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  • 06 Mini Cooper S Brakes...

    Doing front and rear brake pads AND rotors for a friend this weekend on her 06 Cooper S.

    I've watched a couple videos on youtube, and it seems almost like any other disc brake job.

    -but-

    *On two of the videos that I watched, they loosened the bleeder screw prior to pushing the piston back in. Is this necessary with the Cooper? If only one video, I'd just assume the guy didn't know what he was doing, but 2 different videos make me wonder.

    *One video showed a guy screwing the rear caliper piston back in with a pair of channel locks, rather than pushing it in. Another video had a pop-up note that said to use a special tool that twists as it pushes... I assume I can do like the first guy, and just screw it in with channel locks?

    *Also, I saw/ read some stuff that says you must replace the wear sensor (if so equipped). Can that be done later, or is it simply part of the brake job if the car has these sensors?

  • #2
    a guy I worked with open the bleeder screw to push the piston in , but around here the bleeder screw would just crumble

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    • #3
      I always just open the top of the master cylinder pr pushing the pistons on the front calipers. On the rear, pistons that twist in and out are common cars that use the rear calipers and springs for the parking brake. Other cars use an auxiliary drum brake in a the hat on the rear. With the screw in pistons, there are slots on the edges of the piston. You can try to use pliers to dig in the slots and turn them, or you can get a special tool that fits on a ratchet to turn them. It looks like a cube with nipples on each side so it fits different makes of cars.
      You should replace the wear sensors when your change the pads. They're normally consumed with the pads.

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      • #4
        they have those bottom flow brake bleeding tools that push the air out thru the top that are highly not recommended to use. Whenever you push the piston back you risk pushing debris up into the master cylinder, so allowing the bleeder to dump the fluid will at least eliminate that chance. You also need to see how big that reservoir is on that car to see if it will even allow the fluid out or just spill it over onto some other expensive part.

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        • #5
          Stage1Scott runs a Mini Cooper repair shop, Motoring Magic in Chatsworth, CA. I don't know how often he is on the forum these days, but maybe a PM will ping his e-mail.
          Last edited by TheSilverBuick; October 8, 2013, 07:55 AM.
          Escaped on a technicality.

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          • #6
            Did brakes on a Nissan Maxima that had the screw in pistons. I bolted the caliper facing away from the hub (opposite of normal orientation) and used channel locks to spin it in. However after doing it to both sides I would highly recommend picking up the tool, most places have it for $15-$20

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            • #7
              I owned a 2003. I did not crack the bleeder.

              I did use the tool pictured above, it needs to be modified a bit. Made it very easy.
              I'm still learning

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              • #8
                they only run screw calipers on the rear . as they are the parking brake
                I turn them in with needle nose pliers to turn them in when the piston is too small for my matco set

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                • #9
                  Some times screwing those pistons back in can be a real PIA. I made a tool out of an old socket that I welded a piece of flat stock to. Worked great. Last set of rear discs I did I bought the caliper kit fro HF for something like $45. It worked great, 2 thumbs up. I never crack the bleeders.
                  Tom
                  Overdrive is overrated


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                  • #10
                    Excellent advice. Thank you guys.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by joebogey View Post
                      Did brakes on a Nissan Maxima that had the screw in pistons. I bolted the caliper facing away from the hub (opposite of normal orientation) and used channel locks to spin it in. However after doing it to both sides I would highly recommend picking up the tool, most places have it for $15-$20

                      [ATTACH=CONFIG]25135[/ATTACH]
                      I got one of those tools (KD tools pn 3163 $11), and I ordered all the other stuff (well, they had most of it in stock) including the sensors. Dang sensors cost almost as much as the rotors and pads.
                      Last edited by yellomalibu; October 9, 2013, 05:22 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Got it all done yesterday.
                        There was only one sensor in front, and one in the rear, and they aren't the kind that wear - so I reused them. Hopefully I can return the 4 that I bought and get $100 back.

                        After doing the fronts, a test drive showed there was no more vibration / pulsation. Yay. And the pedal was more firm.

                        After doing the rears, the test drive had the pedal feeling soft, like there is air in the system. hmmm.

                        The rear brake cube tool didn't work, but I have a 6" C clamp with a frozen cup on the screw side (it doesn't pivot or spin) that worked perfectly to spin the piston as it pushed it in.

                        Then i had to go to bed, because I'm up at 3:30 to drive my brother to the airport. I'll have to investigate the spongey pedal later this morning - see if you guys have any ideas as to why it feels spongey.

                        The parking brake is more firm than it was before, btw...

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                        • #13
                          did you use semi metallic or ceramic pads? we have tried 4 different brands of ceramic-these cars do not like them and you can wind up with a poor pedal feel. Also the wire clips for the rear pistons need to be clipped around the piston groove, they can slip onto the pistons push surfaceand that will make the pedal feeel weird as well.
                          Last edited by stage1scott; October 13, 2013, 06:58 AM.
                          67 Fairlane 434 ci/464 hp/488 tq-RIP
                          05 GTO torrid red/red gut, LS2, Auto (my knees hurt!)

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                          • #14
                            I used Centric pads from a local auto parts store... and one side of the rear; the clip is attached to the anti rattle pad which seemed to be loose on the pad. Could this be the issue?

                            Centric metallic premium pads p.n.:
                            300.10600 rear
                            300.09390 front
                            Last edited by yellomalibu; October 13, 2013, 07:07 AM.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by yellomalibu View Post
                              I used Centric pads from a local auto parts store... and one side of the rear; the clip is attached to the anti rattle pad which seemed to be loose on the pad. Could this be the issue?

                              Centric metallic premium pads p.n.:
                              300.10600 rear
                              300.09390 front
                              those pads are ok, and the loose piece won't matter, the wires just need to be clipped onto the piston groove. These cars are SUPPOSED to have the brake fluid flushed every 2 years, few people follow that-a thorough bleeding and rep[lacement of the fluid may get you back where you need to be. If it has not been done for 3-4-5 years you will be surprised at how much air there is in the system. is this car a stick or auto?
                              Last edited by stage1scott; October 13, 2013, 07:25 AM.
                              67 Fairlane 434 ci/464 hp/488 tq-RIP
                              05 GTO torrid red/red gut, LS2, Auto (my knees hurt!)

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