Hey All,

I didn't see one, so I documented the process of replacing my brakes today. Hopefully this will help someone in some way.

I started out with 20k mile stock brakes. Rusty, pads probably still had 5k on the worst side (driver's).


I tapped the two pins out with a 1/16" hollow tipped punch designed for gunsmitthing work. Worked great. Clean the pins and bracket with brake cleaner so they go back in nicely. This will take a while.



The pins and bracket looked like this when they came out. I spent maybe 20 mins a piece with a toothbrush and brake cleaner cleaning them.


Unbolt the calipers from the knuckles with an 18mm socket (make sure you have this size before starting). Hang them with some old coat hanger out of the way. Remove the retainer screw and bludgeon your old rotors off. Hopefully you won't find a friend like I did...


I used a lang brake caliper spreader. It didn't fit within the spot where the pads go, but worked just fine at an angle.


Clean the hub and spots where the pads will contact the rotors with brake cleaner (and a brush, scraper, emory cloth, steel wool, whatever you like here):


Wipe the protective oil off of the contact surfaces of your new rotors.


Pop the rotors on and afix them with a retainer screw. I picked up the nice upgraded stainless screws ECS sells. The old ones looked manky. For the price, the nice new ones look worth it.


Bolt the calipers back on and torque to 110NM. Wiggle in the retainer pins and clip. Mine went in pretty easily, but it's a bit fiddly since the clamp has tension against the pins. The amount of cleaning you did earlier will make a difference here. Once the pins are as far as they go by hand, tap them lightly with a hammer to get the little metal ball on the end back into the hole where it winds up. Put some brake lube along the edges of the pad that rest against the contact surfaces in the caliper. I used Permatex Ceramic Extreme (purple stuff).


Bolt your wheels on and bed in with the manufacturer's instructions.


Hope this helps...

I went with DBA Clubspec 5000 series 2-piece rotors and Ferodo DS2500 pads (FCP4611). The pads were not a perfect fit. I had to take off about 1/32". I'm not sure if they have a pad that fits better.



--Matt

 

Great write up! Brembo brakes are so easy to change the pads on. Im jealous.

But dude, there was a mouse in your rotor .......

 

This is awesome. I laughed way too hard when I got to the "friend"

Great write up, dude!

 

Congrats! These rotors look great and I am glad that DBA came out with a two piece. We now carry DBA, great stuff.
Click HERE to shop DBA Rotors

 

How are you liking those brakes? Is it a noticeable difference in feel over stock?

 

I have the same question as CarFreak427. After about 40 turns of (quite) aggressive canyon driving in my f56 JCW, I can definitely feel the stock brakes fading on me. And off topic, what do you think of those Conti Tires in terms of dry grip and NVH?

 

 

I had to do mine. Snapped 2 Center punches trying to get pins out. Gave up and took it in. Took mechanic 90 min to get pins out. Not sure what previous owner did, but holy crap....

 

Great write up BTW. Did you have to open the cap on the master cylinder to compress the pistons back in place? I had to do that on my wife's Prius.

 

Excellent write up! For the caliper spreader, nothing fancy, just a regular spreader should suffice correct?
I changed the rear pads and it needed a tool I didn't have to spread out the calipers. Screwed it up and had to take it to a shop to get them readjusted. Hoping I do not have to do this with the fronts..

 

Just open the bleeder, never allow the fluid in the caliper to go the other way. The DSC pump is stupid expensive to replace and I wouldn't want to push old fluid into it

 

Nice write-up - a few things to add. Just did a pad change on my 2016 JCW ~ 20K miles (bit under). Did a brake line change first, then a flush to get out any and all of the old brake fluid. Then removed the front rotors. I compressed the pistons with my hands - put a pad on one side, to keep those pistons as is then pressed down the pistons on the “open” side. Then changed pad and did other side. Very easy to compress. Do everything noted above but did take a brass brush to the pins and spring with brake cleaner. Getting those spotless makes re-install super simple. Honestly, the fronts are easier than the rears with great access. Bleeding and getting feel back took a bit more as many have noted but working great now.