The weather is foul so the mind has been wandering here and there and has come up with a question that needs answering.
Can I swap out the discs front and rear by just unbolting the calliper attachment bots and carefully taking the whole unit off complete with pads etc.? An assistant could then slide the disc off and slide a new one on. Then just slip the whole unit back over the new disc, put the bolts back in and Bobs your uncle.
Has anyone tried this and able to confirm that it is possible. In theory it looks OK but!!
PS In reality I just want to clean behind the disc but don’t tell anyone or I will just look foolish for even thinking of cleaning this hidden area!!!
I don’t know what mark mx5 you have but on the mk1 and 2 the pads fit to the carriers (which are bolted to the hub) not the calipers. It’s not an arduous talk removing the carriers which from memory you need to so you can swap the disks. Just make sure you torque the carrier bolts up properly and the caliper slider bolts. These are two sizes and if you torque the smaller ones up with the larger torque you’ll break them.
Frankly, easier and probably quicker to do the job the ‘proper’ way. Your ‘method’ would be a bit tricky at best. On the front you’ll need to push the pads back to fit a new disc. It definitely won’t work on the rear of a mk3 because if you fit a new disc it won’t slip between the pads and you need them out so the piston can be retracted using the correct tool. Even trying to get the original discs back between the pads at either end would be tricky; there’s always a small lip on the edge.
JS
Thanks for the replies c & J but I think you may have missed my PS.
My roundel kind of gives the game away on model (30AE).
If I do try it I will make a wood blank, the same thickness as the discs, to slot between the pads as I slide the whole unit off. A job for when I get bored me thinks.
Made me smile this did until you said it was a new car & simply slide the discs off. Oh what luxury. Haynes manual says tap with a rubber mallet which roughly translated means bash it as hard as you can with a 3lb sledge hammer!! Or at least it was on mine when I did them a couple of weeks ago.
Hi P, As it is new all the discs are ‘lose’ when the wheels are off so I am reasonably confident they would just ‘fall’ off. But always happy to be proved wrong.
If I can stop the ‘crud’ from building up behind then it will hopefully help to satisfy my insatiable appetite for OCDism !!!
A quick update, yes you can on the rears. Not tried the fronts yet. I used some long nosed pliers carefully slotted in to replace the disc as I slowly removed the calliper from the disc. Very quick and easy and ideal for my purpose.
Some before and after photographs. Is this ‘extreme cleaning’ and do I need help!!!
I have the rear calipers and discs off my 2nd 5 at the moment waiting for new pads to arrive.
If you intend painting the calipers and carriers don’t forget to paint the unswept areas and outer edges of the disc.
I’m sure you know this already as it really finishes the completed look off.
Hiya @Mad_Malc, love the 30 Anni, don’t mean to steal your post, a quick question you and others may be able to answer on this post. Wonder if you are going to paint the discs?
The car (NB 1.8 MY2000) has always been garaged and the discs were clean. It recently had new suspension fitted and was away for 2 weeks. Came back with rusty brake discs hats and edges and the discs are almost new. Any idea’s on painting and recommendations?
I bought some heat resistant silver paint, the type you paint engines with. It was a little on the thin side so two coats did a good job. I used ordinary Hammerite on the calipers with no problems but some say you shouldn’t because of the heat build up from the discs.
I have used smooth Hammerite which gives a good finish BUT if you track your car it will burn off. The good news is it burns completely away with no residuals.
Currently I am using stove paint, supposedly good for 600c+ and designed for cast iron. It is a nice finish but durability has not been tested yet.
Until I am confident in stove paint I am leaving all inner faces ‘nude’ and just painted the outer faces I can see. If there are any issues it will be quickly and easily seen.
Final update:
The fronts are just as easy to do as the rears.
If you just want access to the hub or back plate area then I can recommend this as an easy, safe and time saving method of achieving your goal.
