How to Change your front pads by a VOLVO tech

First post here, but I think I can help you guys out. Last time I had my speed3 up on the rack with the wheels off, I noticed the front calipers appear to be the same as the front Volvo XC-90 calipers. Well I happen to be a Volvo tech.

Remove brake fluid reservoir cap. Wrap a rag around it in case fluid comes out.

Break free lugs.

Jack car up and place on stands. (don't be stupid, chock wheels etc for safety)

Remove wheel.

In order to get the caliper off you first need to remove the spring. To do this you must pry between the middle of the spring, and the small metal plate that is attatched to the outer pad.

Once the center clip pops out you just wiggle and fanangle the spring out.

Now you must press back the piston. I use either a small pry bar and/or BIG channel locks.

Once the piston is pushed back partially you can remove the 2 slider pins the hold the caliper. These should be covered with black caps. I believe they are a 7mm allen.

Now remove and hang the caliper. Finish pressing in the piston with channel locks.

Remove the pads.

Paste/lube the backing plate of the brake pads and slider pins.

Install new pads.

Put caliper back on bracket. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN. Very very snug is good. Maybe 30-50 ft/lbs.

Finangle spring back on.(This is the fun part) This is very important. It will hold in the outer pad.

Install wheel.

DON'T FORGET TO PUMP THE BRAKES BEFORE DRIVING!!!

Congradulations you just changed your brake pads! (yippy)

everything is good but the "finangle" part. I have lost a lot of blood trying to get my front pads out. I have had a nice set of red stuff pads in the garage for almost a year now. You wouldnt be able to post up picks of removing the spring would you? And then getting it back on? That thing is evil!

It may take a while. Right now I have my se-r on my jack stands. I'll see what I can do for ya.

Well I was bored so I went out and took some pictures.







slider pins are behind black plastic caps if you can make it out.


and some pics of the nissan cause I'm bored

man, I had a 97 SE-R, is the 95 OBD II?

Yes it is. It put down that power at 14 psi. The turbo is a gt2871r with the .86 housing. It was good for another 8-10 lbs of boost. It's being parted out now.

That is EXTREMELY helpful!

Sorry to awaken such an old thread but, you have to partially depress the piston before removing the slider pins? Do you just use a flat head or something?

Also, do you use and allen tool or a spar tool to remove the slider pins. Any idea on the size? Thanks!

A 7mm allen hex will remove the slider pins behind the black plastic caps...they need 19-22 ft/lbs of torque when replacing. To push back the piston, remove the brake fluid filler cap. If you want to ease things, put your brake bleeder hose on the bleeder with it in your bleed bottle and crack it open when you try to push the piston back. Tighten it when the piston is back obviously.

Techniques for the piston..loosen the slider pins a bit so the caliper has some play..sometimes you can wiggle the caliper left/right to get the piston back a bit...with that amount of space between the inner pad and rotor, you can insert a stout screwdriver between the pad and rotor placing the tip of the screwdriver close to the inner surface of the rotor so you don't mar it when you apply pressure to the pad surface and push the piston back( the cracking the bleeder screw will help prevent this). This will gouge the pad a bit so hopefully you are replacing them. HarborFreight sells a piston depressor which will do things without taking a chance on gouging things. If you can wiggle the caliper/piston back some with the caliper pins loosened, the pads will usually have enough slack so you can remove the pins and remove the caliper and pads so you can then push back the piston with a clearer view. With the caliper in hand and the old pads out, you can use the C clamp technique to fully depress the piston or your nifty new HF tool. Clean off the scum/brake dust from piston seal and areas where the pads slide with a tooth brush and some brake cleaner, place a small block of wood over the piston if using the C clamp..distributes the force more evenly rather than putting the clamp in the recess of the piston to avoid cocking the piston.

Mark that spring you have to pry off so you replace in the same configuration..you can put it back in backwards, inside out actually. Clean off the caliper slide pins and a light wire brush or 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper...lube some moly grease or teflon spray if you have it. Antiseize will work but isn't really a lubricant.

