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Keep in mind that brakes are a very important safety item on your vehicle. Do not try this advice unless you are already comfortable with this sort of maintenance work. And of course, read on at your own risk.
My girlfriend and I changed out the rear pads on her Cooper S last night, and I thought I'd share a couple of tips.
It is possible to remove the brakepads from the caliper without completely removing the caliper from the carrier. First use a screwdriver to remove the retaining spring that goes across the caliper on the outboard side. Then remove the plastic cap from the upper caliper pin (there are two round plastic caps on the inboard side of the caliper, hard to miss). Inside you will find a 7mm allen head. Remove, using a 7mm male allen socket and wrench. Once it comes out about 1/2 an inch (the length of the threads) you can pull it out by hand. These "pins" are what the caliper rides on. Once the top one is removed, you can tilt the caliper towards the back of the car and down to reach the pads. This may require the use of a pry bar or large flathead screwdriver. Once you can reach the pads, wiggle them out and wiggle in the new pads.
If you don't want to spend $150 on a tool from Mini, you can, with much effort and patience, twist the caliper pistons back into place to allow clearance of the new pads with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Remove the cap to your master cylinder (under hood, driver's side, where the brake fluid goes) and then spread the pliers and place the tips inside two of the four holes in the caliper piston. Then press in and turn clockwise. This is not easy, but with patience and perserverece you can get the caliper piston to retract enough to tilt it back into place over the new pads.
Now simply replace the caliper pin and retaining spring. You should probably get some brake lubricant and clean and re-lube the pin before replacing, your call. In total, the job took us about 1 /2 hours.
Good luck and happy motoring!
Cheers,
Brian
My girlfriend and I changed out the rear pads on her Cooper S last night, and I thought I'd share a couple of tips.
It is possible to remove the brakepads from the caliper without completely removing the caliper from the carrier. First use a screwdriver to remove the retaining spring that goes across the caliper on the outboard side. Then remove the plastic cap from the upper caliper pin (there are two round plastic caps on the inboard side of the caliper, hard to miss). Inside you will find a 7mm allen head. Remove, using a 7mm male allen socket and wrench. Once it comes out about 1/2 an inch (the length of the threads) you can pull it out by hand. These "pins" are what the caliper rides on. Once the top one is removed, you can tilt the caliper towards the back of the car and down to reach the pads. This may require the use of a pry bar or large flathead screwdriver. Once you can reach the pads, wiggle them out and wiggle in the new pads.
If you don't want to spend $150 on a tool from Mini, you can, with much effort and patience, twist the caliper pistons back into place to allow clearance of the new pads with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Remove the cap to your master cylinder (under hood, driver's side, where the brake fluid goes) and then spread the pliers and place the tips inside two of the four holes in the caliper piston. Then press in and turn clockwise. This is not easy, but with patience and perserverece you can get the caliper piston to retract enough to tilt it back into place over the new pads.
Now simply replace the caliper pin and retaining spring. You should probably get some brake lubricant and clean and re-lube the pin before replacing, your call. In total, the job took us about 1 /2 hours.
Good luck and happy motoring!
Cheers,
Brian
