Has anyone had to replace their front pads yet??

I just found an aftermarket equivalent that is supposed to work. ACURA OEM pads are $175 with discounts down to $150.

Apparently, Pozy-Quiet Extended Wear, D1001 pads are made to fit/work with our Brembo Caliper for around $60.

Maybe less dust, don't know. Anybody getting close to needing new pads??

Also, looking for any tips/lessons learned on how to spread the pistons back into the caliper upon removal of old pads. Acura sells a special tool, to compress the pistions for about $140.

There may be other ways to do it or other tools available. I have not been able to locate a tool similar to what is shown in the TL Service Manual.

 

if you dont have the special tools you can use two flat head screw drivers. since you are replacing the pads all you do is wedge the screw drive between pad and rotor and pry the pad back which will compress the pistons. it will damage what is left of the pad but you can get away without buying the tool.

 

You can find the tool/s at Sears, its called a disk break spreader tool. They sell them in a single or dual pistion spreaders. The concept is simple, and the tool is even easier to use. I normally use a carpenters vice, but this tool would work better. The idea is to spread the pads apart so you can properly insert new pads and have them fit over the rotor.

This one is $9.99
Sears item #00947365000 Mfr. model #47365


This is a dual spreader for $14.99
Sears item #00947061000 Mfr. model #36600SEARS

 

You can find the tool/s at Sears, its called a disk brake spreader tool. They sell them in a single or dual pistion spreaders. The concept is simple, and the tool is even easier to use. I normally use a carpenters vice, but this tool would work better. The idea is to spread the pads apart so you can properly insert new pads and have them fit over the rotor.

This one is $9.99
Sears item #00947365000 Mfr. model #47365


This is a dual spreader for $14.99
Sears item #00947061000 Mfr. model #36600SEARS


Lastly, DON'T EVER

Worse, you can etch the rotor with the corner of the screwdriver... that isn't good. Esp since the right tool is 10 bucks!

 

use channel locks or something to push the piston back into the caliper. make sure to do one side at a time or else it will be much more work.

 

Good job man. Thanks.

 

Use a brake spreader as suggested. Don't EVER attempt to pry the pistons using a rudimentary tool like a screwdriver. That's just plain lunacy. It's well worth the 10$ investment and will come in handy for years.

 

Sorry but I would rather go with factory Brembo pads on this one, even if they're more expensive.
Don't buy a 35k car and cheap out now!

 

what mileage are you at that you have to replace the pads?

 

you would be suprised that every dealer i have worked at i have seen techs use the two screwdriver method on four pot calipers such as the brembos. there is absolutely no harm that will come from a so called etching of a rotor. i have used two screwdrivers plenty of times and have never etched a rotor. all it does is slightly damage the rest of the old pad which you are replacing anyway. if you take your car into a delaer im sure this is the method they will use.

 

well just do your brakes yourself if you are unhappy with that method. most techs dont have time to look for a special tool which they probably wont find anyway.as a flat rate tech that is the fastest method. and that is all that matters in the field. and lastly you pry the pad towards the piston and not on the piston itself.

 

I agree to a point, but seriously -- I beg the day I see a tech spread the pistons with a screwdriver on my car... Then again what do I care? I do them myself.... I've always said "use the right tool for the right job" and this is no exception. For me, I'd rather have it done right rather then a tech trying to pinch a .10th of an hour off the clock, rest assure they don't care, they get paid for their time anyway.

I’m not speaking solely on brakes anymore, but rather general service departments work habits. I think the service department is hard on the techs, which is why they look for shortcuts, this I’m sure increases the volume of cars passing through the department – if it’s a busy one. The obvious observation is more volume equals more revenue... But that's still no excuse for not doing the job right because it COULD cause the service department issues later down the road, and cost the employees his/her job.

I digress, besides there are bigger things to worry about.

 

I used a C-clamp and a block of wood on my Honda, but I'll probably go ahead and get a spreader for this car.

 

all though that may be the method the dealer uses, that may be the method you use, that WON'T be the method i use..... the tool to do this inexpensive. i will have to buy one when my brakes go. all my former cars are fords with single piston calipers (by far the easiest to work with) and i have worked with dual piston calipers (both on the same side of calipier) which was also fairly straight forward. i dint pry against them and i wont pry against my tls brake components. plus your not putting direct straight pressure against the piston (its being pryed at an angle, as the bottoms getting more force then the top) this has the POSSIBILITY (note i said, possibility) of scoring the aluminum walls of those expensive brembo calipers (that would be an expensive mistake)...

dont be a fool, get the right tool

also on the above 2 piston caliper, if you tried to push one piston in at a time the other piston would start to come out (pressure being creadted was enough to push that unhindered piston out. (i ended up putting a piece of wood between them both and using the clamp in the middle of the wood to push them in (at the same time), and since the wood sits flat against the entire face of the piston, this was fine. wouldnt the brembo be the same?

 

149 is inexpensive for a tool? both tools shown above in this thread are inexpensive. but since no one here has worked on a four pot caliper. they are useless. i repeat useless. so for everyone that has jump on me for saying to use a screwdriver i would love for you to show me how you would use those two tools on a brembo 4 pot caliper. they will not fit because there are pistons on both sides of the caliper. redrocket asked fora tip or an alternative to the acura tool and i gave him a free one. it causes no damage at all to the caliper or rotor. as stated in my first post it only damages the old pad which is trash anyway.
for everyone that has not worked on a 4 pot caliper should not have even posted to this thread. you have only given him useless information. red rocket do not buy any of those generic brake tools. they will not work on your application. you can either use the acura tool or two screwdrivers as i have described. red rocket i am a certified acura tech and i also have my ase in brakes. red rocket if you have any other questions just pm an i will be happy to answer them.

