98 S70 Front Brake Pad Replacement Questions

ushman · Post by **ushman** » 31 Jan 2009, 14:29

Sounded like my pads had worn and starting to grind. Removed front pads, they have about 1/4" of material remaining, is this about when they are normally replaced? Also having difficulty putting back together with new pads. Caliper is very difficult to collaps, likely becuase it's about 25 degrees! Should the caliper completely close flush to outer cylinder? Should I run the car or place space heater under rotor? New pads are a good 1/2" thick and I can not get it back together.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Jan 2009, 16:21

They should collapse...use a "C clamp" and tighten within the caliper opening to collapse it... if this is even before you get the pads off, use a large screw driver and just pry it closed- you should have the top off of the fluid reservoir. If this still doesn't work, then you might have a sticking caliper that needs replacing.

By the way, minimum brake pad thickness for replacement is 3mm or 0.12 inches. If you have 1/2 an inch left and it's giving you trouble, most likely you've found the issue trying to collapse the caliper- it's your caliper and not your brake pads. Still, it's good you found this now than later.

Instructions to overhaul the calipers are below:

Brake Caliper Overhaul.pdf: (105.57 KiB) Downloaded 177 times

895meztz94 · Post by **895meztz94** » 31 Jan 2009, 16:54

I did my brakes last weekend and had the same problem. I ground down the outter pad (since it wears slower than the inner pad anyway) just enough to let the caliper to fit over. I then used a mallet to pound it back on. Because of the enormous pressure this put on the piston, it collapsed the rest of the way with a gush of brake fluid coming out of the bleeder valve. After 212k miles I suspect there was a small obstruction that broke under the pressure.

I had to replace my driver's side caliper completely as the piston seal was torn and the piston was starting to stick.

ushman · Post by **ushman** » 01 Feb 2009, 07:37

"C" clamp is a great idea, and I did NOT have the reservoir open. I have 1/4" (not 1/2) remaining, but I did not check the drivers side yet, that where the grinding noise seems to be from.

Any way to test the caliper while on the car? The rebuild looks a little tricky, any good source to purchase new? If they are cheap enough, I may just go that way.

Thanks!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 01 Feb 2009, 07:46

Seems I read that Ozark Lee actually got decent rebuilds on these calipers from NAPA. Otherwise, eBay- but you don't really know what you're getting there. On-line places sell new= more expense.