Xantia rear brake pads

[froggy]

Hi, Xantia [ 1997 T.D.] just passed its mot. Advisory; rear brake brake pads soon need replacing. I have never done the job before, so, is it easy? what tools do I need ? many thanks in advance .
Terry .

[CitroJim]

Terry, the job is dead easy if the pads are evenly worn and there's no signs of the caliper running at an angle to the disc.

To get the old pads out all you need is a couple of 8mm ring spanners to undo the through bolt the disc pads rest on and a large screwdriver.

Remove the through-bolt (I recommend a small application of Plus gas on it and a wire-brush) and the metal pad cover and then gently retract the caliper pistons slightly with a large screwdriver. Pull the old pads out and replace. Reassembly is a reversal of and so on... Mind the orientation of any anti-rattle shims you may find between the piston and pad.


Look at the old disc pads. If they're worn true then no worries. If they're worn at all wedge-shaped then you have the old corrosion behind the caliper problem and that can be fun...

Let us know what the old pads look like...

[Xaccers]

very easy, get the car on high, put axle stands under the rear jacking points, slacken the wheel nuts a tiny bit, set the car on low and switch off once settled, the rear wheels will now be up off the ground and you'll have plenty of space to safely work.
take the wheels off, the pads are held in by a bolt that also holds their dust sheild and spring in, remove the bolt, slide out the old pads (you may have to use a screwdriver etc to lilt them enough to push the pistons back in a bit).
use a small wire brush to clean up the old brake dust where the new pads are going.
use a flat screwdriver etc to push the pistons back in.
now get your head under the wheel arch and look down on the caliper, look to see that the disc is in line with the edges of the caliper, ie not at an angle, also check the pads aren't wearing at an angle.
if they are you have a limescale like build up between the caliper and the arm. this is the tricky job but it must be done other wise eventually the brakes won't work.
you'll need to remove the two caliper bolts from each caliper and depending on how much limescale there is they may snap, if you're lucky the heads will snap off, if not the shaft will meaning they'll need drilling out of the arm. I was lucky and Cassy's came out no problem. It might be worth buying a set of bolts and fitting them.
you can use the brake pad retaining bolt to keep the two halves of the caliper together and you won't lose much lhm. you can do it without needing to unscrew the brake pipe if you're very careful, but don't bend/twist it too much, otherwise use a 8mm (if memory serves) flare spanner to remove it.
with the caliper off, chip away the limescale from it and the arm, i then use a wire brush to finish it off.
grease up the face and re-fit which will hopefully delay the build up of new limescale.
slip the new pads in, and job done.
might be worth also giving them a bleed to gauge what state the oldest lhm in the system is, if it's dark brown/red then definitiely needs changing and probably a hydroflush.

[froggy]

Thanks guys. I will send some pictures of the pads, thanks again,
Terry .

[addo]

There's a copper grease sold by Wurth, it's called CU800 and it is substantially more waterproof and temperature resistant than other copper greases. A 100g tube will be about £12-15 but it's unbeatable for applications like the caliper to arm contact area.

Once you've used this product, you'll have difficulty going back to cheaper copper greases.