 

Know what.... , and redrocket for showing you the incorrect tools. Nick04tl you are absoultly correct I should have not done this. However everything else I said stands.

BUT really, here is the tool you need for the brembo brake, I obviously wasn't thinking clearly.

Its a little more expensive at $35 dollars or so... But still better then the $100+ dollars. Even though I have found some for about $199+...



And of all places I found this one on Amazon. The manufacture of the picture is a Sealey Disc Brake Pad Spreader Tool and seems to be avail in the UK. This tool isused for a 4 piston brake.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...=hi&n=12990801

This one is $199


found at http://shop.store.yahoo.com/eagleday/brmato.html

 

Thanks for the replies.

First, I don't need to replace my pads yet, but just planning in preparation for this maintanence item that I typically take care of myself.

I was suprised by the price of the pads. Apparently, Acura has an exclusive agreement w/ Brembo on the pads, because brake web stores cannot get the Brembo pads for our vehicle.

Tools: I found all of these tools on the internet, but to the point in this thread, the simple and cheap ones will not work for the 4 piston caliper system. The Acura spec tool is design to push all 4 at the same time. The scissor tool looks very thick at the tip and could only push two at a time. When you would push the second set individually, I would expect the first ones to creep back out. I have not tried it, but this is what I predict.

I have the tools and fabrication capability to make a spreader, but I really didn't want to bother if someone else could point me in a direction to get one that has already been design for this caliper system. This caliper design is typical for Brembo, so I figured someone (hopefully Brembo) designed a tool and had it available off the shelf.

Maybe this scissor style tool would work, maybe you just need two of them for a 4 piston system. One my do if you put spacers at the worn position and then a second spacer at the full-in position while you pushed the second piston set in. It may work. I was looking for someone who maybe had figured this out already.

The last tool w/ the link is what I was looking for, but it costs more than the Acura spec tool. It looks to be much faster and much easier to use. It is in fact designed specifically for this 4 piston caliper system. Now we just need to get the price down to about $50.

Thanks again to all.

 

BUMP


It's been a while. Is there anyone that can recommend a good tool to spread the Brembo pistons with?

 

bump

 

Tire Rack lists several brake pad suppliers for the 6MT, and several folks have stated they like the listed Hawk brand for stopping power and reduced dust. There was a post several weeks back showing a brake change by levering the pistons in with the old pads, such that the pad lining faced the rotors and thus preventing scoring. The above cheap tools will not work, since they are not designed for opposed piston calipers.

 

When i had the Passat, the rear brakes really dusted badly, the OEM pads
wore out quickly, VW used a rear brake bias under moderate braking, and soft
pads to prevent noise.

i used PBR/axxis deluxe pads, 1/4 the price of OEM pads, $26.00 a set of 4,
and they were great, almost no dust, long wearing, good bite, and quiet.

I hope they make them for the brembo setup I have.

I dont think it matters how you push the pistons in, using big screwdrivers
between the disk and old pad is not going to hurt anything, the disks
are just big hunks of cast steel, and they dont get hurt easy.

One thing I will never do is just push the pads back in without opening the bleed nipples and letting the old dirty fluid out, not pushing it back into the
abs system.
Many a Jaguar owner with the teeves abs system ruined their abs valves
by pushing fluid back into the system.

I open the bleed nipple, put a hose into a jar, then push the pistons in, allowing
the worst fluid in the system out, then after the new pads are on, I bleed the system with new fluid.

I am VERY fussy about my cars and motorcycles, and have been doing all my own work on everything I own for the last 30 years.

I dont do bodge jobs, and wont ever take my car anyplace for work other than
for tires, because most shops are into doing things fast, not well.
From head work on the Jaguar, transmission/differential repair in the chrysler,
to fuel pump replacement in the passat, I do it all.

I do not have a problem with the screwdriver method, but I DO clean
the disk to hub, and wheel to disk, and coat lightly with high temp disk brake grease, I clean the pistons on the caliper, maybe put a bit of grease under the boot to prevent rust, i use the grease on the back of the pads and on the contact points as it works better than the sticky stuff in stopping noise.

I never get warped disks because the clean and greased bits between the disk and hub, and the disk and the wheel are smooth and true, and the grease helps
cunduct the heat away.
I use a tourque wrench on the lug nuts in a do one skip one pattern.
Most cars take about 80 foot pounds on the lug nuts.

Any shop you go to will just push the old fluid back into the system, slap
new parts on rusty hubs, and do up the lug nuts with an impact wrench to 200 ft pounds, then charge you $600.00 or more.

For the Jaguar, brembo rotors were about $40.00 each.
For the passat, brembo or ate rotors were about $28.00 each.
I dont often re use rotors, at that price, new rotors and pads go on.
Total brake job costs run about $300.00 or less for new rotors and pads
for all 4 wheels, plus the quart of brake fluid.

There is likely not much for the TL yet, and the brembo setup will likely lag
a bit because of the small market, but I expect some of the parts places
to sell the bits, many do great prices, free shipping, and no sales tax.
one place is getcoolparts.com, impex, thepartsbin.com, etc.

Tire rack always had very high prices for brake parts.

Brett

 

you'll prolly want axxis "ultimate" pads for the brembos. MUCH better stopping (cold + hot) than the deluxe, w/ hardly any of the red dust that the metal master had (has?).

not a reco, just a link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MakeTrack=true
or
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ACURA...spagenameZWD1V


more info on the "ultimates":
http://www.stoptech.com/products/hig...nce_pads.shtml
http://www.zeckhausen.com/axxis_pads.htm#Compare

btw, goodridge has stainless lines out now. i'll let u know how they are after i get all the air out of my system...