Kev_A Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 As above, fitted some Chris Wilson fast road pads tonight to the front of the car. Drivers side went fine, nuts undone, wheel off, undone bottom bolt on caliper, lifted caliper up, removed pins, removed pads, fitted new pads, refitted pins, refitted bottom bolt, wheel back on. Got to the passenger side and I was having problems straight away, couldn't get the socket over the nuts, was too tight to the wheel, after a bit of persuasion I eventually got the nuts off, removed the wheel, after removing the bottom bolt the caliper took a while before it would pivot up so I could remove the pads, eventually got there, removed old pads, fitted new ones, refitted the bolt, put the wheel back on and now it catches on the caliper. Worth noting are the following points: My Wheels are 18" Veilside Andrew Racing, the clearance between the spokes and the calipers was already ridiculously close. When I was doing the passenger side and the bottom bolt was off I noticed there was "play" in the brakes disc, I.E you could grab the bottom and and push it back and forth, there is a small threaded hole right in the centre of the hub, should there be a bolt here? Can anyone help?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 The wheels are obviously wrong if the clearnce is that tight. J-Spec sliding calipers will move nearer the wheel with new, full thickness pads in them compared to older thin pads. Spacers, machine the wheels, both might work, both are not good ideas. You really need wheels that fit, sorry.It also sounds like the caliper slider pins are seized, which will wear pads and discs out in a very short order, if not do damage. The calipers, when bolted to the carriers, with no pads in, should move with one finger, to and fro along the slider pins. If they are hard to even PIVOT on the pins they are well *uggered and need sorting out before using the car. The brake discs are held on by the wheels, in effect, but often rust tightly in situ. There isn't, and shouldn't be, any additional fasteners to just hold the discs on the hubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmer Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 No there shouldn't be a bolt in there and yes you can move the discs in that direction as the wheel holds the disc flat against the hub. So nothing to worry about there. I think whats happend is that now you have pushed the piston all the way back in the caliper is free to move 'in and out' untill it is squeezed back against the pads and recenters itself. Try pumping the brake pedal until hard and have another go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Good point Jimmer, if they are that marginal centring the calipers on the disc / pads may give just enough clearance!! The poster needs to remember wheels and hubs flex, so even if they JUST miss statically they could catch under cornering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmer Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Good point Jimmer, if they are that marginal centring the calipers on the disc / pads may give just enough clearance!! The poster needs to remember wheels and hubs flex, so even if they JUST miss statically they could catch under cornering. I didn't know that the wheels and hubs moved under cornering/braking, but now you say it it seems logical. When I had my stock UK wheels fitted they were very close to the brake calipers (spoke to Caliper). Although Uk brakes wont move in and out it must have been only a couple of MM. Im guessing the wheel wouldn't move that much,? or are the standard wheels alot stiffer than aftermarket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 Hmm, ok, cheers for the advice! There doesn't appear to be any old marks on the inside of the wheels where the calipers might have caught previously so I'd wondered if it was something I've done wrong though changing the brake pads on these is such a simple practice I don't think there's much you could get wrong! Where would I get spacers? I know it's not ideal but I don't have the money for new wheels atm, and tbh these seem to be worth such a mint when sold 2nd hand I was going to pay for a full refurb and keep them I take it with spacers I'm looking for as narrow as I can get away with? 5-10mm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmer Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Hmm, ok, cheers for the advice! There doesn't appear to be any old marks on the inside of the wheels where the calipers might have caught previously so I'd wondered if it was something I've done wrong though changing the brake pads on these is such a simple practice I don't think there's much you could get wrong! Where would I get spacers? I know it's not ideal but I don't have the money for new wheels atm, and tbh these seem to be worth such a mint when sold 2nd hand I was going to pay for a full refurb and keep them I take it with spacers I'm looking for as narrow as I can get away with? 5-10mm? Surely if you did the drivers side ok it must be something you have done differently on the N/S to cause the problem? Try to avoid spacers but if you have to, do a search its been covered plenty of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcarrter21 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 i have around 3-4mm clearence on my 19s and they have not hit so far........ hopefully ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 14, 2009 Author Share Posted August 14, 2009 Surely if you did the drivers side ok it must be something you have done differently on the N/S to cause the problem? Try to avoid spacers but if you have to, do a search its been covered plenty of times. That's what I thought mate, but I did everything again just to make sure and can't figure out what's going wrong, again, the drivers side is fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmer Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Strange, If the drivers side is fine, then something must be wrong. Does the O/S wheel fit on the N/S?....just a thought. Might be worth taking some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 (edited) One of those jobs where I wish I'd paid a pro to do the job, just a bit skint at the moment and I've fitted many brake pads in the past with no problems. Anyway, I went to Revolution (Local performance motorstore) and picked up a pair of 5mm spacers. Fitted them and this seems to have solved the problem of the clearance issue. However, I've just took it down the road.... First impressions (Baring in mind the car hasn't been anywhere since having the pads fitted) The pedal feels spongey, There's a slight squeeling noise coming from the passenger side when I turn right. I went for a blast down a straight road about 1/3 of a mile long, turned right at the roundabout and came back down the road, as I approached the lights I noticed smoke coming from the passenger side and I'm kind of thinking this could be a novice error, see, when I fitted the new pads before putting the wheels back on I painted the brake calipers with Hammerite smooth black, but, thinking it would look good I also painted the ducted shields behind the disc and the top edges of the disc, where the gaps are for the ventilation, this was done on thursday. After coming back from the run I've noticed black paint splatter on the inside of the wheel, obvioulsy this is from the disc, could this also be the source of the smoke? FAIL Edited August 15, 2009 by Kev_A (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 As I think I said, the caliper sliders will be seized up. You may have already killed the pads. They need sorting straight away. The brake(s) will be binding on and generating a huge amount of heat. Both the calipers should be the same distance from the wheel, to within say 1/16 inch with new pads fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 How can I sort the slider pins mate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmer Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 How can I sort the slider pins mate? Take the bolts out that hold the caliper to the carrier and lift the caliper off. Then pull the sliders all the way out, clean up, re-grease and rebuild. The caliper should be able to move in and out freely. I take it when you did it you cleaned the carrier, greased the pad contact pionts with Copper slip and made sure the pads moved freely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 I only copper greased the contact points on the pad, what grease do I need for the pins and how do you clean the carriers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Would I use this stuff on the sliders? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_246319_langId_-1_categoryId_165705 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmer Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 No, I wouldn't use that. It needs to have a high melting point or it will just burn off. I cant see it anywhere on the ad. You can buy special caliper grease, ive seen it on the interweb. In the past however i've just used Copper slip and never had any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I use this and its fine http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_202989_langId_-1_categoryId_165705 Most motor factors should be able to sell you copper grease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev_A Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 I've already got that copper grease, used it on the back of the pads, I've used the moly grease on the link I posted to grease the sliders... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 You dont want to be using the stuff you mention about on brakes at all really as said before the melting point is too low. Use the copper grease all round on the brakes but obvoiusly not on the friction suraces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.