Have tried to replace brake pads today, it looks relatively simple in the Haynes manual, however I can't get anything to hold still... I'm thinking of removing the "round thing" that is obscuring my view (bearing case?!) how would I go about that so I can do the brake replacement myself? It has a huge nut on it, but this seems to be held on by something else?
Please help! My lovely car is sat there wheel-less!
1. unbolt the caliper from the sliding guide pins with 12mm spanner (arrowed)
2. simply lift the caliper up away to reveal the pads
3. slip the old pads off
4. give the new pads metal edge a light coating of copper grease where the edges would slide against the metal spring clips
5. slip the new pads in place
6. check the guide pins are sliding smoothly, if not then clean and regrease them or replace. they usually cause binding brakes or uneven pad wear when seized.
7. with new thicker pads installed, you need to screw the rear pistons back into the calipers in order to fit the calipers back on. do this by sticking a needle nose plier against the face if the piston and screw it clockwise to retract the pistons in, not all the way but just enough till you could fit the callipers over the new pad thickness
here's the internal screw shaft which pulls the piston in when its screwed
while doing this keep an eye on the brake fluid reservoir cos it could overflow when the pistons pushed in
7. after turning the piston, always make sure the 4 grooves on the piston face are orientated vertical/horizontal (similar to 2 pics above) and not at some other angle, so that the piston grooves would locate up against the notch on the back of the pads
8. install and bolt up the caliper to the guide pins
9. pump the brakes till hard
10. look back at the calipers through the middle inspection hole and make sure the face of the piston is flat against the back of the pads. if not, then the groove of the piston isn't lined up with the notch of the pads and you'll have to take the calipers off to realign the piston
11. repeat on other side
12. wheels on, jack down, check fluid level and carefully test the new pads (they'll take afew miles to fully bed in to the discs).
If you have drums, they're a little more fiddlier to work on and i'll post the rest tomorrow cos it's getting late
...just reading back on ur post, it sounds like you have rear drums and its the rear brake shoes rather than pads that you replace.
