C3 Vtr Plus

[john1955]

hi all can anyone put me on the right track as to changing the front brake pads ie how eary / hard they are todo etc ......

[paul.h]

Simple to do, for our 2003 C3:

- before starting check the thickness of the discs - I had to replace ours at about 40k miles due to wearing thin, jack relevant front corner, put on an axle stand, remove wheel (if this has not been done since new it may have rusted on to the hub - holding a block of wood against the inside edge of the tyre and hitting the wood with a hammer will eventually release it and then clean up the hub/wheel contact areas with a file), undo caliper lower slide pin bolt, pivot caliper up and tie up (eg wire to coil spring), remove pads. Clean everything up, use fine emery on disc to remove glaze, scrape off ridges on disc (if not replacing), wipe disc clean with brake cleaner soaked rag/paper, push piston back into the caliper (eg G clamp, with bleed nipple open to release excess brake fluid into a container or a rag to avoid possible master cylinder seal problems), bit of copper grease on sides/back of pads and caliper but not on friction material or disc, fit pads, refit caliper, apply a smear of copper grease to the hub/wheel contact areas and refit the wheel, use the brake pedal to push the pads to the disc. If re-using old pads, rub them on some fine emery paper on a flat surface to remove the glaze from the friction material. If you brake gently for a few hundred miles the pads will bed in better than hard braking earlier.

Edited February 21, 2013 by paul.h