Brake Pads Change Failure!

[TSPORDIMSTER]

Hi guys

My car failed its MOT on saturday due to my front pads being to low so today i bought some new ones & thought i'd save myself some money by doing it myself.

After taking the wheels off i've noticed the small bolts for the caliper have been rounded off so its impossible to undo the bolt and i tried undoing the bigger bolts and there just smoothing off aswell p*****g me off big time.

I've had to except defeat with this now so just phoned the garage to let them do it before the retest on wednesday and its going to cost 51 pound just to change the pads which i'm supplying. Is that price about right these days or are they ripping me off?

[man-bing]

I would say that you have 10 working days if you have the retest done at the same place where you originally got it MOT'ed first time, as i had a prob with mine on my last MOT.

Anyway, it's about right on the quote for the pads, but odd with the extra £1, why couldn't they just round it to the nearest £10

The last time i got a garage to change my pads, think it was either £100 or £120 all in and i thought that was high, but since then, i changed the pads myself.

Hopefully if the garage changes the rounded bolt head for a new one, you can do it yourself in the future.

[TSPORDIMSTER]

Ha Ha Yeah i know abit of a mad price, The garage is known for being a bit of a rip off but its the only one for miles so have no choice but to take it there.

By the way I no it sounds stupid but can you stll drive the car once its failed if the retest is booked in a garage or can you only drive it on the day

Thanks

[farhanali89]

if the bolt is rounded off....why dont you try get a socket thats a bit smaller....tap it on so it gets stuck on and use a breaker bar to undo it i had to do it all the time, dont know what screws and bolts toyota use but i have had to buy so many new fastners etc because the bolts rust quick time and also are so weak they snap.

[TSPORDIMSTER]

I did try a smaller one but to be honest dint want to make it worst but if its going to save me 50 quid then i might give it another go - Are the bolt for the this hard to get hold of to replace or are they just normal bolts from a diy shop?

Sorry if i sound dim just not had much experience doing repairs on cars.

thanks

[farhanali89]

they are general bolts but i would get them from toyota again, use toyodiy.com to locate the part numbers and bolts.

I understand they are not the best but on your time frame your dealer can probably be quicker to deliver than to go to individual stores to find the right bolt and size. Also its part of the brakes so its best to use the proper parts.

Inspect your brake slider pins aswell give them a bit of greasing. You could save the 50 but failing that if you make more of a mess atleast the garage can still sort it out for that price and you have the new bolts to give them. They will have better techniques to use to remove the bolts. But give it a go yourself Just spray with penetration fluid (wd40) first leave it for a little wile and come back and try it. Knock a smaller socket on by hammering the next size down onto it so its on solid. Then attach your breaker bar and undo that bugger!

Worst comes to worst the garage will get it out by welding another bolt onto it or using a different method so give it a go if you can ;)

[TSPORDIMSTER]

Yeah true got nothing to lose really

I'm going to give it ago as soon as this rain stops but thanks alot for your help,

i'll keep u posted if i manage to do it

Thanks

[Norfolk n Chance]

I had a similar problem when i changed mine... i used the same technique as Farhan described above.... plenty of WD40 then a smaller socket...

Job done and no costly garage trip!

[man-bing]

By the way I no it sounds stupid but can you stll drive the car once its failed if the retest is booked in a garage or can you only drive it on the day

Depending on what has failed on your MOT, they should tell you how much time your allowed, before you have to do another full MOT test.

Retest can only be done at where you originally had the MOT done in the first place, not somewhere else like a chain of garages (eg. kwik fit)

I persume if its something simple and they can do it themselves then your allowed a day, if it more costly, like mine was, then 10days.

I'm sure someone here can give you more details or even try HERE

Bing

[TSPORDIMSTER]

I got da !Removed! nuts off thanks to me brother in law on the case with his better quality socket set and tools(& determination) but wasn't easy the nuts were so tight thought they were going to snap!

Anyways the pads are replaced now so saved myself some notes Just thought I'd do a reply to say thanks for the help and advice today your top guys

[farhanali89]

;) good job

[-T- Sport]

TSPORDIMSTER...

What colour CTS do you have and do you ever venture through Runcorn?

I saw a pre-facelift with Black (I think) alloys on Thursday last week which I've never seen knocking around before...

[nrgizerbunny]

if you can't adopt the small socket root, i would hacksaw through the pins, then replace them with new bolts too. although that will cost you £20 for new pins i think.