How to advice - change front & rear brake pads

[paulcas]

Hi,
I want to change the front and rear brake pads myself. Does anyone know if there is an idiots guide to show how best this should be done.

I'll be using MR2 stock pads but if anyone can suggest any suitable alternative I'm all ears.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Paul

[Ekona]

It's an absolute piece of cake, and if you're just changing pads it is staggeringly obvious which bolts to remove. Don't forget to replace the anti-squeal shims and with a healthy dose of copper grease too

Stock pads are just about the best you'll get your hands on and unless you're running 200+ bhp on track you'll never need better.

[paulcas]

Ekona,
thanks, thought I'd check just in case

[HT]

It's an absolute piece of cake, and if you're just changing pads it is staggeringly obvious which bolts to remove. Don't forget to replace the anti-squeal shims and with a healthy dose of copper grease too

Stock pads are just about the best you'll get your hands on and unless you're running 200+ bhp on track you'll never need better.

When you say stock pads Dan - are you meaning genuine MR T ?

[Ekona]

Yup, that's the babies. The stock setup on the mk3 is fantastic tbh (cue the old better-brakes-than-an-F1 factoid) and aside from a decent brake fluid like the RBF600 and a swap to Goodridge braided lines, I'd very much leave well enough alone for road and occasional track use.

[BenF]

As Dan says, the brakes are fantastic on the Mk3. I've got a set of pattern disks and MrT pads waiting to go onto mine this weekend if the weather holds off.

However, fairly much top of my list of Modifications to make to a Roadster would be Goodridge brake lines - it makes the brake pedal firmer and improves feel greatly

[Ekona]

Just before Jo sold her mk3 I changed the front discs and pads to the ones from Camskill, and I have to say that I was actually quite impressed. You'd have to be pushing very hard on track to notice that they weren't quite as fade-resistant as OEM ones, and that the bite was initially a little hard, but for a road car and for the price I think that might even be the better way to go. £80 I think it was for the front set, never quite got round to doing the rears though.

[toxo]

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=148703

[BenF]

Just did my front pads and discs at the weekend to cure .. I got quite a shock when I removed the brake disks.

The inner braking surface of both front disks had completely glazed over with only a very small ring of metal near the centre of the disk which looked to be 'in use'. The outer surface looked normal with the full pad width swept clear.

The inner pads were however both well worn down, even with the glazing on the disks.

I've heard that scoring of the disks was a common issue ( and the last set of pads / disks I changed were scored ) but I didn't expect anything quite as bad as this ...

[excalibur1814]

Fronts were perfectly fine on mine but when we replaced the rear discs/pads we found that the calipers were more or less stuck on (more on the drivers side)... greased the living heck out of the piston type thingies and put back on.

It's the damn cable.

So, when you're back there you might as well have a good clean and re-grease. I now have the cables and am waiting for free time to 'have a go' (Under step Fathers supervision as he's a mechanic but one of the 'hammer it' variety)

P.s. Someone said that the rear left brake hand brake cable goes under the fuel tank

[toxo]

P.s. Someone said that the rear left brake hand brake cable goes under the fuel tank

Why's that a shock? I presume the fuel tank's in the same place as the MK2, *under* the fuel tank is where all the handbrake gubbins is. i.e. inbetween the fuel tank and the road, not inbetween the fuel tank and the car.

[excalibur1814]

...It's a shock as I'm not a mechanic and want everything to be like super easy and with lego type instructions.

As soon as I read the line 'fuel tank' I crumble like a Ginger biscuit.

[frogger]

I'll put money on that it's not the cables.
£5 on it? lol

Not that I want you to loose even more money after shelling out for potentially unneccesary cables mind you!

The calipers are in need of attention. Either the sliders or the pistons will be seized, or will have been seized, and regreasing will NOT correct the cause of that fault. Reconditioning will. Or replacing the caliper(s) with reconditioned units.

If a fuel tank scares you definitely shell out for reconditioned units rather than doing it yourself

Cables can need replacing, but hardly ever in reality.
Most of the times they're changed its the wrong thing to be doing, and a pointless attempt to correct handbrake/caliper operation by 'fixing' the wrong thing.
And when they really do need replacing, its because they're freezing up with water in the lines in winter.

HTH

[toxo]

As soon as I read the line 'fuel tank' I crumble like a Ginger biscuit.

You shouldn't In most hatchbacks your rear passengers are sat directly on top of the fuel tank - in the MR2 you rest your left arm on it the whole time! And it's where the ashtray sits.