Today, we have another installment of "I swear, the car is safe"
In todays update, my agenda was fairly simple. Install the rear brake pads, throw on the garagistic rear toe hooks and add the bump stops that I somehow forgot to install when I did the rear Konis. Should be easy, I figured I would be done in an hour, max.
rear_fixes by 2mAn
Started with the bumpstops, cut them down a little and sliced them down the middle too. Installed them, and threw a zip-tie around them so they wouldnt find a way to come off. Yes, I could've taken the shock out and disassembled everything, but I wanted to finish this stuff quickly, so BOOM done.
On to the garagistic tow hooks.
I've had these for a while, and recently decided it was finally time to put them on. Sprayed them with the same Kawasaki Green that I painted the front tow hook and went to install them. However, they didnt slide over the lower Koni as well as I liked, so I will have to take a stepped bit to them to enlarge the hole a little. BOOM, not done. Lets move on though, I have places to be...
Now it was time for the rear brakes pads. Should be cake, right? ... well, lets pause for a quick history lesson.
My car came from Germany (West Germany?) in 1984 with drums in the back. Sometime between 1984 and 2012 somebody converted the rear to discs. When I bought the car, this was already done and the brakes overall looked like they had been attended to. They had drilled rotors already and stainless lines, so I never really worried about them much. This was the first time I was taking the brakes apart. I recently had become a little suspicious about these rear brakes because the rear right rotor had rust forming on the rotor face itself. A functioning brake will eat up this rust with one application of the brakes, but this wasnt happening, and I was about to figure out why...
(back to our regular broadcasting)
Pulled the rear caliper off and saw the worn pads, threw them aside and went to install the new pads. Immediately something seemed off. These new pads looked shorter, and upon closer inspection of the old pads, there was a section along the top of the pad that wasnt making contact with the rotor so the pad was worn down with a big step up.
Semi-ignoring this I pressed on.
Put the new pads on the rotors and went to reinstall, but these new pads didnt quite sit perfectly on the caliper bracket. Did I get the wrong pads?... Comparing the pad to the rotor, these looked like the correct pads....ok.... So, do I have the wrong calipers on the car?... How is that possible??... After fumbling around a bit and talking with my friend who was there helping, and talking to a few other r3v members, it was obvious something was wrong. There was no possible way to have the wrong rotor and the pad I ordered was for a 325i, so the pad must be correct. At this point the only thing I could think of was that the caliper isnt correct. How is this possible?!?!
Heres some pics of what I was dealing with:
When you see it... :hitler:
old_rear_brakes1 by 2mAn
Heres a new pads / old pads side by side comparison:
pad_comparison by 2mAn
Here the new pad is sitting on top of the old pad, you can see how the old pad is taller, and also at one end its not exactly the same in how it sits on the bracket
wrong4 by 2mAn
Here you see several problems, rusted rotor and how the pad doesnt fit on the bracket at the bottom
wrong2 by 2mAn
Heres the old pad in the bracket, fits the bracket perfectly but is too tall for the rotor
wrong1 by 2mAn
Made a few calls and finally JMP saved the day (again) and I was able to pick up a set of used rear calipers and brackets. We compared the brackets and mine definitely sat the pad up a little higher. Im just guessing but I think a previous owner installed E28 rear calipers and brackets thinking its "good enough" but what was happening was that now that the pads had about 20% left the overhang of the pads that wasnt getting in contact with the rotor were actually contacting each other so the rear brakes were barely functioning, if at all... Scary shit.
I was too eager to drive and be done with it to take pics when we finished, but we bled the brakes and its all good now. Luckily, its all fixed (5 hours later!) and the car feels like it stops on a dime! Thats good because Im taking the car to the Streets of Willow Springs next Saturday.
Anyone want a pair of (I think) E28 rear brakes?
In todays update, my agenda was fairly simple. Install the rear brake pads, throw on the garagistic rear toe hooks and add the bump stops that I somehow forgot to install when I did the rear Konis. Should be easy, I figured I would be done in an hour, max.
rear_fixes by 2mAnStarted with the bumpstops, cut them down a little and sliced them down the middle too. Installed them, and threw a zip-tie around them so they wouldnt find a way to come off. Yes, I could've taken the shock out and disassembled everything, but I wanted to finish this stuff quickly, so BOOM done.
On to the garagistic tow hooks.
I've had these for a while, and recently decided it was finally time to put them on. Sprayed them with the same Kawasaki Green that I painted the front tow hook and went to install them. However, they didnt slide over the lower Koni as well as I liked, so I will have to take a stepped bit to them to enlarge the hole a little. BOOM, not done. Lets move on though, I have places to be...
Now it was time for the rear brakes pads. Should be cake, right? ... well, lets pause for a quick history lesson.
My car came from Germany (West Germany?) in 1984 with drums in the back. Sometime between 1984 and 2012 somebody converted the rear to discs. When I bought the car, this was already done and the brakes overall looked like they had been attended to. They had drilled rotors already and stainless lines, so I never really worried about them much. This was the first time I was taking the brakes apart. I recently had become a little suspicious about these rear brakes because the rear right rotor had rust forming on the rotor face itself. A functioning brake will eat up this rust with one application of the brakes, but this wasnt happening, and I was about to figure out why...
(back to our regular broadcasting)
Pulled the rear caliper off and saw the worn pads, threw them aside and went to install the new pads. Immediately something seemed off. These new pads looked shorter, and upon closer inspection of the old pads, there was a section along the top of the pad that wasnt making contact with the rotor so the pad was worn down with a big step up.
Semi-ignoring this I pressed on.
Put the new pads on the rotors and went to reinstall, but these new pads didnt quite sit perfectly on the caliper bracket. Did I get the wrong pads?... Comparing the pad to the rotor, these looked like the correct pads....ok.... So, do I have the wrong calipers on the car?... How is that possible??... After fumbling around a bit and talking with my friend who was there helping, and talking to a few other r3v members, it was obvious something was wrong. There was no possible way to have the wrong rotor and the pad I ordered was for a 325i, so the pad must be correct. At this point the only thing I could think of was that the caliper isnt correct. How is this possible?!?!
Heres some pics of what I was dealing with:
When you see it... :hitler:
old_rear_brakes1 by 2mAnHeres a new pads / old pads side by side comparison:
pad_comparison by 2mAnHere the new pad is sitting on top of the old pad, you can see how the old pad is taller, and also at one end its not exactly the same in how it sits on the bracket
wrong4 by 2mAnHere you see several problems, rusted rotor and how the pad doesnt fit on the bracket at the bottom
wrong2 by 2mAnHeres the old pad in the bracket, fits the bracket perfectly but is too tall for the rotor
wrong1 by 2mAnMade a few calls and finally JMP saved the day (again) and I was able to pick up a set of used rear calipers and brackets. We compared the brackets and mine definitely sat the pad up a little higher. Im just guessing but I think a previous owner installed E28 rear calipers and brackets thinking its "good enough" but what was happening was that now that the pads had about 20% left the overhang of the pads that wasnt getting in contact with the rotor were actually contacting each other so the rear brakes were barely functioning, if at all... Scary shit.
I was too eager to drive and be done with it to take pics when we finished, but we bled the brakes and its all good now. Luckily, its all fixed (5 hours later!) and the car feels like it stops on a dime! Thats good because Im taking the car to the Streets of Willow Springs next Saturday.
Anyone want a pair of (I think) E28 rear brakes?
Comment