engine and drivetrain Found another similarity between an '02 and and E30...the sa

[Guest Anonymous]

idiot engineer who placed the '02 brake adjusters behind the suspension arms so they can only be adjusted with an open end wrench also placed the rear brake caliper bolts on an E30 so they can only be removed with a box wrench--1/8 turn at a time! What a PITA.

Spent my afternoon messing with winter car's brakes instead of sanding/painting my refurbished '02 suspension arms.

But at least I got to get my hands dirty--doesn't happen often in mid-winter Ohio with no heated garage!

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[Guest Anonymous]

Remove the sliding caliper portion (the two 7mm Allen pin/bolts) first, then you can reach the two 17mm bolts holding the carrier bracket onto the trailing arm easily with a regular 17mm socket and ratchet.

Much easier than trying to take the whole caliper+bracket off all at once.

[Guest Anonymous]

I seem to recall that if you remove the sliding portion of the caliper you will get much more room to attack the caliper bolt with conventional ratchet / socket combo. I *think* it's the rubber hose that gets in the way - no?

Paul

FWIW - reaching 850i rear brakes are WORSE!

[Guest Anonymous]

17mm head bolts. In fact, it's alot harder to replace the pads if you take off the caliper + bracket as an assembly.

Just pop off the small round plastic plugs that cover the allen head "slider" bolts, and use your 7mm(?) allen socket to remove the caliper from the caliper bracket, then replace the pads + reinstall the caliper. If you do need to remove the caliper bracket from the trailing arm- you can easily do it once the caliper is off OR you can use a 17mm socket on a short extension (to clear the brake line obstruction) and take them off together. (I just did this yesterday- pulling a spare caliper for a SpecE30 racecar that had a problem at the track)....

Bret.

[Guest Anonymous]

I also had to remove the rotor to chisel the rust off it (think I'm gonna have to replace all four rotors)...didn't realize the calipers split like that. Next time I'll know what to do. And yes, I do have a Bentley manual--just didn't read it first! Thought I knew how. Not!

Cheers

Mike