Front And Rear Brake Pads Replacement Mk3X7

[spookydave]

gentlemen

when changing the front brake pads on a c5 mk3x7 do the caliper pistons just push in or are they wind back

i presume the rear ones are a wind back piston

also are they relatively easy to do at home

many thanks in anticipation

 

[coastline taxis]

depends on if you have the hydo suspension  if not then just push them back and only 1 bolt to undo

[spookydave]

thanks Coastline

i dont have hydro suspension so happy days i reckon got pads so will do them tomorrow

[paul.h]

If it needs new pads then it may also need new discs so check their thickness before starting the job. The new thickness depends on the model but they are all even values with a minimum 2 mm less.

 

The following is based on the Citroen service box procedures:

 

On the fronts there are 2 different makes, in both the pistons just push back in and both need the brake hose 2 brackets undoing (hub end 2 bolts 12 Nm, strut end bolt 20 Nm). Teves which have a big spring on the caliper to remove and both bolts (27 Nm) holding the caliper to the bracket need removing so the caliper can be lifted off. TRW in which just the lower caliper bolt (29 Nm) is removed and the caliper tilted up. I had a Saab with one of those large springs and it was  pain putting back, a bit of copper grease in the holes stopped it rusting in and from memory it helped to have the piston pushed in, when removing use a screwdriver at the hole ends to lever it out. I also think it needed an allen bit to undo the retaining bolts.

 

The rear brake will be the TRW one without the electric handbrake, these need to turn the piston to wind it back in, both sides are clockwise. To remove the pads, unclip the brake hose from 2 brackets, unclip the hand brake cable from the caliper and then the bracket, undo the lower caliper bolt (35 Nm) and then tilt the caliper up. The caliper bolt is supposed to be renewed and may be included with the pads if from a dealer - if not then it probably has loctite on it so may need some adding.

[spookydave]

many thanks Paul

i did them on Saturday the bolts were in very good condition as were the calipers both pushed back very well replaced the metal springs

the discs themselves were ok as were replaced last time it had pads

once again my thanks to this forum 

Dave

[paul.h]

It is always good when a job goes well. I have changed the topic title slightly and pinned it since this is likely to be of interest to many C5 owners. I have also moved it to be with the brake topics for the earlier C5 model.