Hey all. Just got my 07 S Hardtop yesterday and I'm so excited but I'm having an issue. On the way home from where I bought it, I noticed a large drop in brake pedal response. After I'd pump it once or twice, it seemed to build up pressure again and give me a firm feel. Also when it did "grab", it pulled to the left a bit alarmingly. I haven't been able to recreate it and I know it had been sitting a couple months so that may have been the issue.

The more pressing matter though is the brake grinding. I thought it may have been the infamous "rear brakes rust and grind for a couple stops" issue (yes, I did a search!) but it is persistent. It looks like my pads have enough meat on them and my rotors aren't really grooved so I don't know where to look next. Insight?

 

If your pedal is soft you either have air in the brake hydraulics or you have a bad leak. I'm going to make an educated guess that the brakes have never been bled on this MINI since it was new back in 2007.

• Make sure all parts in caliper carrier and caliper are moving freely, especially the piston. If the boot around the piston is ripped you may have rust between the piston and bore causing sticking. Don't forget to apply a lubricant like anti-seize to where the brake pads slide in the brake pad carriers. There can't be any crud in those grooves that inhibit the pad from moving freely. Cleanliness is key!

• If you're absolutely sure the brake calipers are OK, it's time to start looking at the brake hoses next. Over time the rubber can deteriorate enough to where the adequate hydraulic pressure does not reach the brake caliper piston.

To me it sounds like you need a brake fluid flush and to clean things up on your brakes. Get ready to get dirty!

 

Sweet. Best thing to do when meeting a new friend is to get her fluids all over the place...

Might as well do pads too and see if the rotors need machining. Then, flush and bleed properly. Adjust parking brake and lube her up. Hopefully this all fixes the issue.

 

popular opinion is resurfacing MINI rotors is not recommended. Popular opinion is MINI says this, but can't say I've evr seen that in writing from a MINI source.

Do you know what pads and rotors are on there? How much wear is on the pads? If they are not originals, when replaced and with what would be a starting place....

 

Going through the car's computer, it says the rears were replaced 17k miles ago and the fronts 6k miles. I don't know if that is accurate and I don't know what brand is on there now. As far as resurfacing, I don't think they'd even need that. Just a very tiny lip around the edge tells me the rotors aren't terribly old. Pads look about half way but never having seen new MINI pads, I don't know how much meat there should be.

 

It's definitely the front pads. The inside one on the pass side is metal on metal at this point. Replacing them tomorrow. We shall see!

 

those counters you see in the computer are 'count down' not 'miles since' . . . unless you already did some sort of math to get to your conclusion. I could easily see the computer saying 6k remaining on fronts when they are actually gone. What I believe happened on my 07 was the sensor tripped and the computer jumped to 6000 remaining. From my previous experience in the GEN1 world, I was surprised when I pulled my 07's pads, to find sensors front and rear triggered (but not down to metal on metal!) I thought I had miles to go b4 the sensor was hit.

look carefully and you can see the two wire stubs where the loop was broken...

What did you replace with?

editorial comment, I don't trust these counters at all, and their interaction with the sensors less; at my last brake pad change just shorted out the sensors.

 

I haven't replaced them yet. Tomorrow morning. I looked at pads from the dealer but at$120+ I couldn't justify it. I got Wagner pads from advance. I hope they are good. Yes, I figured out after I posted that it meant 6k miles left!

 

The piston is an absolute nightmare to retract! Any tips? I've been going at it for a while with a big pair of pliers since I don't have a C clamp at the moment but it just won't budge.

 

fronts should push back pretty easily. best bet probably is to go get a c-clamp - not expensive - but I have been able to push the fronts back by hand (thumbs). it takes both hands and is not 'easy' but I can make it move. Remember to remove the cap from the reservoir and watch the level as you push back with very worn pads ... and you can also crack the bleed fitting at the caliber which will also make things easier.

or, in anticipation of needing it for the rears anyway, bite the bullet and get a retractor tool (you need to turn and push the rears and that is MUCH easier with a proper tool ... many decent part stores have tool loan programs; you just leave a deposit)

http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...kit-69053.html

or even

http://www.harborfreight.com/automot...ool-68972.html

 

Ok, I found a c-clamp. Problem was it was about 5am on a sunday and no place open to get a clamp. I was in a friend's dad's garage who is a general contractor and I couldn't find one ANYWHERE! But it's a 4 car garage filled with crap. I did end up finding one. I'm a bit concerned though. The pass side was INCREDIBLY hard to push in. I had a big clamp with lots of leverage and even then I had to get a huge pair of pliers on the twisty thing (technical term) to get it to move. Also, the boot is a bit torn. I'm thinking new caliper. The driver side was very easy and went as expected. No more grind!

 

signs point to one side being a problem - did you put any brake lube on the piston? hindsight now but if it was fighting back I might have stopped pushing and worked a little lube under the (torn) boot

what did you do about the sensor? were you able to get it off the old and reuse? or did you just disable it?

and have you reset the computer counter? (it does not happen automatically)

 

Did you also replace the rotors? More then likely they where past the MIN. thickness. Also a Brake fluid flush needs to be done every two years, or more often on cars that are drive hard to tracked/auto crossed. We have also found that the rear go first or are right behind the fronts, so get ready to do them all.

Chad
Detroit Tuned

 

No, I didn't lube it. I think I'm gonna look for a new caliper. The sensor on the driver side, I reused. But I think it was already tripped cause it wouldn't let me reset it. I'll get a new sensor soon.

I did not replace the rotors. I know for a fact the pass side needs it but I just needed to get the grinding to stop for now. I know it's a waste of money to do that and I know I'll need to do pads again but I didn't have the chance. The rears look recently done. I will do the flush when I get the new front caliper for the pass side.