Brakes And Pads

[GENETIX RACING]

I Need Advice Should I Let The Dealership Replace My Brake Pads And Rotors And Do A Brake Fluid Flush Or Should I Take It Somewhere Else For Cost Reasons Its Gonna Be Like 600 Bucks Not Including Labor For This What Should I Do

[noR]

You should buy the $7 tool for the rears and do it yourself of course. Why would you want to pay someone hundreds of dollars for a brake job?

Seriously, for that much cash, just wait till November, meet up w/me in Jacksonville, and I'll do you brakes for ya.... I'll even let you watch and give you the tools when I'm done so you can do them yourself next time.


... Don't say you don't know how: Here's how

[GENETIX RACING]

Hey Thanks

[noR]

So ... the next question of course... What kinda pads and rotors you gonna do anyway?

[paultakeda]

Genetix is doing complete research on all fronts. Either you just hit a pot full of gold in your backyard or you're just having fun dreaming of the possibilities.

[25PSi]

Is this even a real question???!!!! Just look in your pocket!!!

[NBTurboFreak]

The hardest part (IMHO) is compressing the calipers and bleeding the brakes, other than that is an easy DIY job.
I can't wait till Tues., I got my TT front brake upgrade kit coming in.

[Osgood]

Are there any special tips to comressing the calipers on a VW? I know that on any other caliper, they are pretty simple. I've not done a brake job on my car yet, but am going to soon. Do I need a 'special kraut tool' for this task?? If so...does anyone have a pic of said tool?
haha!
Thanks in advance!
Ben

[ECS Tuning]

The front brakes can be compressed with just pressure, the rear will require the piston be turned and compressed at the same time.

Volkswagen New Beetle 1.8T > Braking > Tools > ES#9747 Brake Caliper Piston Tool - PBK-11PCS



We also have a selection of rotors and pads available:

Volkswagen New Beetle 1.8T > Braking > OEM

[Osgood]

WOW! Thank you for the information/picture. I honestly had no idea, but recall seeing somewhere that there was a trick to having to twist the piston. I didn't know if that was true or not.
Just out of sheer curiousity and the desire to know how things work/why they work.....what is the benefit or reason for this design as opposed to the regular caliper design?

[ECS Tuning]

Certainly, more than happy to help out!

The rear needs to be turned because of the design of the VAG parking brake. When the parking brake lever is pulled, the cable pulls a lever on the caliper, which turns the piston and puts force on the rear discs. Some other manufactures use a differnt method for engaging the parking brake, but almost all VAG cars (VW, Audi, etc...) with rear discs will need to have the rear piston turned while it is being compressed.

[ice177217]

I had no problem replacing the front brakes, however the rear I got stock because when I remooved the top and bottom bolts like the front brakes, I could even move the caliper at all due to the hand brake cable I believe. Can any of you share the on how you remove the rear pads please?

[Pseudotropheus]

LoL. I had to use the Schwaben today, on a 2004 Audi TT 1.8T.
Fun little car, not packed with power, but fun.

We did front and back rotors and brakes. Pads were so bad the wear sensor has been on for months, there were rivet lines in the rotor.

Tried to pursuade her and tell her not to buy her parts from Napa; she went and bought them from Napa. She got full metallic pads, I tried to tell her ceramics were alot better for 10 bux more. She refused, cant tell women anything....

[leonardodecappiccuno]

Bought this brake piston kit from ECS as well as there 308mm rear rotors, and made the fitting sooooo easy.

Regards Lenny

[TechnoTrix'd]

And just for "fair and balanced" reporting, you can also find a great brake tool from the original specialty VW tool maker in the states, MetalNerd.

MetalNerd has been making specialty VW tools for years. He has many "VAG" type specialty tools that would cost hundreds of dollars to buy, if you could.

I've had one of these caliper "Rear Brake Reset Tools" for over 9 years, and it has been used for multiple brake job's (mine and others). Can be used to compress both the Rear and Front calipers. Work's like a champ, and for $45.00, you can't beat it.

www.metalnerd.com - Brake/Transmission/Wheel/Exhaust Tools Page

Take a look and support a small American Company.

Thanks.........TechnoTrix'd...

[miffmole]

Originally Posted by noR

You should buy the $7 tool for the rears and do it yourself of course.

Do you need this tool for changing just the rear pads? How do you know if you need rotor work or not? My rotors look fine on the back, but my pads are getting on the thin side.
Do you have a link for the $7 tool?
Thanks.

[miffmole]

Originally Posted by miffmole

Do you need this tool for changing just the rear pads? How do you know if you need rotor work or not? My rotors look fine on the back, but my pads are getting on the thin side.
Do you have a link for the $7 tool?
Thanks.

Anyone?

[DarthBeetle]

AFAIK you need the tool for the rears only. but most of the time you should be changing both sets anyway. as far as rotors go, the rotors on the NB are so thin that they should be replaced each pad change. they are also so thin that you should not think about turning them either.