Changing Cupra front pads/discs (AP Racing)

[kriso]

I set out to do this today with my bro...got a nice set of Ferodo DS2500 pads and some EBC discs. I was going to put up a guide for anyone else who wanted to do it but my advice is don't bother, take it to a garage!

The annoying thing is getting the 2 pad retaining pins out of each caliper. We eventually managed to get the ones on the passenger side out and replaced disc and pads then put it all back together. But doing the drivers side, one of the pins just won't budge. Spent about 3 hours spraying with penetrating oil and trying to hammer it out, drilling it out, dremeling it etc. It looks like it is proper seized in.

So by this time it was getting to dark and had to make a decision what to do as obviously I now had one wheel with brand new discs and the other without. So we decided to put the new disc on the drivers' side (as the old ones were scratched and dirty by now) and keep the old pads in. We then went back to the other wheel and removed the new pads and put the old ones back in. I know using old pads on new discs isn't advised at all, but it was the only way to be able to get the car back on the road. The car brakes ok, just not as well as it used to and I will try and source some new pins and try and figure out how to get the stuck one out!

I thought they would be quite easy, but typically I proabbly should have taken it to a stealer and paid the £100-£200 labour . So something to bear in mind if anyone else is thinking about doing their APs...

 

[Damoegan]

I changed my discs and pats on the back yesterday and it was very easy to get them out/off but I aint done the front ones yet.

 

[kriso]

Yea back ones look easier on my car. I've found a replacement pin kit on ETKA but looks like its going to be around £50 Lucky I didn't go for the really expensive discs I suppose!

 

[Ric 2001]

I found it a piece of piss to fit the front pads. 2 retaining pins, a metel sheild guard and to allen key bolts. Riddick also had a few problems at the weekend.

The back pads are easier if you have a caliper piston tool because rear calipers require that the piston be rotated while being pushed back into the caliper.

 

[R1dd1ck]

a few problems? lol!! i had to remove my entire callipers lol cos the head on the screw had completely worn down! added like an extra 2hours onto the job lol!

but tbh, its a piece of piss doing it, just make sure you are very careful with your pistons and remove your brake fluid cap before you do anything. Once your calliper is off, just remove the disc, looks simple enough!

 

[kriso]

Yea it would have been very easy if I didnt have the stuck pin! The car's only done 19k so thought it would be straightforward compared to older cars I have worked on

 

[R1dd1ck]

what r u usin to take em out?

 

[Ric 2001]

I used a centre punch to get mine out

 

[ibizacupra]

when fitting your new pins, dont forget to add some copperslip to the ends for next time.

 

[kriso]

I used a centre punch and hammer to get the other ones out, but this last one isn't moving no matter how big a hammer etc I use!

I phoned stealer this morning and they said they had the attachment parts in stoc, but turns out someone has pinched the pins and springs from the box and there's just some pads in there. So they are ordering me some more

 

[CupraStoo]

drift and a dead blow hammer?tried some heat?

 

[CUP-RACING]

replaced my front pads on mine yesterday, the pins came out pretty easy. my car has done 20k. maybe yours is an isolated problem. hope you get it sorted

 

[kriso]

yea i might try and get hold of a dead blow hammer. I'm in two minds about using heat as I don't want to damage the pistons/seals. Will try adn get some new punches or drifts as I bent the Halfords one trying to get the pin out,

 

[kriso]

Tried the dead blow hammer but still it ain't budging. I emailed AP Racing yesterday and they just now got back to me and said they would send out replacement pins for me ...Now to phone Seat and tell them I don't want the £70 pad and fitting kit..

 

[Nath.]

I knock pins out of shafts when working on my machines at work all the time, the best trick IMO is positive restraint, this way you can knock a pin out with a toffee hammer

make sure that the bit you are hitting is solid and not able to move about (rattle or buzz or vibrate) in any way when you hit it, chock the hub onto a block of wood and then chock the caliper too so that all of the force from the hammer blow goes where you want it rather than going through the suspension and rubber bushes, get a mate to hold the pin punch with a large pair of mole grips also

what I'm trying to say is brace it and make it solid before you hit it

basically make it like hitting the floor with a hammer rather than hitting a piñata swinging on a string filled with sweets

if you catch my drift

 

[kriso]

The pin that I am hitting is definitley solid..its like it has mushroomed or bedded itself into the outside of the caliper which is where you hit it to remove it and there is no gap between the outside of the pin and the inside of the caliper hole.

I see what you are saying about the pinata etc. I can't move the caliper much when its unbolted from the hub becasue of the brake line - I don't really want to disconnect this and have more hassle. But I'll try and rest it on something on its' side and get someone to support the punch with molegrips, then just give it a good downward blow.

Otherwise I will just drill it out now I have my free replacement pins on their way

 

[keithr]

Kriso, bit random but where did you get your Ferodo DS2500 pads??

 

[kriso]

I got them from Badger5. Ask Bill about them in the Badger5 section.

 

[keithr]

I got them from Badger5. Ask Bill about them in the Badger5 section.

many thanks

 

[R1dd1ck]

Bit of a mad suggestion here, but u could try cuttin the inside of the pin, enough to give it a blow from the inside to fire it out tother end?

Just get a small hammer then?