Daily driver brakes (first time doing brakes)

[jason86325]

I have a warped rotor in my front brakes and want to give it a shot doing them myself (I'll have someone more experienced with me, not an e30 person though).

I'm looking to do them as cheap as possible, while retaining all the important braking abilities of a good brake job. I don't need an upgrade, just something that works and doesn't rattle and shake anymore.

What do you guys recommend getting for a stock 1986 325e daily driver that doesn't go very far or very fast?

I think I need just pads and rotors, is there other stuff I should be doing while I'm in there as well? Any pointers or issues I should expect?

Yes, I've searched the forums. Most of the brake stuff seems geared towards upgrades, racing, specific brands, or cosmetics.

[blunttech]

Assuming your calipers are functioning properly just get cheap blanks and decent pads. Check the condition of your flexible brake lines and replace if needed. Flush the system with new brake fluid. You can do this cheaply and still have a good braking system. Not something you want to cheese out on

[DJLimes]

I'm doing this job right now for the first time, and to start I don't even want to touch the fluid. You need a tool to bleed the system, and thats something I don't want to mess up. I did the first rotor and pad change on one wheel, and its not too hard after you get the idea of it.

MAKE SURE THOUGH you are extra careful with the little allen head bolt in the rotor, super easy to strip. Also be careful torquing the bolts back onto the caliper, I snapped one making it too tight.

Overall though not too hard, can be done yourself. There are some good writeups and videos to help you. Make sure you scrub everything while you're in there, and reapply anti-seize to the moving parts.

Good luck!

[Wh33lhop]

Just get OEM pads, Jurids or Textars, and the cheapest rotors you can find, as well as checking fluid and lines as blunt said. It should be under $200 for a full set of rotors and pads if you shop around.

When you put everything back together, don't tighten the Allen head past finger tight. It's not going anywhere even if it loosens up.. Anti-seize on these is also a good idea. Furthermore, don't hang the calipers by the brake lines as this tension can damage the lines. Hang them with a zip tie or something if you can.

Also, you can use a c clamp to compress the calipers but I just bought a caliper spreader for $10 at Sears. Makes it much easier, honestly.

[Wh33lhop]

Oh yeah, don't stop on your brakes when they're hot. You don't have a warped rotor, you have uneven pad transfer on the rotor, likely because someone stopped on hot brakes at some point.

If you're unsure of what constitutes hot, think repeated applications from high speed or down hills. You can slow the car with hot brakes, just don't use the brakes for that last 5mph or so.

[jason86325]

Thanks for the tips, I'm excited to give it a shot. I don't think it's an issue of stopping on hot brakes, I'm pretty aware of my breaking techniques and downshifting, etc. Either way, it can't hurt to do everything over with new stuff and clean all the old stuff.

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[e30_302]

Do you still have pad/rotor life left, or are you going through this just because one is "warped." Like Wh33lhop said, it's not warped. It's uneven pad transfer. Think about how hot your rotor would have to be to physically warp.....

Go out and go through the new pad bedding in process, bringing the pad up hotter and hotter. Or just go for a spirited drive and be aggressive with the brakes. I bet your "warped" rotor will fix itself. I have to go through it every now and then with my DD.

[jason86325]

It's been bad and getting worse, regardless of how hard I drive it... A friend who knows more than me, or at least acts like it, seems convinced it's a rotor thing. Either way, I don't know when the p.o. did the brakes and should probably do everything at once because of that.

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[mulletman]

I'm doing this job right now for the first time, and to start I don't even want to touch the fluid. You need a tool to bleed the system, and thats something I don't want to mess up. I did the first rotor and pad change on one wheel, and its not too hard after you get the idea of it.

MAKE SURE THOUGH you are extra careful with the little allen head bolt in the rotor, super easy to strip. Also be careful torquing the bolts back onto the caliper, I snapped one making it too tight.

Overall though not too hard, can be done yourself. There are some good writeups and videos to help you. Make sure you scrub everything while you're in there, and reapply anti-seize to the moving parts.

Good luck!

That tool you need for brake bleeding is a "wrench."

Fluid is the single most effective thing you can do to your brakes. I bleed my motorcycle about every other trackday during riding season.

[anokES]

Bleeding is super super easy.
Materials:
7mm box end wrench
4mm hose
Slave to stomp on pedal with your command