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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

DIY Brake Pad change


Doughie
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OK Got my new Porterfield R4S carbon-kevlar brake pads the other day.

 

Is it easy to change brake pads yourself ?    I had a look at the front-wheel caliper/pads and it looks fairly straightforward etc.     Has anyone done it before ?     Are the rear's the same as the fronts ?

 

Do the two metal pins that slide through the metal backing plates simply slide out easily once you’re taken off all the metal clips ?

And do I need to use some copper-grease or something on the pins before I reassemble to make sure the pins don’t stick ?

 

any other tips / pointers ?

 

TIA

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Makes sense to do a full-set.   Otherwise if you only change, say, the fronts, then you are going to adversely affect the brake balance of the car.  

In racing parlance, almost all race cars have a brake bias control in the car which changes the allocation of the braking pressure front / rear.      Too much at the front and you tend to lock-up the fronts, too much at the rear and you lock up the rears on corner entry which means you're likely to spin it on entry.

 

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That's what I suspected.

 

I have a feeling that the pins are prone to rusting and ceasing, if fact someone recently on the big list was investigating getting S/Steel pins made up to alleviate the problem but no one appeared too interested.

 

Do they do a brake refurb kit for the UK Spec Supra anyone?

 

regards......

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It's easy to change the pads, and I would replace the pins at the same time. There are 2 in each front and one in each rear (from memory) so that's 6 pins in all. I always put a thin layer of copper grease on the pins and on the pad backs.

 

Plus, when you remove the old pads, give the whole assembly a good spray with brake cleaner to get rid of all the gunk that settles around the piston area. Check the seals aren't cracked as a duff seal can quickly lead to a rusted, seized piston - which is very expensive compared to the cost of the seal/piston kit.

 

Yours,

J

 

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... and I make sure the pad is free to move across the whole of its potential travel; this ensures no surprise sticking pads after a few months wear.

It's typical to find a low spot where the pads have been sitting for a while and new pads (with their nice thick coat of paint) will not traverse the whole range.

 

Flat the internal calliper sides witha fine file and smear a *thin* layer of Copper grease on that surface.

 

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