Do It Yourself Brake Pad Change? - Page 2 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

husker boxster · 09-02-2018, 05:41 PM

Get a can of Aerokroil and liberally spray it around the edges of your lug bolts. Let it sit / soak for 24 hrs. Then use a 19mm long socket on a breaker bar.

All of these items can be purchased at an auto parts store if you don't have them. Remember, it isn't a project unless you have to buy a new tool.

MrBen · 09-02-2018, 07:44 PM

A couple suggestions. Go to like a hf and pick up an electric impact. Handy thing to have. Second don't do what I did and put the pad in backwards. Always put the ware material against the disk

Stroked & Blown · 09-03-2018, 04:31 AM

Htown - slip a piece of pipe over the red handle for extra leverage and re-orient it 180* so you can pull UP with your legs - Think doing squats at the gym.

Anker · 09-03-2018, 07:12 AM

Go to any service station and have them loosen the bolts with an impact gun, or buy an electric impact gun and do it yourself. Then have the tightened to the proper torque before driving it. Someone must have tightened them with a torque gun, a no-no.

steved0x · 09-03-2018, 07:31 AM

That built in handle in the tool roll is way too short, a harbor freight breaker bar an 19mm socket, and a decent 1/2" torque wrench to reinstall them at 96 lb/ft.

thstone · 09-03-2018, 10:07 AM

Too much is never enough!

If something is really stuck, I use a 4 ft length of heavy gauge copper pipe that slides over an 18" Craftsman 1/2" drive breaker bar with a 19mm socket (just like the one shown in Husker's photo above).

Take your weight x 4 and that is how many ft-lbs will be generated by just using your weight.

Here is a pic of this tool on the Boxster (Note: this is only for REMOVAL - I would never use this to tighten a lug bolt - use a proper torque wrench!)

PaulE · 09-03-2018, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by More

I read something about flooding the brakes afterwards?
What's that about??

If your pads are worn down and the brake fluid reservoir on the master cylinder has been topped up to compensate for the pad wear, when you push the caliper pistons back in to accommodate the new pads that will be much thicker, the extra brake fluid that will be going back into the reservoir may cause it to overflow, make a mess and possibly cause some paint damage (it did in the old days anyway). You need to keep and eye on the fluid level and maybe use a clean turkey baster to remove some from the reservoir if it gets up to the maximum full line. Not sure if any of the videos or links already posted mentioned the already. You may also need a 1 inch wide putty knife to free the pads from the backing plates that go into the caliper pistons and are glued together. That may only be on the S models and not the base cars.

brainles71 · 09-04-2018, 01:56 AM

Also best to replace both the left and right side at the same time

I recently did both rotors and pads myself and its not that hard

Set aside a day to do it and don't forget to bed in the pads when done. Bedding them in is important https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/326526-how-do-i-bed-in-new-brakes.html

JayG · 09-04-2018, 07:12 PM

It takes longer to jack up the car and remove the wheels than it does to actually remove and replace the pads.

If you are doing the rotors, a little longer, maybe 10 min a wheel

Pads are one of the easiest DIYs on a Boxster

MikeMcMo · 09-04-2018, 08:11 PM

[QUOTE=husker boxster;578547]Get a can of Aerokroil and liberally spray it around the edges of your lug bolts. Let it sit / soak for 24 hrs. Then use a 19mm long socket on a breaker bar.

All of these items can be purchased at an auto parts store if you don't have them. Remember, it isn't a project unless you have to buy a new tool.

#1) I once heard a Car Talk show where one brother said, "Remember, every project is an excuse to buy a new tool," and the other brother said, "Every project is an excuse to buy a WHOLE LINE OF TOOLS!"

#2) glad to see I'm not the only one reading every word of a 6 year old post.

robdelorenzo · 09-04-2018, 09:03 PM

You are correct about it not being a project without having to buy some tools!
I have just about everything ready to go for doing rear rotors, pads, flush, clutch bleed.
One thing I don't see mentioned are the brake dampers.
https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/1049/POR_1049_BRKPAD_pg3.htm#item13
Apparently there are two different sizes for each piston on each caliper.
I'm replacing the hardware as well, but wasn't sure about the dampers.
I bought them and will replace them as well, so everything is new.
This doesn't look too difficult at all.
The video below was quite helpful, too.
It's just odd that the dampers don't seem to be mentioned much.
Do people reuse them or not use them at all?

PaulE · 09-05-2018, 06:06 AM

You can never be too rich, too thin or have too many tools!

I was talking about brake pad dampers in my earlier post, I didn't know that's what they are called. They are different on the S model front brakes, both on one sheet of something and they go deep into the caliper pistons and are glued onto the back of the pads. They look like this -

https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/1052/POR_1052_BRKPAD_pg3.htm#item13

Quote:

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

You are correct about it not being a project without having to buy some tools!
I have just about everything ready to go for doing rear rotors, pads, flush, clutch bleed.
One thing I don't see mentioned are the brake dampers.
https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/SuperCat/1049/POR_1049_BRKPAD_pg3.htm#item13
Apparently there are two different sizes for each piston on each caliper.
I'm replacing the hardware as well, but wasn't sure about the dampers.
I bought them and will replace them as well, so everything is new.
This doesn't look too difficult at all.
The video below was quite helpful, too.
It's just odd that the dampers don't seem to be mentioned much.
Do people reuse them or not use them at all?

robdelorenzo · 09-05-2018, 06:40 AM

I do have an 02 base, but I think the concept is the same.
This must be the part that is referred to as "needing a putty knife to gently remove"
that I saw in one of the posts.
I ordered them anyway and want to do the job right and completely replace all components.
For some strange reason, I am looking forward to the Aerokroil.
That stuff looks like fun!

PaulE · 09-05-2018, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robdelorenzo

I do have an 02 base, but I think the concept is the same.
This must be the part that is referred to as "needing a putty knife to gently remove"
that I saw in one of the posts.
I ordered them anyway and want to do the job right and completely replace all components.
For some strange reason, I am looking forward to the Aerokroil.
That stuff looks like fun!

Yes if you're replacing the front pads on an S you need to insert the putty knife between the backing plate of the brake pad and the thin plate holding the 2 dampers together. When I did my front brake pads, I followed the online information for non S cars and didn't know about these dampers. They were never on the old British cars with Girling or Dunlop disk brakes that I worked on as a kid, so I thought the pads would just come out after I took out the retaining pins. Since I was also changing the rotors, I removed the calipers which I had to do anyway so I could see what was going on in there.