How to check & replace your BMW front disc brakes and rotors

Originally Posted by bluebee

Thanks. I wish I had time to organize and post the many hundreds of photos I took but I'm glad I did what I did when I did it so that if I were to do it again or anyone else, they could start with all these pics that I didn't have when I did have it to do! (mouthful!)

To further complete this thread, here's a cross reference to a nice DIY on the brake calipers themselves.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?p=3405377

thanks very much!

For some reason most of the attached photographs do not show up for me. figure 11 does but none of the rest. Any thoughts on how I could get to a version that would allow me to also see the photographs?

Originally Posted by bluebee

Thanks. I wish I had time to organize and post the many hundreds of photos I took but I'm glad I did what I did when I did it so that if I were to do it again or anyone else, they could start with all these pics that I didn't have when I did have it to do! (mouthful!)

To further complete this thread, here's a cross reference to a nice DIY on the brake calipers themselves.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho....php?p=3405377

You don't happen to have similar detail on changing the Power Steering hoses and alternator belt by any chance?

oh - I almost forgot - I am an INFP....

Originally Posted by Alpine

I am an INFP....

JUMP TO THIS THREAD:

It would be interesting to see where others lie here on the 4 corners of the personality spectrum so I opened up a thread for E39 owners' personality profile here ...

In it, E39 forum member reveal:
1. How you prefer to energize
2. How you prefer to gather data
3. How you prefer to make decisions
4. How you prefer others to act

We'll see what the personality of our E39 forum members is, from ...
1. Extrovert or Introvert: prefer to energize around people (E) or alone (I)
2. Sensing or iNtuitive: prefer to gather data by measurement (S) or intuition (N)
3. Thinking or Feeling: prefer to make decisions based on fact (T) or feelings (F)
4. Perceptive or Judging: prefer others to do as they please (P) or the way you want them to (J)

To determine your score could be a four hour psychology test (I've taken 'em) but you can get a pretty good rough number for free here:
- JUMP TO THIS THREAD

Originally Posted by Alpine

thanks very much!

For some reason most of the attached photographs do not show up for me.

They show up for me. Maybe it's your browser settings?

Originally Posted by Alpine

You don't happen to have similar detail on changing the Power Steering hoses and alternator belt by any chance?

I will ... when my Power Steering or Alternator goes out!

Good article on brake pad poop causing shudder versus rotor warp ...

That is exactly what Dave Z have been educating us for many years by now. Very good information on his web site, http://www.zeckhausen.com/ with bedding instructions to remove the vibrations.

mw

Originally Posted by MatWiz

That is exactly what Dave Z have been educating us for many years by now. Very good information on his web site, http://www.zeckhausen.com/ with bedding instructions to remove the vibrations.

mw

Perfect! I love when we experience backed up by fact.

There are sooooo sooo sooo many people saying their brakes "warped" yet there are all too few who look at that objectively like Zeckhausen did in that article.
http://www.zeckhausen.com/avoiding_brake_judder.htm

One of my pet peeves is that there isn't any good way to tell the difference between brake friction materials 'just by looking at them'. Well, here is an article that says it allows us to decipher the 'secret code' stamped on the side of brake friction materials ...

"If you are to take one thing away from this article, it should be how to read the letters that correspond with the friction levels of the brake compound. These are two letters are midway through the code. But, to understand the letters, you must first understand the tests behind the letters."

Got to say after reading through this thread that I was really impressed! Great stuff!

I am dealing with my front brakes for the first time on my 528. The setup hasn't been changed for 10 years and 30 000 miles and as a result, things are pretty well rusted in down there!

The way I see it, brakes are important to get right no matter how you do it because the only other things that are going to stop you are another car or a hard brick wall! I learn a lot from reading up in the forums, but I learn so much more from getting my hands dirty and dealing with the issues as they come up! For me, the hard bit is removing the rotors... they're pretty well fused onto the hubs!

For the complete record, there's a nascent discussion on rear parking brake shoes (which to buy and using what tools) in this thread.

Finally an E39 Bimmerfest DIY exclusively for the parking brake replacement!

This morning cn90's posted a wonderful E39 parking brake R&R DIY here!

Finally, two years after we started our quest, we have a value for the minimum thickness of BMW E39 brake shoes!

For reference, in this post, cn90 kindly answered the question as to what the minimum thickness of the BMW E39 parking brake shoe friction material should be.

Nominal thickness (new) ~= 0.240 inches (shoe + plate)
Minimum thickness (old) ~= 0.140 inches (shoe + plate)

Also, here, for the record, is an E36 DIY for a BMW four-wheel brake rotors, pads, and shoes.

BlueBee-
What brake pads did you end up using?

Thanks!
Jason

Originally Posted by Jason5driver

What brake pads did you end up using?

Hidden way back in post #89, I mentioned I went as close to OEM as possible:

I don't drive like you guys do; I don't race ... and, I am not a mechanical engineer, so I went pure stock (I think you call that OE) using the following:
- ATE front brake disc, 296x22, ventilated, P/N 34-11-6-767-061
- ATE rear brake disc, ventilated, 298x20, P/N 34-21-6-767-060
- Jurid 187 asbestos-free front brake pads, P/N 34-11-6-761-280
- TEXTAR T4071 asbestos-free rear brake pads, P/N 34-21-6-761-281
- BMW Front pad wear sensor, P/N 34-35-2-229-018
- BMW Rear pad wear sensor, P/N 34-35-1-163-066
- BMW Front inner hex bolt, M8x14, P/N 34-21-1-161-806
- BMW Rear Inner hex bolt, M8x14, P/N 34-21-1-161-806

I didn't have the courage to tackle the parking brake shoes; but OE would have been Jurid according to CN90's brake-shoe DIY (he used Pagid).

