So I'm approaching a much needed rear brake job. I plan to do this one myself as I have already passed my 36k mark and no longer have the free maint.

Has anyone replaced their rear pads before and if so were there any special tools/sizes needed? I come from the Land Rover realm so I've got my fair share of British-car friendly tools.

So far the only thing I think I need to purchase is a piston compressor, and the pads of course! What's the min. thickness of the rotor?

And finally, are there work shop manuals available for R56?

 

bumps and a bump

 

You'll need this

No other special tools needed. The minimum thickness is on the rotor. There are no workshop manuals for the 2nd Gen MINI's.

 

It's a pain in the a&*%. The tool pictured works ok, but there are tools that will allow you to turn the piston as well as apply pressure inwards. It works alot better.

 

Ah ok! Thanks guys! I actually just purchased the piston compressor today. Pads ordered!

 

I just bought the Harbor Freight tool. It doesn't turn and push like everyone says. I bent the T-handle on the tool trying to push the piston back. So I took the tool off and turned the piston with a different part of the tool and my ratchet. I turned it for a few minutes and it doesn't seem to have moved the piston in at all.

What do I need to do? Turn or push?

I did remove the reservoir cap. I don't really want to open the bleeder valves if I don't have to.

 

the HF tool will work but I admit it takes some playing sometimes. The problem is the ratio of retraction of the rotor when you turn does not perfectly match the screw ratio compressing the piston. In other words the tool can bind up. The trick is to not let it bind up

If it binds ... WHEN it binds...back off and adjust the lock nut of the backing plate a bit. In other words loosen the fit and try again. When the tool is working right it is not binding and nothing will bend. I often must adjust the backing plate lock nut 3 or 4 times if replacing really worn pads (need to compress a lot). Sounds complicated but once you get the knack of it ... no big deal.

You should not need excessive force ... too much force risks blowing a seal and then you DO have problems

Once I got familair with the tool I can squeeze a rear rotor in about 90 seconds....a lil pratice helps but if all ya do is yours once every coupla years??? Find some other cars locally to practice on!

p.s. the HF tool is a kit with adapters to fit a bunch of makes so the fact that it isn't a perfect fit to a MINI is not something I'd consider a flaw....

 

The part of the tool that goes against the piston is free spinning. It doesn't turn with the handle. When I put pressure in it then try to turn it with some channel locks it won't tun.

Now I've torn the boot.

edit: it wasn't turning because the pin inside broke.

edit2: Well I ground the head off of a bolt and used that instead of the rollpin and it worked great. If I had know the tool broke when I first tried to use it, it would have saved a big headache. Not to mention the torn boot. Guess I'll be buying a caliper in the hear future.

 

Just want to give Out Motoring some MAJOR Cred! Got my pads 2 days before scheduled shipment date! Tried changing my pads last night but my air gun wasnt strong enough to break the lugs.

 

Ok, so I was able to put the RR pads on but had to use the old RL pads again because there was no way to get the caliper back on with the new pads. Seems like the new pads are too thick and the E-brake cable wont let me work the caliper into place because of how tight it already is. No the E brake is NOT on. With the car lifted I got another jack and tried compressing the suspension so see if that help and it did a little, but I can only go so far before I start lifting the car off the jack stand.

So as of right now, the car sits with NEW RR and old RL pads. Drove it and it stops just fine but I need to get those new pads on there soon!

HELP!

 

01001010 did you finally change the pads? I have to do it in a few weeks and reading this thread I'm worried about how to do it without damage the caliper...

 

I did get the pads changed. I had not compressed the piston enough, which explained why I couldn't get the Pad on. Rookie Mistake.