caliper retaining bolts( the 1's u need to undo to remove the caliper)
Hub carrier bolts are not visible in that pick and there are 4 of them. They are tight up to where the cv joint is..
Actually, i think i can make 1 of them out just up and to the right of your lower carrier arrow.

Wodj

[oldgit9]

im know it's a bad pic...and it's difficult to work out all of the parts...but i couldn't do any better at the time. i'll try and take a better pic later on when the sun isn't so strong.

when i was following the guide, the pic showed the ratchet spanner where i have indicated the "bottom calliper". so i assumed that it was that and that the bolt is going through the calliper. i cant get the wheel off now for a better look. as im parked on a slight hill and the last thing i want to happen is for the car to move when it's up on the jack. i will either have to wait until i can get my car back on the ramp next week, or until pay day when i can get some axle stands. again next week

[Davezj]

most socket sets have an adapter in them with a hole going through it so the large extention bar can be pushed through it, making a very strong braker bar, especially if you extend it further with the scaffold pole or equiv.

[oldgit9]

Your right, they do. But I've only got a bog standerd halfords repair kit. that's got a bit of everything in it. I'll have to wait for next week (pay day) to pick something decent up.

[oldgit9]

***URGENT ADVICE NEEDED***
i've managed to get the right bits together to do this job at home.

The two calliper bolt on the passenger side came undone with no problems. On the drivers side, the bottom came loose easy enough. Come to the dreaded top bolt and it was as tight as ever. After a soak in wd-40, It managed to budge a litttle. So I carried on. It was still stiff as hell to turn. Then the worst thing happened, the bloody thing sheared off. Now I don't have the tools to try and extract the rest of the bolt. Plus I don't have another bolt to replace the one I've snapped. for now, I've put it back in and the calliper seams solid.

My problem at the moment, is that I need the car in the morning to drive to work. Will it be safe enough to drive? I know that AP Motors in Plymouth has a spare bolt. As I was talking to them yesterday. But they are closed today I will be calling them tomorrow to see if they can fit me in asap. But how safe is it do drive?

[Davezj]

where has it snapped?

1. has it snapped between the caliper and the mounting bracket.

2. has it snapped the head off the bolt inside the caliper so the bolt is still embedded in the caliper and is attached to the mounting bracket.

either way it sounds like you will need a new caliper and possibly and mounting bracket

[oldgit9]

I've attached a pic for everyone to see

It sheared off around an inch after the threaded bit. There is around an inch still stuck in there. When we (barney and I) were at AP Motors yesterday, the guy said that he had done the same on barney's car. And he had to drill the rest out.

[eyeballprawn]

That's one of the slider pins isn't it? How does that break like that, there is no further thread on the pin holding it in.. could it be just horribly seized up from previous use of improper grease? All you can do now is drill it out and get a screw extractor onto it. You may need to use a masonry bit in order to drill into the pin, they have the stronger tungsten carbide tips. I wouldn't drive with it like that, there isn't anything securing half of the brake pads otherwise.

Your best bet before attacking it is to remove the caliper from the car and sit it with broken bolt hole facing upwards and fill the hole with something stronger than wd-40.. perhaps carby cleaner. Leave it soak in for an hour, then repeat again. You will need to dissolve and break away whatever gunk has caused the pin to seize so carby cleaner may do it because it's a reasonably strong solvent. Melts the concrete sealant off my garage floor!

[oldgit9]

Yeah that is the slider pin. It's the top one of the two. There is no dameage to the thread. By the looks of it, there is around 3/4 - 1 inch still left in there. I had a good look of the bolt and it looks like the last person who changed the breakes used copper grease. So no wonder it's seased up.

Unfortunately, I have very limited amount of tools. And I don't have a drill etc that's why I was asking if it would be ok to drive the car (v slowly) to work. I could then drive it AP Motors which is 5 miles from work.

[eyeballprawn]

I don't think that anyone could comfortably tell you it's safe to drive with bolts missing from your brakes. If it were me, I would remove the caliper from the car, catch a taxi to work and drop it off at the mechanics on the way.

I probably wouldn't let the mechanics reassemble things because you don't know what grease they are going to use. Best to do it yourself with the proper stuff as mentioned in the thread on this site.

[oldgit9]

I know what your saying. But I've re-fitted the bolt and the calliper feels tight. That's why I will be driving dead slow. The garage (AP Motors) know exactly what they are doing. They do a fair amount of work for us who live in Plymouth area. They do a lot of work on track cars. And if I take the grease that I have (recomended in the brake guides), they can use that.

[eyeballprawn]

Let us know how you get on with it. I'm sure there will be a bit of cursing going on at that workshop. I once called out a mobile mechanic to remove a broken stud before I had enough tools to tackle it myself. I popped into the house for a moment, and the next thing I knew he'd made his escape and taken off down the street never to return. I ended up having to buy the tools and drill it out myself.

[jahooli]

No worries..

Early EVO 4 brakes are identical to VR4's

294mm fronts and 284mm rears Just the Jobby.. nd yes they are a good price for an all round set-up

Hi, just picked up this post as im needing new front disks and pads.

the evo 4 drilled and grooved with redstuff alook sound, does anyone have any longish term experience with this set up?

hope the hyperlink worked!

if i dont need rear pads and disks yet is it worth considering just fitting the fronts (forget the look!) or should i fit all round?

thanks

[Ralliart1]

Hi, just picked up this post as im needing new front disks and pads.

the evo 4 drilled and grooved with redstuff alook sound, does anyone have any longish term experience with this set up?

hope the hyperlink worked!

if i dont need rear pads and disks yet is it worth considering just fitting the fronts (forget the look!) or should i fit all round?

thanks

I would not recomend to use grooved discs,I`ve used same discs and pads as you linked,they become noise very quick.One of my mates had on his Seat Leon and had same experience.
The grooved and dimped discs +redstuff pads are much better.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EBC-GROOVED-BR...item2eae7b1832

[miller]

Where as i had the CRN's all round on my VR4 and would highly recommend them. Thats quite a few track days included aswell. Couple them with XP8's and your on an absolute winner.

Those who came on track with me will testify I put a lot of abuse through my brakes.

Edit: and seeing as CRN are in Sheffield and allow collection you can save on postage!! Nev picked my last lot up for me!

[jahooli]

Where as i had the CRN's all round on my VR4 and would highly recommend them. Thats quite a few track days included aswell. Couple them with XP8's and your on an absolute winner.

Those who came on track with me will testify I put a lot of abuse through my brakes.

Edit: and seeing as CRN are in Sheffield and allow collection you can save on postage!! Nev picked my last lot up for me!

thanks for tthe advice, did you have the same crn's as i linked to?

my limit is £300

ta