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Help! Missing something simple?

Hi all,

Car: 97 Jetta, 135,000 miles, F/R disk brakes, no ABS.

Time for a full brake job (pads and rotors all the way around), and being a bit handy, thought I would do it myself. Picked up a cheap Chilton manual as I expected it to be fairly simple.....a friend had done it before on his car and agreed it was straight forward.

Did the fronts, no issues.

Got to the back, and got everything disassembled per the manual - caliper off, pads out, E-brake cable disengaged. Here's the snag. How to compress the piston? The manual mentions screwing the piston in, but it will neither turn or compress like the front did. Unclear how to proceed.....is there something I am over-looking? Is there something else to be done with the E-brake? Do I have to bleed the fluid or something?

Also noticed all the wear on the inner pad, which I found others have mentioned here. Thanks for that info!

Thanks for any help.

Reply to
mcorippo
Loading thread data ...

.........OK, did more searching with better criteria, and found this:

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That should be a big help! While I am here, one more thing....

While taking the rear pads out, two very small shim-like pieces of metal fell out. Less than an inch long, kinda T shaped. No mention of them in the manual. Where do they fit back in?

Reply to
mcorippo

You can sometimes rent/borrow a tool like this

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allows you to rotate the rear brake caliper pistons while pressing it back into the caliper. Now are those shims or guides for the rear pads? Look carefully on the other side to see where they go.

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

Anti-squeal shims.... after-market pad-makers sometimes include them with the pads, VW purchased their pads from many makers, some with/ some without. Use the goop and ignore the shim.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

Reply to
pfjw

Bingo! I got that same kit from a local Autozone. It's free...you just leave a deposit (I forget but it was about $35 or $40), use the tool, bring it back, 100% refundable deposit. Made the rear brake job on my Eurovan pretty painless.

Reply to
Matt B.

Great, thanks for the info and tips all. Appreciate it.

OK, I th =B7 Integral shim delivers quiet, high performance operation

So, does that mean I can leave the old shims out? What about goop/ grease? Should I still use some? No mention of it on the box, no instructions at all. Worst case is the squeak and I have to insert the shims or grease later.......right?

I left the front shims in. That's OK, right......no issues with the "Integrated" shims?

Thanks again!!

Reply to
mcorippo

For those playing along at home......

Got the piston screwed back in, it was just very sticky and hard to get started, turned OK after a few cranks.

Ran into a show stopper though; one of the studs/pins that lets the caliper float was completely seized. Tried to turn it, tap it, put some break free on it. Nothing. Won't budge. That explains all the wear on the inner pad, which lead to running down to the rivet and trashing the rotor when all the rest of the pads were still at least

50%.

I reassembled with the old gear, and will take it to the shop to do the rears. Oh well, I still learned alot and will be ready for the next pad change.

Thanks again to all for the assistance!

Reply to
mcorippo

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