fpena944

It seems I am running into the exact same problem a fellow Rennlister encountered a couple of days ago in this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/189331-help-with-brake-pad-replacement.html

I watched the brake replacement video and laughed to myself because it is in no way that easy! What I am running into is that compared to the video, my brakes seem to have some additional supports where the pad mounts to the caliper and mine also seem to have these anti-vibration dampers.

This is causing me to not be able to even place the pads cleanly within the caliper. It sits at an angle and will not budge at all.

Can I remove this extra support ring within the caliper? It doesn't seem to be there on other 944 series brakes. How about the vibration dampers? What can I do to get these things installed? Also based on the pictures does it look like the caliper pistons are pushed all the way in? As in the other referenced thread, I do not see how my pads are going to fit within the tight confines of this space.

I need to get my pads installed ASAP since I was planning on getting the car inspected on Monday. If anyone has any ideas or hints, it would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

TrevorW

You need to push the pistons in. Remove the cap from the fluid reservoir and push the pistons in using a clamp with a piece of wood. Good luck.

fpena944

Thanks -- after looking at the pics myself I figured that would be a synopsis of the problem.

But the big issue I am having now is simply seating the brake pads. I can't even get them to sit flush from within the caliper. It seems the inside clip is leaving me with very little room the place the pads. If I get one side in, then the other sticks out. Even with the caliper off the rotor, I cannot place the pad in it's proper place.

In fact, if I didn't remove the caliper then replacing these pads would have been impossible. But I always thought that you could do pad replacement with the caliper still on the rotor. What am I missing?

(the clip I'm referring to is highlighted on the last photo, look at both the top and bottom of the caliper)

Oddjob

What brand of pads are you trying to install?

Check the dimensions of the new pads (the backing plate) with the old pads you took out. I have run into some brands of pads that the backing plates are a little too large and I have to grind one edge of the pad backing plate to get them to fit in the caliper w/o binding.

You should not have to take the calipers of to swap pads. If everthing is correct, it normally takes more time to jack the car up, than swapping pads on the brembo calipers.

You can toss the vibration dampers if you really want to, but leave the top and bottom guide plates in the caliper. The caliper is aluminum and the steel backing plates on the pads will chew up the caliper body if those steel guide plates are removed (over time).

Can you take a pic with the pads in the caliper so I can see exactly what problem you are having?

Dave in Chicago

If I'm reading this wrong, please just ignore, but...

The classic challenge with these calipers is the corrosion that takes place between the steel spring clips at the ends of where the pads sit. These gunk up next to the aluminum calipers and eventually prevent pads from readily sliding in/out of the caliper during changes.

There is the poor man's cure, which is grinding pads down so that they fit. Eventually, you can't even get away with this as the backing plates are pretty tough to shape.

Then, there's the real cure, which is replacement of these spring clips in the caliper. Porsche sells them as a kit, complete with little screws that hold them in the caliper. That's the good news. The bad news is that you may have to heat the little screws to get them out. Even then, they can break and require drilling. One must also clean out that area once the clips are out of the way. Not TOO aggressively, as it is aluminum. It's a bit of a bear to do, but once it's done you are generally good to go for some time.

They are old cars that really should have this done about every 4 years of 50k miles in my opinion. If urgency is the issue, it may be pad-grinding-time. Do wear respiratory protection.

fpena944

The pads are actually the same base Metalmaster pads from Paragon. You can see on the picture that the right is the one that came off the car, the left is the new one. There is still a LOT of meat left on the old pad but my rotors were so warped (and had already been turned) that I figured I'd replace the pads as well.

So the whole problem I am now running into is that the fittings on the top and bottom do not allow me to push the pads all the way in. Even the old pads won't go in! I know if I use excessive force I can probably force them into the caliper but I don't want to mess up the pad or the caliper doing so.

Thank you everyone again for the help!

fpena944

I was thinking that perhaps some lubrication or grinding has to take place somewhere. Unfortunately I don't have access to a grinder at this time so I couldn't take that route right now. Also, wouldn't grinding the backing plate down cause the pads to have too much play?

83na944

I don't have any experience with the dual piston calipers, but I'll point out that if you can't get the old pads back in, then there is something wrong with the way you're trying to put them in or something is out of place. You shouldn't have to grind the old pads to get them back in or the new pads if the backing plate dimensions are the same.

Oddjob

If you are also unable to put the original/old pads back in, then Im wondering if the way you are trying to place them in the caliper isnt the problem. I have never tried to install pads with the caliper off; in fact if you are able to get the pads in, it may be difficult to fit the caliper (with pads) onto the rotor, especially with brand new pads and a new (full thickness rotor).

How difficult were the old pads to pull out?

Try remounting the caliper, and inserting the pads in from the back of the caliper. Or did you already try this? They should be snug (I have had to tap the pad with plastic/rubber head hammer on occasion to get them to slide in).

Matt H

Does the pad that goes against the caliper go in correctly?
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Peckster

The old ones won't go back in? You're doing something wrong.

Someone suggested you force the pistons back in, did you do that?

fpena944

Last night I did go the route of installing the caliper first, then forcing the pads in through the back - no success...They started going in at a wierd angle and didn't sit correctly.

The old pads were quite difficult to take off, I pried them off with a screwdriver (I didn't care since I was replacing the rotor anyway). I mean they were hard to take off but it didn't require all that much force.

When I tried placing the old pads back in, they end up the same way as the picture I posted above, where one side will go on but the other will not. I'll try it again tonight, maybe I was just too tired yesterday.

So my game plan this evening is as follows:

- Further push back piston into caliper
- Mount caliper back on to vehicle
- Push pads into place

Hopefully it'll go as smoothly as listed here :-)

fpena944

I'M DONE!!!!

It was still hell to figure out but I followed through on my game plan I listed above and completed the task. I couldn't slip the pads in as the brake replacement video shows because the clip on the top/bottom took up too much room.

So I angled it in a way where the very edge of the backing was in on the clip and just started banging away. It then got "under" the clip and I was able to straighten it out and hammer it into place. Took a while to figure it out but once I got one done the other 3 pads took me about 5 minutes each.

Of course in the process I broke the wear pad sensors - by the way is there a way to disable these things? I really don't need them, I'm capable of checking my own brakes and don't need the car to tell me when it needs replacement.

Glad that's over, now to go wash the car...

THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Thom

Another bad news is that backing plates are NLA at Porsche ... They tried to sell me complete new calipers.

Ken D

I think you're spot on--BTDT. The little cheesehead screws on the spring plates use threadlocker and you'll need to heat them up a bit, like you said. If you're lucky they'll come out. The calipers on my '88 were so nasty with corrosion (the car had seen many Chicago winters) I ended up replacing them.