Hi Everybody,

My wife and I are new to this forum (have made an introduction over in 1st Gear). I'm hoping to be able to do a complete brake job on our 2005
MINI S with the help of a brother-in-law who has plenty of brake experience. The only manual I've been able to locate so far is by Haynes, and before I plunk down $30 I wanted to be sure that 1) the manual would be useful for this job; 2) that I can get the necessary parts and tools for the job; and 3) that I'm not totally insane to even consider trying this. I've found OctaneGuy's post on how to do brake pads, and it will certainly be helpful for that part of the job.

Any suggestions will be most appreciated, so Thanks in advance!

John Freeman

 

The Bentley manual is the most complete, but you should easily be able to do a brake job without a manual.
Are you doing something more than swapping pads and rotors? After doing the pads, you just remove one torx screw from the rotor and replace.

 

Yep... Rotors are a snap to do. SS brake lines are also plug-n-play (remove old lines, connect new lines, bleed the system).

I posted a 'how to' on bleeding the brake system with a Motive power bleeder ($60 on-line) here: http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ad.php?t=14105

 

And more great how-to info here: http://www.lonestarminiclub.com/foru...c&daysprune=-1

 

Don't forget to rotate the rear pistons as you push them back in. I got a tool from Summit racing for $50 that works pretty well for this task though not as perfectly as the $200 tool from Mini Mania. For a savings of $150 I live with pretty well.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I should have been clearer - I need to do pads and rotors, but (hopefully) nothing beyond that. Is the torx screw tool/fitting easy to find? I'm technically challenged here on parts and tools - I haven't done any serious auto maintenance since my Volkswagen Beetle days of 25-30 years ago.

So I take it a C-clamp and a block of wood won't suffice for the pistons?

 

i thought this was another one of those how to drive a manual thread.

 

LOL! After driving a manual trans loaner today I felt like I might need one, it's been too long and I'm too spoiled by the steptronic

Next question on the brakes: The dealer quoted me around $780 for parts to do pads and rotars. Is it recommended (by this group, not a dealer) that parts be bought from the dealer? I've already found one link here that quoted about $450 (assuming I checked the right package from the list). The dealer also recommended that tool for rotating the the rear pistons, said that Pep Boys should have one.

TIA,
jdf

 

Torx are easy to find, you might as well get a set. Note that the screw is generally REALLY tight, so be prepared to use some force, and preferably hit it with some PB Blaster (or similar) beforehand - it's been known to shear off.

I'd check dealer vs. NAM vendor price to decide what parts work for you. Some NAM vendors sell OEM parts, and Classic MINI gives us 20% off, if the shipping doesn't kill you (rotors are heavy!) MANY pads out there that don't dust nearly as much as the OEM pads, if that's an issue for you.