Brake Dust!?!?!?!?

[paddy]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Thanks. Do you know of any place that has a how-to on the process with pictures? I always figured it was relatively simple enough to do yourself but relectuant because breaks are NOT something you want to screw up. What do you think of running streets on the rear and 1144s on the fronts?

After cleaning my wheels every other day for the past week, I really think I want to do this, it's already annoying after owning the car for only one week.

shedend--hey there, glad to see someone else has the courage to get black & white!

Randy Webb of Webb Motor Sports has a great HOW TO section at his website. I used this thread when I changed my rear brakes about 2 weeks ago. I used this thread as that basis and just skipped the parts I was not going to do. The following weekend I followed this thread when I replaced my brake lines with Stainless Steel brake lines. I then replaced the current fluid brake fluid with ATE Super Blue brake fluid. The blue color really makes it easy to know when the new brake fluid has made it from the master cylinder out to the bleeder value that you are working on.

After you have installed new pads and/or rotors, then you will need to bed them in. The bedding in process that I have used can be found here.


Best of all, my MINI still stops, in fact the pedal feels firmer


I was surprised at how easy these two jobs were, you just need to make sure that you follow the instructions, think about what you are doing, take your time, and double check your work. I had my next door neighbor check my work, just to make sure I had done the work correctly.

It is a great feeling when you take your MINI out for the test drive after you have done some work on it, and it all works as promised. Just remember to take the baby steps and then you get to walk and then run.

[Blue Thunder]

If clean wheels is the main objective, go with the red box. The 1144 have a different compound to give the performance they were designed to do. I'm not certain of any "how to articles" on brakes, however I saw some of the guys in the shop taking photos of that project a few weeks ago, maybe they are putting something together.

[jwardell]

Quote: Originally Posted by paddy

Randy Webb of Webb Motor Sports has a great HOW TO section at his website. I used this thread when I changed my rear brakes about 2 weeks ago. I used this thread as that basis and just skipped the parts I was not going to do.

Thanks for the links.
I'm still kinda iffy about it. Especially not having brakes while backing out of my driveway and going a mile on local roads till I can get on a highway where I would be able to do the bedding in.
It says use jackstands etc. Can't I just do it by jacking up one wheel at a time?

Moss has mintex pads slightly cheaper than promini. Are they the same redbox? They don't say, but they don't offer any others.
http://www.mossmini.com/Shop/ViewPro...eIndexID=36696

[paddy]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwardell

Thanks for the links.
I'm still kinda iffy about it. Especially not having brakes while backing out of my driveway and going a mile on local roads till I can get on a highway where I would be able to do the bedding in.
It says use jackstands etc. Can't I just do it by jacking up one wheel at a time?

Moss has mintex pads slightly cheaper than promini. Are they the same redbox? They don't say, but they don't offer any others.
http://www.mossmini.com/Shop/ViewPro...eIndexID=36696

I had the same concern when I worked on my brakes. After bleeding them, putting the wheels back on, I did the initial check in my garage & driveway. The pedal felt as firm as it did before I started. I then drove slowly down my street checking the brakes about four times. Then drove out to the local deserted road and followed the bedding in process. When I had finished to high speed part my brakes were smoking and you could tell that they had been used.

If all you are doing is swapping out the OEM pads for the Mintex Red Box pads, then following the instructions from Webb Motor Sports and you should not have any problems. Changing just the pads, does require you bleed the brakes, since the fluid part of the brake system remains untouched.

Yes you can do it by jacking it up and doing only one wheel at a time. By the way you phrased the question, I am going to assume that you were going to use the jack that came with your MINI. That is NOT, repeat, NOT a good idea. Use a floor jack. I purchased mine from Wal-mart. It came with a floor jack, 2 jack stands, 2 wheel chocks, and a carrying bag, cost $30.00, tax included. Since I only have two jack stands, I used two cinder blocks and some wood to keep one end of the MINI off the ground. One of the reason to have all four wheels off the MINI, is so that you can look to the other side to make sure that you have put the brake back together correctly.

Remember, SAFETY FIRST and ALWAYS. A suggestion, have a friend come over and help/watch/supervise.

[Blue Thunder]

Yes you can do it by jacking it up and doing only one wheel at a time. By the way you phrased the question, I am going to assume that you were going to use the jack that came with your MINI. That is NOT, repeat, NOT a good idea. Use a floor jack. I purchased mine from Wal-mart. It came with a floor jack, 2 jack stands, 2 wheel chocks, and a carrying bag, cost $30.00, tax included. Since I only have two jack stands, I used two cinder blocks and some wood to keep one end of the MINI off the ground. One of the reason to have all four wheels off the MINI, is so that you can look to the other side to make sure that you have put the brake back together correctly.

Auto Shop 101: Never use cinder blocks to support a vehicle. Cinder blocks are very brittle, and a sharp blow fron a car dropping will cause them to crumble. Your best choice is a jack stand, second is maybe some wood blocks, but not stacked, since when the car drops it will usually topple the blocks. Always lift on a flat level surface, never start the car while it is in the air. Leave the jack in possition with the jack stands in place, sine the jack is a back up for the stands if they tip over.
I would also keep the "little helpers" out of the garage since they like to get under, in and out of the car while dad is working.

[paddy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Auto Shop 101: Never use cinder blocks to support a vehicle. Cinder blocks are very brittle, and a sharp blow fron a car dropping will cause them to crumble. Your best choice is a jack stand, second is maybe some wood blocks, but not stacked, since when the car drops it will usually topple the blocks. Always lift on a flat level surface, never start the car while it is in the air. Leave the jack in possition with the jack stands in place, sine the jack is a back up for the stands if they tip over.
I would also keep the "little helpers" out of the garage since they like to get under, in and out of the car while dad is working.

I agree, keep the little ones out of the work area and leaving the jack raised as a secondary/backup stand.

I used a cinder block as a base, with a 2x4 on the top, and then gently lowered the MINI so that it came to rest at the lift point.