The fluids I used are discussed in this brake-job-fluid thread.
- 1 liter ATE Super Blue DOT 4 low-viscosity brake fluid
- 75 ml tube of ATE Superlube anti-squeal paste
- 2 oz Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant
- 16 oz can non-chlorinated brake cleaner spray
- 1 oz high-temperature brake grease
- 1 tube of Liquid Wrench penetrating lubricant
- 1 bottle of "P21S" or "SONAX R2000" Wheel Cleaner spray
- 1 bottle of Gojo pumice hand cleaner or similar detergent

HOW did I miss all of this back in 2008?!

I guess this is a goood place to as my question...

Alright, for the last few months i've had the "BRAKE" light on in my dash. No other lights. Checked my fluids, they're alright. I even disconnected the sensor and the light went out and when i plugged it back in..the light stayed off for ~2 days until it came back on. I also checked my brakes. I had new pads put on in late 06, so i don't think my pads could be the problem. When I checked..they still had a lot left.

Any ideas?

Originally Posted by nike001

I I even disconnected the sensor and the light went out and when i plugged it back in..the light stayed off for ~2 days until it came back on.

What sensor did you disconnect? If you disconnect the brake wear sensor that will put the 'brake wear' indicator on. The "Brake" light is something else. It it red or yellow? Could be as simple as a problem with the emergency brake switch.

Guys,

I am wanting to change the front rotors and pads for my 2002 525i. I dont have the Bentley repair manual and could not find any posts related to my model. Can someone guide me to this repair or any existing posts that may help.

I have a question. This may have been answered already. You are going from a floating type caliper and piston set up to a rigid style caliper with 4 pistons. With the floating, the caliper was able to move back and forth if the rotor became untrue. Now with the fixed system and the rotor becoming untrue, this allows the pistons in the calipers to move in and out with the rotors movement. I have delt with this for years on Corvettes and they are a pain in the butt because of this same set up. Once they begin to "pump" in and out, the seals around the pistons begin to suck air into the brake system because they are moving more than designed for and causing no brakes. Just wondering. I am sure Porsche calipers wouldn't do that but I am curious about it.

Originally Posted by rajasjoshi

Guys,

I am wanting to change the front rotors and pads for my 2002 525i. I dont have the Bentley repair manual and could not find any posts related to my model. Can someone guide me to this repair or any existing posts that may help.

Given that both of us have a 2002 525i and that you posted to this thread, none of what you wrote makes any sense other than your first sentence.

However, even so, do this and you'll be fine:
- Search for Bentley Manual PDF and you'll find a recently posted PDF of the Bentleys (I have the paper ones but they're not all that useful anyway).

- Read this thread (and the DIY links it references from Zeckhausen and others).

- See this thread which has tons of pictures of a brake job in progress, every step of the way.

I'm not sure if you need to do anything else ...

Oh my!

My red brake light just went on yesterday; I'm guessing it's the front pads (will visually check when the weather clears).

Yesterday I filled the brake fluid reservoir with your recommended ATE DOT4 (sort of) fluid but the light is still on (at 88k miles) just like it went on at about 60K miles at the start of this thread (i.e., about 30k miles which is what we predicted. (We also predicted .030" of rotor wear which will be interesting to see if it happened according to plan.)

I'm perfectly happy with the performance of the OEM Jurid 187 (fronts) & OEM Textar T4071 (rear) combo; but I'm especially curious about the often recommended PBR/Axxis Deluxe (apparently now called Axxis Deluxe Advanced) or Axxis Ultimates or Akebono Euro Ceramics pads.

My major concern is that tests show we should "match" the fronts to the rears, at least according to Police vehicle test reports such as these below:

- Detailed report by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center titled:Replacement Brake Pad Performance Evaluation Project National Institute of Justice/Michigan State Police (dated March 2001)
- Summary report of the Equipment Performance Report: 2000 Evaluation of Replacement Brake Pads for Police Patrol Vehicles (dated February 2001)

So, given that the most important factor may be similar materials front and rear, and bearing in mind the OEM Jurid 187 (fronts) & OEM Textar T4071 (rear) combo, does the Axxis crowd here recommend Axxis Deluxe Advanced on both axles (or just the front which dusts the most in the OEM configuration?

There was an excellent single post about curing brake-pad-deposition caused shudder upon high-speed braking here...

The solution is to temporarily put the abrasive Hawk Blue 9012 race pads on in order to abrade the deposits at less-than-race speeds; then put your original street pads back on.

Previous posts in this thread have mentioned this technique, but, to my knowledge, none provided the recipe of the actual pads to use.

I'm not sure how long to leave the abrasive pads on (duh ... until the shudder goes away ... but how long is that) though so it would be nice to know what peoples' personal experiences are with this low-temperature abrasive method (as opposed to the high-temperature break-in procedure with the street pads).

Based on cn90 information in this (Need torque values for brake rotor change-Searched but confused) thread, I've updated the old torque chart in post #30. The intention is to have a chart of necessary figures in one spot so that it can be cut out and pasted into the Bentley paper manuals.

The brake-fluids recommendations still seem to be holding so they must be right.


Note: I need to add runout specifications and rotor sizes: