This question may have been covered in the archives, but I haven't found a specfic answer. I am going to replace my brake rotors and pads, is there any things that I should look out for that may come back to bite me in the butt?

 

It would be a good time to clean your ABS sensors.

 

Thanks, I did plan to clean everything I can get to, I just love a clean car.

 

The single most important thing is to have that car properly supported on jack stands. Not a jack of any kind and not cement blocks.

No reflection on you Rweber but for the benifit of begining DIY dudes who may be tuning in.

 

I am assuming your brakes are Brembos. I did mine a couple of months age, it was all very simple and straight forward. Pull the wheels and you can pretty much see what you need to do. Except....!!! There are two 19mm bolts that attach each caliper to the hub. These bolts are a BITCH to get off. First of all, they are torqued to 155ft/lbs. But once you break them loose, they fight you every step of the way. I was using a breaker bar with an extension and even then I had to put some grunt into it. Furthermore, I was doing this in my garage with jack stands so I could only get about 1/8th of a turn with each go because of clearances. All told, I spent about 3 1/2 hours just on these four bolts. An impact wrench would definitely be the best tool for this job.

I've worked on a lot of cars and other things and I've never had bolts that fought back like these did...every thread, all the way out!!! Jag must use some sort of industrial strength Loc Tite on these bolts. There was no evidence of rust or corrosion to make them so difficult. Interestingly, once I had them out, they went back in with no problem. I hope yours aren't this bad and that mine were an exception. I'll be interested to hear.

Btw, I used the Hawke ceramic pads and I have been VERY happy with them. Good stopping power and very little dust.

 

Thank you, I do have Brembos and I do have air tools. Is there room to use an impact wrench in there?

 

Probably room for an impact wrench in the front, but I doubt it in the rear. Hopefully you wont have as much trouble as I did. If the brakes have been done previously, you may be fine. I'm curious to see, so let us know.

 

@ govatos: I have at last started the brake job and your description of the caliper bolts was accurate. I started out by having to wrestle the wheels off the hubs because they were not lubed when last installed. Then I removed the pads, a simple job although I noticed that they were in good condition, but when I looked at and felt the rotors, they were in bad condition. Me thinks that the pads were changed but not the rotors for reasons to follow. First I tried to remove the caliper bolts with a breaker bar, after standing on the bar they broke loose. I tried my impact wrench, the bolts laughthed at it. After a trip to the HD and purchase of a new 650 ft lb impact wrench the bolts met their match. Removal of the rotor from the hub required a sledge hammer. Four hours for the first set and one hour for the second set. Next week the rears, but I will use a lift and get at those bolts from the inside.

 

You guys dont remove the caliper bolts, the brembos are the easiest out there to change pads. You slides the pads out the back after you remove the 2 pins that hold them in. There are 2 style, 1 has small clips to hold in place, the other is a collared head to tension and hold in place. The bolts that hold the calipers on the hub carrier are not hard to remove if your doing disc. Make sure youre not on the caliper halving bolts that hold the caliper to gether? Theyre not ever to be taken apart and locktightened together. And I know you got the rotors off so Im assuming you werent but for others reading this.....................

 

Brutal, you are correct; the Brembo pads are a snap to replace. But the calipers have to come off to replace the rotors. And on mine and Rich's (above) they were a bitch!!! I think Jag dips them in some industrial strength loc tite because they were tough all the way out. BTW, even if you were only replacing the pads, wouldn't you need to remove the rotors skim off the glaze?

 

Rich, let me know if the rears are as tough as the fronts. I still have that job to do.

 

Ok, Ok, but what about the rear calipers? Are there any secret tech tricks to make it easier? I would think that the Jag dealerships would have a more time efficient way to remove them, Time is money!

 

@ Govatos: I will let you know if I can get at the bolts from inside once the car is in the air. There must be an easier way than lying on the ground otherwise the dealerships would do it!

 

I build chevy HP marine engines for a hobby, how come Jaguar brakes are such a MF?

 

you said it "once the car is in the air" we dont lay on the ground. That and a breaker bar. dont have 1, lock 2 combination wrenches together end to end to increase leverage. Youde be surprised how easy car work is with a lift. I think every guy that likes to play with cars should have 1 in the garage. Ive even looked into building the roof out higher just to install a lift. But then I have too many tools at home, 1 car in the garage and 3 outside. Maybe I just need a bigger garage, then I could get another car, then I would need more room, but then I can get another car, but then I would......
And to think I dont see why women need a pair of shoes to go with each dress, and then a purse for each pr shoes, and then a new belt. And then these shoes are cute, but then they need a new dress to go with the new belt and shoes, but wait now they dont have a purse to go with the new belt, the new shoes, the new dress, or wait these ear rings dont go with this either............... I had a thought when I started

 

...sorry brutal, I tuned out when you mentioned the second 'shoes' reference... It's like parents with their kids screams and cries, it must be a natural talent I have.

 

Brutal your rambling, but I can tell you no matter how big you build a garage it is never big enough, enough, enough........
Doug

 

Stupid question: when the pads are replaced, do the rotors need to be replaced at the same time as well? Is there any significant advantages/dis-advantages doing it separately other than time needed to do the work? Is there any safety and/or performance issue?

I replaced pads on my daily driver several times, at least twice -- but never have to replace the rotors and the car is already @ 114K - but then again, it's not a Jag either.

Anybody care to share their experience and word of wisdom here?

 

Not necessarily. There should be some MIN - MAX thickness stamped on the rotor, if its at or near the the min, you may want to consider their replacement. (If you need the factory specs, if your rotors are aftermarket and not marked let us know.)

I'm not sold as I once was on turning the rotors every time you change pads. It really depends on the condition of the rotor surface. If its warped, sure...turn em. If it's heavily glazed..again, would benefit from a turn. If they're scratched...same thing. But if they are smooth, no glazing evident, I have just gone with pads and take special care to bed the pads as they will take longer than on a freshly 'turned' rotor (or new one)

that's my opinion... I am not a mechanic. My brakes work too.

 

On my other cars and truck I have only changed the rotors when they are in bad condition or when they could no longer be turned because they were at the minimun thickness. The life of a rotor is dependant on several factors, the first is how you drive, like lots of hills and or stop and go traffic. Then there are the pads you have, some are very aggressive and bite into the rotor chewing away at the metal or just the opposite when the pads are widdled away by the rotors and last is the hardness of the rotors themselves. You have seen ads for cryohardning (I don't know if it works or not) but the ads say that this increases the steels hardness and thus, the rotors life. All in all it's hard to guess unless you have used a specific pad and rotor combination before.