Replacing front brake pads Astra

[doss]

hi all,
i tried replacing my wife's Astra TS 2001 CD front brake pads. looked simple enough,....took off the 2 caliper bolts, but was not able to pry the caliper off the rotor to replace the pads...is there a special way or is there another bolt i need to remove?
appreciate any assistance
doss

[chev]

hi all,
i tried replacing my wife's Astra TS 2001 CD front brake pads. looked simple enough,....took off the 2 caliper bolts, but was not able to pry the caliper off the rotor to replace the pads...is there a special way or is there another bolt i need to remove?
appreciate any assistance
doss

Hey doss. All those European Holdens will have huge "lips" on the disc rotors. Be forceful to get the caliper off. You will have to replace the rotor as they are very "soft" and have black dust all over. ( don't like any Holden with the indicator stalk on the left:teach:

[Alister]

Hey doss. All those European Holdens will have huge "lips" on the disc rotors. Be forceful to get the caliper off. You will have to replace the rotor as they are very "soft" and have black dust all over. ( don't like any Holden with the indicator stalk on the left:teach:

Good point mentioning the rotors - the missus' TS Astra needed new rotors after only 55 000km. Costs a fortune to mantain these things, the only aspect you save money on is petrol! :banghead:

[seldo]

Hey doss. All those European Holdens will have huge "lips" on the disc rotors. Be forceful to get the caliper off. You will have to replace the rotor as they are very "soft" and have black dust all over. ( don't like any Holden with the indicator stalk on the left:teach:
Also, it will help if you are able to get something like a paint scraper in between the pad and the disc and lever the pads back into the caliper a bit first - then the pad will slip past the rotor's lip

[ratter]

Good point mentioning the rotors - the missus' TS Astra needed new rotors after only 55 000km. Costs a fortune to mantain these things, the only aspect you save money on is petrol! :banghead:


Wow, she got 55000 klms out of a set, I've seen them at 40000 needing front and rear rotors and pads, not cheap if you use genuine products either

[BIG T]

Iam just trying to change the pads now on the missus astra.

So do the calipers flip upwards as they do on a commodore? Or do you just slip the pads into the calipers?

P.S. Iam changing the front pads:)

[Dacious]

I think you have to remove the calliper, as at least the outside pad is clipped to the sliding bracket.

Local discs (I think RDA or PBR make a set), coupled with standard Bendix pads appears to wear slightly better with less of that immovable black dust, at the cost of a slightly harder pedal and less response. You can still lock them, just have to jump on them a little harder. The problem is these Euro pads designed to work at low temps and have a high cabon comp, all Euro cars seemingly wear out a disc per pad set.

The Astra has an additional problem in that the rears only have a mm of wear over new and they are not recommended for machining.

Just be warned - the rear callipers will be either Bosch or Lucas (yes, that Lucas - of Prince of Darkness fame) and you have to work out what you have and order accordingly if it turns out they are toast.

[BALLS]

you should only need to remove one bolt from the caliper to remove the pads (caliper guide pin), you dont need to take the whole caliper off the disc.....
as far as compressing the pistons back in i dont quite think a paint scraper will do, what ever happened to G clamps and opening up the brake resevoir?

BTW if the pads were down enough to merit a change of pads, you WILL need to compress that piston/s other wise you wont fit the new pads in. Make sure that caliper pin is lubed!

hope thats helpfull.

[littlered]

Good point mentioning the rotors - the missus' TS Astra needed new rotors after only 55 000km. Costs a fortune to mantain these things, the only aspect you save money on is petrol! :banghead:


Same here. Had the rotors replaced at the 60K service (along with timing belt etc) Not cheap :bawl:

Anyway had the rotors replaced with non genuine ones which are supposed to last a lot longer. Its done 1000km since and one benefit is I am not getting dust on the wheels. like before.:smilesandbanana:

[BIG T]

Thanks heaps for all your replies:)

In the end, we just removed the whole caliper.

Only changed the front pads using the standard bendix items for $59.00. The rears were like new, changed by previous owner also using bendix. The rotors seemed in good condition. Iam hoping using the softer bendix pads will prolong the life of the rotors.

P.S. for futture reference for anyone looking to do this job at home, the allen key needed is a 7mm one. I had to go to the spare parts shop twice to get it right!

[BALLS]

BIG T
did you have to depress the piston/s to squeeze the caliper on with the new pads?

[BIG T]

Yes the piston had to be pushed in. You can buy this tool from supercheap auto, only about $10.00 from memory.

The hardest thing was getting those damn brake pad clips onto the caliper. Be careful not to get your fingers:) caught!