I'm going to sound like a woman for asking this, but how difficult a job is this? I've looked at websites, for pads, and they all have an extra 200mm odd of a wire attached to the pads? Is this normal, can someone who can follow instructions do this job, without much difficulty.. I'm a student i cant afford for fiat to keep changing my pads every year..

wire will be for wear sensor, if you dont have wear sensor just cut wire off, it be easy job

Stripped and cleaned my calipers on the motorbike a week ago and was relatively easy, can't imagine it is that much more difficult for a car, but I've never changed the pads on a car before. You'll probably need some copper grease to ensure the things don't seize up between servicing. I think some sort of caliper windback tool is required on the rear calipers. Would be nice to do a how to tutorial for the site.

just done my pads today, very easy. first take off the brake fluid cap off then as you take the wheel off you will see 2 bolts on the inside of you caliper. turn the wheel so you can gain access, and take them out. then the middle of the caliper will come free, (you will have to support this with something as it will not rest on the floor) just prise out the pads carefully. not moving the clips. put new pads in. and the hardest thing of all is to push back the piston, i used a peice of wood and a hammer just levering it back not hitting it. then offer the middle of the caliper back up as it was before and fix the bolts back. very easy. oh and were some gloves its very messy.
my pads are ebc they were only 20 quid, not bad i thought.

hope this helps

If you are unsure or unqualified dont touch your brakes. Whilst mechanically they are very simple, they are also easy to contaminate and fit incorrectly. If you dont want to use a dealer try a tyre retailer.

I have to say that an unsure unqualified owner is probably safer working on their brakes than the muppets working in most fiat dealers and tyre/exhaust/battery/brakes centres.

I can assure you I am dangerously unqualified and since there is no haynes manual I find my own way around the car. Changed discs and pads this week less than an hours work and car stops better than ever. Will only get better as they bed in.

Gotta ask, does the stilo have wear indicators on the pads? Just had the beast serviced and the guy reckoned they had about 3000 miles more wear but said they had wear indicators therefore to change them when the car tells me too. A garage that has some sense, a novalty.

Good to see Braden that you admit to being dangerous On a serious point though, brakes should not be repaired or replaced by anybody who has to ask a forum how to do it. Also going back to the first post, WHY do you need new brakes every year?

Disclaimer: if you work on your brakes or any aspect of your car and it goes horribly wrong, I am in no way responsible. If in any doubt get yourself down to your local dealer and get them to carry out the work for you. They know what you are doing, you don't.

Too late TPF you have already given information that can be used against you in a court of law, lol. Seriously though, if you read Rothwells thread, he removes the brake fluid cap, but doesnt tell you to put it back on, if you followed his instructions you would eventually lose your brake fluid and lose your brakes. Claims direct here we come!!! We live in a world where common sense is optional and where you have to think about the legal position before you give advice. The most common thoughts going through a DET's mind when being asked by a customer how to do something is "does this person know what he/she is doing?, Should he/she be attempting this?" Personally I wont give advice on brakes at all, if someone has to ask then they dont have any business repairing something that can kill themselves and others.

i trust doing it myself rather than the fiat dealer that dont do wheel nut up after, and the tyre places that also dont do wheel nuts up.

I'll happily attempt to do things like this but I'm not to bad at basic mechanical work however there are some people that should never attempt any sort of mechanics! I guess a case of know your limits. There were some good stories in the latest copy of Bike about a bloke that blew his garage up after using a screwdriver to seal a fuel line...unfortunately it fell out and filled is garage with fuel. Another about someone who hacksawed through the cam chain because they didn't know what is was.

I would encoruage people to try to do some basic work on their cars like checking the oil level, visual checks for fluid as recommended in the manual, might make the difference between getting them repaired or ignoring that grinding sound until the next service and having the brakes fail just when you need them. Visually checking the wear on the pads without picking up a screwdriver is better than ignoring them.

Everyone has got to start somewhere but always work with someone that knows what they are doing. If in any doubt you are much better taking the car to a dealer or mechanic who will know what they are doing. If you can't afford a dealer a local garage will replace the pads for you at a much lower cost, just be aware of warrenty issues.

I'll go along with the "Don't mess with brakes if you don't know what you're doing".

I would say don't wait for the brake pad warnig light to tell you when they need changing. The wear sensor is only on one or two pads at most and they don't necessarily wear down evenly. The sensor wire/s can easily break as they're very thin(one stone hit will do the job) or the connector can become detached.

A sticking piston for instance would wear one pad out before the others became anywhere near the limit. Periodic visual checks I'd recommend.



Oh Yeah! THAT'S where that split pin was meant to go!

Pads are a bit worn on that one
Also try checking the tracking :bang:

Good to see a Fiat Tech with a sense of humour

Don't bank on the wear indicator, it may never come on. They often don't. Your right foot and your ears should let you know when a change is near due.

Now having said my brakes were better than ever, they are now getting rather hot uner heavy braking, too hot i'd say.

Anyone else experienced grooved discs getting too hot and fading?

What make?

So how can i know when my pads need changing??? I've had a look see and quite frankly i can't tell by looking at them. If i can't count on the wear sensor shall i just count on Fiat spotting it when i take it in????????

Dont quote me on this but if your dealer cannot/will not check your brakes for free, a free brake check is normally advertised by most tyre companies. Most of them will give measurements of their findings. The minimum brake pad thickness for MOT is 1mm, most garages would recommend 2mm as the thinner the pad the faster it heats up and you have more chance of brake fade being an issue. Most disc brakes on fiats do not require wheel removal to check so I would hope a dealer would check them FOC.

NumanR said:

What make?

Click to expand...

Black diamond discs and black diamond pads.