Started To Change The Discs

[grinder]

Well seeing it was a nice day - i started to swap the discs over on the car for some drilled and vented ones

took some pics as i went along aswell

i havent finished getting one disc on yet - as i need some stufff - but here are the pics

So Step 1 :

Jack the car up and get the wheel off

[RobMatthews]

lol so is that as far as you got?

< bloody hell mate - i was in the midst of posting when you added this .. i will remove this post later though - it spoils my thread !! LOL ... Grinder >

[grinder]

Step 2 :

Figure out how the hell the pads are held in

From looking at it - they are on pins with spring clips

so first thing first - loosen the clips off

[grinder]

Step 3

Now that the clips are loose - remove the pins holding the clips and pads in

[grinder]

Step 4

make a note where things go in your head ( or on your camera !! )

the clips that are looped over go at the bottom ( there is a complete circle on the clip that the pin passes thru )

[grinder]

Step 5

Now to get the pads out

couldnt work it out so start with - but i ended up pushing one pads out from the back and then got a small G-Clamp to push the other pistons back

any ways - the pads are out

[grinder]

Step 6

Right then - now to get the caliper off

there are only 2 big bolts holding it all on - one at the top and one at the bottom - this is a pic of the top one

[grinder]

Step 7

crickey - they took some getting off

got a 17mm socket on them and a 18 inch breaker bar - and used a mallet to loosen them off

took both bolts out and secured the caliper to the spring ( so that its not hanging on the brake hose )

you can see in the pics - the location of the 2 bolts that needed to come off

[grinder]

Step 8

Right then - off with the disc

this is where the fun started - couldnt get the 2 screws out

so tried with an impact driver .....

[grinder]

Step 9

seeing that i snapped the bit - it was onto the phone to Brett - he said that use a centre punch to loosen the screws and then simply remove them

this failed - and the screws just ended up a right mess

things is - they are in SOOOOOOOOOO tight - but are really soft

[grinder]

Step 10

right then - one screwed up screw

quick chat to the neighbour and it was a case of drilling them out - he came with some drill bits and some drills

so we just drilled them out

Brett also warned me - that once the screws are out - thats when the fun starts

cast iron disc + ally hub = hrs of fun

3 light taps with a mallet and the discs was off - im glad it was that easy

found what was left of the 2 screws in the hub - and they came out by hand - the heat of drilling them must have loosened them up

anyways disc is off

this is where i stopped as

a: need some copper grease
b: need some bolts to replace the drilled one

my neighbour gave me 2 allen key head bolts - so im gonna buy 10 of them for the rest of the discs - i dont think you need them to be honest - but mazda put them on for a reason so i will replace them

once i have the parts - i will put the new disc on and rebuilding should be the reverse

i need to do the back aswell - so i will take some pics of that when i do it

here is the car now with no disc on it ( i have put a bag over it at the mo - just to keep it dry )

[Prof]

Stu - feel free to remove this post to keep your thread clean.
 
You don\'t really need the screw/bolts that hold the disc in place - they are there to locate the disc on the hub so it makes putting the wheel back on easier, and allows you to check pad to disc spacing and so on without the wheel being on.  I just use 2 of the wheel nuts to check the brake alignment and pad to disc, then take them off carefully and put the wheel back on.
 
If you use ceramic spray coating or copper grease on the surface that mates with the inside edge of the wheel, and also on the hub and inside of the disc rotor, you\'ll find they will stay in place ok.

[grinder]

to be honest mate - i thought that you didnt need them

i have some nice allen key heads ones to use ( only 2 of need some more though )

i will prob use them anyways as fingers croseed i wont be taking the discs back off EVER

and i dont understand why you do need them - surely its held in place by the caliper ( aswell as the wheel ?? )

[grinder]

well the better half has pulled a blinder

She has taken my front wheel to get the tyre reseated
She has gone and bought me 10 screws to replace the ones that will be getting drilled out
She is going getting me some copper grease to apply to every bolt that goes back in

so looks like i will beable to start the rebuild pretty soon Wooooohoooo

[pdtaylor18]

Dont get a job at Kwik Fit Stu !!!
Well done though and its not a hard job once you look at what needs to be done. Coating the threads with anti-sieze is always a good idea and dont forget to dollop a good quantity of the copper ease into the sliding rail bit as well, but b4 you do take the rubber boot off and clean it thoughourly.you can also apply a very light smear on the hub/disk interface as it will stop this disimilar metal process that happens and bonds metals together. You are supposed to use Lock thread on the bolts but as long as they are tight then not really needed. It maybe why they were a pig to get off if they were original disks, manufacturers always use the stuff.
Got any new pads? Always use new pads with new disks unless you are absolutely dead sure your old pads are nice and straight and not worn at a silly angle.