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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
The weird thing - the car stopped just fine, no unusual noise, pedal was nice and firm too! :confused;
I replaced the rotors front and rear, as well as the pads. Ran out of time last night so I'll bleed/flush the brake fluid tonight after work.
Whoa! Be sure to keep an eye on your pad wear and rotors now that you have replaced them. It's always good to routinely inspect them when you do your routine oil changes.
The weird thing - the car stopped just fine, no unusual noise, pedal was nice and firm too!
I replaced the rotors front and rear, as well as the pads. Ran out of time last night so I'll bleed/flush the brake fluid tonight after work.
When is the last time you swapped out the rubber caliper guide bushings? My brake pad mileage in back went from 35-37k miles down to 12k miles. I swapped out the rubber bushings and I am back to getting more miles out of my pads.
I went to the metal bushings all around and the brake feel is far better. A little more maintenance involved (periodic re-greasing) but I am ok with that. I very much dislike the rubber guide bushings and the flex/breakdown they have when breaking. Consider it!
When is the last time you swapped out the rubber caliper guide bushings? My brake pad mileage in back went from 35-37k miles down to 12k miles. I swapped out the rubber bushings and I am back to getting more miles out of my pads.
I went to the metal bushings all around and the brake feel is far better. A little more maintenance involved (periodic re-greasing) but I am ok with that. I very much dislike the rubber guide bushings and the flex/breakdown they have when breaking. Consider it!
This is the first brake job my MINI has had (65k miles). I was looking at those rubber bushings when I did the pads and considered replacing them with the metal bushings. My concern about the metal bushings - I live in a rather unforgiving environment between lots of rain/humidity, salt air, dirty/muddy roads, and generous use of road salt in the winter. How often would these bushings need to be greased to prevent them from seizing up? I love the idea of better brake feel and increased pad life, though.
As for brake inspections - yeah. Definitely need to monitor this a bit closer. I've just been one to put the car on ramps to do oil changes. I guess I'll have to make more time to pull wheels off for brake inspections during these oil changes. I am a bit surprised at how much corrosion was on the back of the OEM rotors, especially the rear ones.
This is the first brake job my MINI has had (65k miles). I was looking at those rubber bushings when I did the pads and considered replacing them with the metal bushings. My concern about the metal bushings - I live in a rather unforgiving environment between lots of rain/humidity, salt air, dirty/muddy roads, and generous use of road salt in the winter. How often would these bushings need to be greased to prevent them from seizing up? I love the idea of better brake feel and increased pad life, though.
As for brake inspections - yeah. Definitely need to monitor this a bit closer. I've just been one to put the car on ramps to do oil changes. I guess I'll have to make more time to pull wheels off for brake inspections during these oil changes. I am a bit surprised at how much corrosion was on the back of the OEM rotors, especially the rear ones.
Understood. I used anti-seize on mine as I believe this to be the preferred item to use. I believe one of the companies here also sell caps to cover up the caliper guides from corrosion. Need to check that out to be sure.
Yeah, it never hurts IF you can. I inspect each of my three vehicles twice a year to look for anything that is out of the ordinary. This also allows me to inspect the brake pad depth so I know when a change is coming up. Probably a bit overkill for most but it works for me. Allows me to rotate the tires as well, check out the shocks, bushings, control arms etc. In the meantime, I get more acquainted with the vehicle and how its built.
^ regular inspections are a good thing, I wish more people were so careful about the condition of their cars!
regarding what to use for lubricating the bushings, check the temperature rating on your anti-seize compound, I think brake grease which is specifically formulated for high temperatures might be a better choice.
^ regular inspections are a good thing, I wish more people were so careful about the condition of their cars!
regarding what to use for lubricating the bushings, check the temperature rating on your anti-seize compound, I think brake grease which is specifically formulated for high temperatures might be a better choice.
I think you are right... brake grease appears to have a wider range and higher temp ceiling.
I think you are right... brake grease appears to have a wider range and higher temp ceiling.
I'll have to remember that when I get my metal brake bushings. Hopefully brake grease will be enough to keep the pins from corroding in the bushings.
Will be throwing in a different set of pads while I'm at it. I'm not terribly impressed with the Akebono Euro Ultra Premium Ceramic pads that I put in the car. They are quiet, but don't have quite the bite I want, even after bedding them in. I don't like how factory pads are kind of grabby on the first touch of the pedal (but are fine beyond that). Might just get a set of factory pads anyway. I can deal with the initial grabbiness, but not the increased (though linear) pedal effort of the Akebonos.
I absolutely hate the dust (and initial grabbiness) of the OEM pads, but I can't stand how much effort I've got to put in the pedal with the Akebonos just for routine stops. Sure, the new pads stop fine for panic stops and are quite nice to modulate under threshold braking...but I want something needing less pedal effort to bite. How are the red stuff pads for bite?
Whoa! The coolant bottle on my R53 is the same color as your old one, but not showing any signs of leaking. Were these bottles really that white when the cars were new, or was there a change in the bottle material over the years?
Originally Posted by E-dot
Just a sliiiight difference. This was definitely a ticking timebomb.
Whoa! The coolant bottle on my R53 is the same color as your old one, but not showing any signs of leaking. Were these bottles really that white when the cars were new, or was there a change in the bottle material over the years?
That is a pretty white tank! HERE are what the Genuine and Behr tank colors look like, little brown in color. Maybe it's a different manufacture?
Whoa! The coolant bottle on my R53 is the same color as your old one, but not showing any signs of leaking. Were these bottles really that white when the cars were new, or was there a change in the bottle material over the years?
Here is mine before and after... If your tank is this color, I would swap it! I waited until I visually saw the tank leaking in front. When I removed the old unit, 75% of the leak was in back and unseen.
Be sure to keep an eye on your pad wear and rotors now that you have replaced them. It's always good to routinely inspect them when you do your routine oil changes.
