james_marshall

Another wet afternoon in the UK, so rain stopped play!
I managed, rather successfully to change the (original?!?) engine mounts for some shiny new ones - no problems there.
Feeling rather proud, I turned my attention to the rear pads and disks - a report to the PO a while ago suggests uneven brake wear. So I dived in.
It appears that all the pads were changed fairly recently, with the exception of 1 - that is really worn. No problem I thought - just swap all the rear pads and that will be it. NOPE!
It won't budge. I can push the pistons back in, and with a little (a lot) of encouragement, the pad will move sideways, before being jammed again. BUT it will NOT move up or down. Not at all. (Perhaps this is why it's got so much wear 'cos it wasn't changed with the rest of the pads)
Taking a look at the front callipers, it seems that the sides of the rear are risen by a few mm.... See photo. I've done some searching here, and can someone tell me if this the spring plate that is stopping the pad from coming out?
Is my only option taking the calliper off and getting someone to rebuild it? Can anyone recommend someone near to Manchester who can do it?

Frustrated!

jotaking

Hi James,

Seen these on eBay, they look pretty good and reasonable.

http://www.brake-caliper-painting.com/

Good luck.

freedman

yes its teh spring plates lifting that uis stopping teh pad coming out

They will come if you use one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RS-Compone...item4d0954d983

Of course you would still need to sort the spring plates, or file the pads down (not the best option, but the cheapest short term)

james_marshall

I'm going to take it down to my local garage in the morning - they may have something similar to use to remove it - but as you say, it won't really solve the problem! But at least you've identified for me what the problem is! Thanks!
As for brake caliper painting - I saw them.... And dropped them an email. The photo above makes the whole calliper and disks look like they are falling apart! They really aren't as bad and rusty as the photos make out!!!

Les Dawes

Don't forget the OE anti-squeal shims (if fitted) that are usually bonded to the rear of the pad, and are spigoted into the recessed piston. Usually the pads are worn down enough to allow sufficient sideways movement to allow the pad/shim to clear the piston (when the piston is fully retracted into the calliper) and to pop out of the calliper when changing, but yours looks quite thick. You might be able to release the shim from the rear of the pad by levering away. Hope this might help, regards Les.

james_marshall

I've not yet tried to remove the other pad yet, only the one that is really worn, and I took off the shims... So Unfortunatly, that's not it :-(
I spoke to brake-caliper-painting.com this morning, quoted for rebuild and paint... So time to save up some money and I'll send them off to him. Think Ill go RED this time!