If you want a car that stops incredibly well, put Carbotech XP8 (part # CT915) on the front...they are dust producing as heck but the stuff is not corrosive so it just means more cleaning. You really need new rotors so they bond well..if you take off the caliper mount (2 bolts, 75-83 ft/lbs), the rotor will pop off sometimes with a little help from a deadblow hammer if corroded. If you clean the old rotors really well with steel wool and detergent you can get away with using them. Since the Carbotech pads are really friendly to the rotors, a new set of cheap blanks will do fine..I have a guy who sells cheap blanks, all 4, for around $160 !! shipped. They are Chinese but have worked great for my MS3 and other cars, including a track car. The Carbotech's have a warning about not being for the Street because of dust/noise but the noise is nil if you bed them in correctly and if you have new or really clean old rotors. Even cold the pads are great..one stop in the morning and they are set to go. The difference in stopping power and modulation will put a smile on your face ! The buggers are expensive ($168) but worth it if you want a car that stops,

Have fun,

Craig
TrakMed

Is the method you describe for pushing the piston back in performed while the caliper is still mounted? My plan was to remove the slider pins, pull the caliper off, then take the pads out. Then I would use THIS tool to push the piston back in before reinstalling the caliper with new pads. Do I need to remove more than the two slider pin bolts to remove the caliper?

Also, the way you described this job above makes it seem like the caliper won't come off without depressing the piston a little. Am I missing something? Thanks for your patience.

The pads don't reach all the way to the edge of the rotor so as they wear, the rotor gets a small ridge that the fully compressed pad won't slide over if you try to take the pads out with the piston NOT depressed a bit. No, all you need to remove are the 2 slide pins for the caliper pad carrier to come off. Again, you loosen the pins so the pad carrier can be wobbled in and out, that should depress the piston enough so the pads have enough slack to jump that aforementioned ridge. If you had a new rotor with new pads, the caliper would come off with no problem.

Ohhhh ok!! I know what you are talking about now. I have seen the ridge during my brake inspections. So basically you where just pointing out that you have to maneuver the pads around that ridge.

Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate your help.

Now I have to decide if I want to get new rotors or not. I am putting in Hawk pads and my rotors are still within thickness specs.

Any reason why you can't remove the bottom slider pin and loosen the top one then rotate the caliper up and remove the brake pads that way?

If you look at the way the pads/caliper are setup, you'll see that the caliper can't describe that arc with the pads in place. If your rotors are happy as far as no real deep grooves (doubtful they have them unless you let a pad get down to the backing plate) and the brake pedal doesn't pulsate suggesting they are warped, just give them a nice rub down on both sides with 600 grit sandpaper and dish detergent. If you have a drill with some Scotch brand scuffing pads and feel like taking the rotor off, you can give them a nice nondirectional buff job, overkill but the rotors look nice and the new pads will bed better.

If my rotors look like they need turning, I opt for new rotors rather than using a thinner turned rotor...you'd be surprised how many shops use worn lathes and carbide tips so the resultant rotors end up out of spec anyway.

Thought I'd ask the question. Thanks for the info.

My rotors look good to me and the thickness is within spec so I plan on keeping them. I'm with you on turning rotors, i'd rather get new ones.

RichB..one thing I forgot to add. Remove the clip holding the brake line to the strut so you can give the brakeline more slack. Allows you to line up the caliper with the new full thickness pads for easier insertion. With the line secured, it cocks the brake caliper just enough so you have to push and shove while inserting causing you to chew up the edges of the new pads which bothers us anal retentives !

Thanks for pointing that out. I guess you can tell by all my questions that I am a perfectionist when it comes to my car

fasteract said:

anal retentives !

Click to expand...

(2thumbs) Clap! clap!

I found someone else who knows it isn't just "anal"!

Just replaced my front pads and it went well. Wiggling the caliper until the piston is pushed in enough to pull the assembly off is a key piece of information. I forgot to un-clip the brake line on the first caliper but remembered on the second. It was a hug difference when putting the new pads back on.

Also, the Harbor Freight brake tool is also a godsend! I suggest everyone pick one of those up. It will also make a hug difference with the rear brakes pad change as well since you need to rotate the piston while pushing it in.

I noticed when I was finished replacing the pads that my brake fluid reservoir overflowed. I had to siphon some of it out so it was level with the "FULL" line. Is this normal?

Pics of said brake tool from Harbor Freight?

Hank3 said:

Pics of said brake tool from Harbor Freight?

Click to expand...

Harbor Freight Brake Caliper Tool