Fitting Xantia Activa Front Discs and Pads

[chrisjvm]

Hello All,
I'm getting my Activa back on the road and have just purchased front discs and pads to get it through the MOT.
Just wanted to know if its a straightforward job for a very amateur mechanic or are there any pitfalls/difficulties that I'm likely to encounter... Also are there any special tools I will need?

Thanks

Chris

[Xaccers]

Same as the rest of the Xantias. Get her up on high, put axle stands under the front jacking points, slacken the wheel nuts a bit and put her on low so the front wheels lift off the ground for ease of access and safety.
Remove the wheels and release the hand brake.
Use a pair of grips to rotate the handbrake arm on the calliper and a pair of pliers to pull the end of the hand brake cable out, then feed it back out of the calliper and out the way.
Pull the R clip out from the retaining pin along the bottom front of the calliper and tap the pin out so you can lift up the front of the calliper and remove the old pads.
The disc is held in place by two torx screws (unless they're missing) and they may be rusted in place. If they are, drill the heads off so you can remove the disc (hence why they might be missing).
Fit the new discs and wind back the piston clockwise applying pressure as you do. You can find a proper wind back tool on ebay, or use one of the old pads, a flat bladed screwdriver, a flat file, flat metal bar etc.
Fit the new pads, drop the calliper back into place, knock in the pin and don't forget the R clip.
Re-fit the hand brake cable (check it for rust in case you'll need to replace it soon) and refit the wheel.
Repeat for the other side.
Start the car (with the wheels on, you don't want the hubs moving without the wheel bolts in place to hold the discs firmly) and hold your foot on the brake pedal. Repeat several times for the pistons to work their way out and up against the pads.

While the car's on axle stands it might be worth getting under it behind the engine and giving the height corrector and roll corrector linkages a good spray with grease.

Then car up on high, out with the axle stands and as you've got them, you might want to put them under the rear jacking points to get under the back and lube the rear height corrector linkages.

[RichardW]

Xac's covered it pretty well, but an Activa may be fitted with the bigger Bosch brakes, which have a bolt in the bottom rather than the pin mentioned. It's worth proceeding as follows for the discs - remove the discs screws before the pads etc and see if the discs will come off the hubs easily. If not, then after the screws are out, start the engine, engage 2nd let the clutch in, then progressively stand on the brakes. One side will let go (with a loud bang!). Stick a couple of wheel bolts in this side, repeat the operation, and the other side will come free. You need a T55 and decent breaker bar to get the caliper bolts out - they can be tight / stiff - make sure you hammer the T55 in well before trying to undo them, as stripping them is not good....!

[chrisjvm]

Fantastic. XAC & RichardW.. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain so thoroughly.

[RichardW]

You need, of course, to confirm which brakes are fitted before getting the parts in - if you post up the last 8 digits of the VIN, I can confirm.

An important step I forgot - thorougly clean the mating face of the hub with sandpaper before fitting the new discs - this ensures they do not run out of true.

[addo]

Good catch; this is seriously underrated.

[chrisjvm]

Thanks for the extra info Richard...
I've already bought the discs/pads from Malcolm Lockwood ...
So I hope they're the right ones! Just asked for "Activa ones"The box containing the discs is marked 'Peugeot 406'
The last 8 digits are 001F3941

[RichardW]

Your VIN shows the car is fitted with 283mm discs - these are the most common Xantia ones, and removed as Xac described. Check the diameter of the discs you've been sent - they may be 288mm, which is the size fitted to later Activas (and V6, 2.1TD and HDi 110 models).

[chrisjvm]

Lockwoods sent 283mm discs ... So all good!

Looking forward to a w/end spannering!!

Thanks again Richard.