It's Finally Nice Out - updated

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 04/24/2018 at 10:15 • Filed to: DIY

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I mean, it’s above 50F and sunny; it might also be windy but I’ll take it. No bugs, right?

Time to switch out the winter wheels for summer, and put on all new brakes, too.

My “rolling toolbox:” (it’s a wheelbarrow, in case that’s not obvious)

I love how few tools you need for this: 17mm socket, breaker bar, torque wrench; 7mm (?) allen socket; 16mm box-end; c-clamp, wire brush, screwdriver (big old flat one for prying old pads out). Rubber mallet for persuasion and BFH for persuasion, if necessary. Some torx bit for the rotor retaining screw. That’s about it.

And I thought I’d try out ceramic pads, they were on sale from oembimmerparts and I’ve had some weird issues with pads leaving marks on rotors, as this car sits sometimes for several days - up to a week - on a regular basis in the summer, when I drive the truck a lot more. It seems like when I go to move the car after a few days - especially if it’s rained - the brakes are all seized. Then the rotors develop uneven spots from the pads, and I get steering wheel shake under braking. Which... can be remedied by bedding the brakes, but that’s not really sustainable.

So I’m hoping the ceramic pads won’t bond to the rotors as much when they sit for several days, especially in the rain?? It’s a wild-ass theory I know. But the car needed brakes (the rear pads are delaminating and the front brakes are 4 years/47k miles old) and this wasn’t more expensive so... here we are.

Most importantly, my 5 year old son wants to help! We’ll see how long his attention span is, but I think he’ll be into it. I jacked up the car and set it safely on jackstands and blocks, so I can just get to the actual good stuff with him.

He won’t be able to do a lot of actual work, but considering how much he loves assembling and disassembling legos, I bet he’ll have 1,000,000 questions about what everything is and how it works. It’s the first step toward actually, really working on stuff with him. I’m hopeful! At least I’ll get some of it done in the warm sun instead of working alone at night in the cold darkness.

My driveway has been so snowy and icy all winter I haven’t even felt safe doing an oil change, so I’m psyched to get my hands dirty and also save $300 on labor for an easy job.

[update] - It took me until last night (Monday; I started Saturday) to find time to finish. It was just too nice out and we went skiing on Sunday rather than being productive at all. Man, new brakes are wonderful! And they sure are pretty, too.

Out with the old:

And in with the NEW!

New brakes + summer wheels / tires back on = pretty much a new car. We’ll see how I like these ceramic pads after a while.

diplodicus forgot his password > functionoverfashion 04/21/2018 at 14:06

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Interesting the rotor retaining screws on the e30 are Allen head instead of torx. I need to do mine soon too, the one I picked up in January has vibrations from highway speed. Rotors look glazed, sometimes you can feel it grabbing more at certain points when braking at low speed. I go with brembo rotors and ate semi metallic pads.

LOREM IPSUM > functionoverfashion 04/21/2018 at 14:20

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Might want to check the condition of the pistons in the brake calipers while you’re down there. They tend to gather some oxidation which prevents them from fully retracting, leading to more frequently warped discs. Been there, on my e38.

I was able to clean up the pistons a bit, replaced the boots and seals, and resolved the issue for good without having to drop hundreds per corner for new calipers. (Ill advised, fwiw, if the pistons are in really rough shape since their roundness and smoothness is important for keeping the fluid in and air out, but worked well for me. Ymmv and all that jazz.)

functionoverfashion > diplodicus forgot his password 04/22/2018 at 21:43

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The retaining screw might actually be torx. I had forgotten until I got the wheel off. And of course, one of them gave me trouble coming out. I will be replacing that one now, but of course didn’t have an extra. The car is only have done and still on blocks behind my house. Saturday’s project became Monday night’s project. Ah, life with small kids.

functionoverfashion > diplodicus forgot his password 04/24/2018 at 10:11

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Indeed, the retaining screws were allen. The front ones were corroded and the first tool I tried was Torx, which worked* fine.

*It didn’t work on the second one. I had to put it together without it for now.

CompactLuxuryFan > functionoverfashion 04/24/2018 at 12:38

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You have quite the looker on your hands with those BMW wheels. The brake thing does sound... off to me. Maybe next time you park and you know it’s going to sit for a few days, leave it in neutral, then roll it a little bit after you’ve let go of the brake, then actually put it in gear/park + parking brake?

functionoverfashion > CompactLuxuryFan 04/24/2018 at 14:47

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Thanks! I think one thing I need to do is just drive it after it rains, rather than letting it sit. I’m considering putting it in the same storage place where I keep my truck for the winter, if I can use that space over the summer... we’ll see. I don’t love having it sit, though, even if it’s inside... this is a good problem to have, I know.

I like your idea, though, as opposed to just stopping it with the brakes. It’s easy enough because my driveway isn’t quite flat. And I don’t use the e-brake, I always just leave it in first. So, key off, clutch in, slight roll, clutch out.

CompactLuxuryFan > functionoverfashion 04/24/2018 at 15:30

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I feel you on the letting it sit front. Finally making moves to sell my A4 Avant, which has done maybe 1000 miles since Oct. We’ll see how long it actually takes me to let it go.