Brake pads for 2004 2.0 Passat

[njek]

My Passat has been in for MOT today, and failed on the condition of the brake pads (thickness is under 1.5mm). My local mechanic, who specialises in VW/Audi, and has been a great help in the past, has quoted me for replacing the front and rear pads. He wants £100 (genuine VW) pads and £100 labour, which I think is taking the p**s a bit. What are your thoughts?

Following someone on here's advice, I visited www.buypartsby.co.uk (http://www.buypartsby.co.uk), and found the equivalent pads for £46 (inc VAT and delivery). So I have already saved £50 on the pads - I'm not bothered about having VW pads.

How much of a job is it to change 4 lots of pads? I did the job on my last car (Mondeo) and it was a pain in the a**e coz of not realising I needed a piston rewinder tool thing. I gather it's the same kind of set-up on the Passat. However, if one had the tool, I wouldn't anticipate it being much of a job? Certainly not enough of a job to warrant £100 labour?

BTW - should my 2004 2.0 Highline have a brake pad wear indicator? It's something I've never noticed, and wouldn't expect on a day-to-day basis.

[martin1810]

The price quoted sounds about right for an independent garage. If you want it cheaper then DIY. Rear pads need a rewind tool but often pushing gently with a g-cramp and twisting will do the job.

[njek]

Hmmm...just me being a bit tight with my money then lol :)

I have a Haynes manual lying around here somewhere, so will take a look and see if I can do (at least) the front brakes myself. Will probably get some assistance in getting the rear pads done.

Any thoughts on whether I should have the Wear Indicator on my car?

[GRAHAM.C]

Hmmm...just me being a bit tight with my money then lol :)

I have a Haynes manual lying around here somewhere, so will take a look and see if I can do (at least) the front brakes myself. Will probably get some assistance in getting the rear pads done.

Any thoughts on whether I should have the Wear Indicator on my car?

Yes I think you will find you should have wear indicators on your front pads.The rear pads are just as easy if not easier than the fronts to do.You can get a piston retracting tool off E/BAY for about 7 quid that will work fine,just remember to open the bleed screws when winding the pistons back.D.I.Y and save yourself pounds.

[njek]

Is this the tool you mean?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SYKES-PICKAVANT-PARKING-BRAKE-PISTON-WINDBACK-CUBE-TOOL_W0QQitemZ350269062986QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Ha nd_Tools_Equipment?hash=item518da9bf4a

I can't for the life of me work out how this would work, based on the picture???

EDIT - OK, I think I understand it now. This tool allows one to turn the piston, and one applies their own pressure. I appreciate from my previous experience with the Mondeo that it's the turning of the piston that's the hardest bit, not the applying of pressure. For the sake of £5.49 I'm going to get one off eBay and try it :)

[ddave05]

I think you'd be better off with a tool like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brake-Caliper-Piston-Re-wind-Rewind-Tool-Set-LASER-1314_W0QQitemZ180429921637QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Ha nd_Tools_Equipment?hash=item2a02761d65

As for the pads, as mentioned earlier, only the fronts have the wear indicators. When you're fitting them, make sure you route the line from the indicators in the pads correctly. If i were you, I'd purchase the brake equipment from euro car parts. They supply ATE brakes which i think are OEM (or OEM quality anyway) at a fraction of the price of the dealer. They are quality goods and have low brake dust compared to lower priced components. May be worth changing the brake fluid while you're at it. Very easy to do but good luck anyway.

[GRAHAM.C]

My Passat has been in for MOT today, and failed on the condition of the brake pads (thickness is under 1.5mm). My local mechanic, who specialises in VW/Audi, and has been a great help in the past, has quoted me for replacing the front and rear pads. He wants £100 (genuine VW) pads and £100 labour, which I think is taking the p**s a bit. What are your thoughts?

Following someone on here's advice, I visited www.buypartsby.co.uk (http://www.buypartsby.co.uk), and found the equivalent pads for £46 (inc VAT and delivery). So I have already saved £50 on the pads - I'm not bothered about having VW pads.

How much of a job is it to change 4 lots of pads? I did the job on my last car (Mondeo) and it was a pain in the a**e coz of not realising I needed a piston rewinder tool thing. I gather it's the same kind of set-up on the Passat. However, if one had the tool, I wouldn't anticipate it being much of a job? Certainly not enough of a job to warrant £100 labour?

BTW - should my 2004 2.0 Highline have a brake pad wear indicator? It's something I've never noticed, and wouldn't expect on a day-to-day basis.

I bought my pads from them,they are a good price and work fine for me,but if you are doing a lot of mileage and regular motorway work it might be better to go for more expensive.
The piston retractor that I got from e/bay was a Draper,it's simple and works well.If you do a google search for Draper Tools you will find them.

[martin1810]

njek...you want the tool that ddave pointed out. Not the other one.

[njek]

Is there anything wrong with the other tool? It's just that I went and ordered that one before getting any feedback from you guys :( I guess I could get the 'ddave' tool aswell, it'll still work out far cheaper than getting the job done at the garage!

[ddave05]

Is there anything wrong with the other tool? It's just that I went and ordered that one before getting any feedback from you guys :( I guess I could get the 'ddave' tool aswell, it'll still work out far cheaper than getting the job done at the garage!


I think the one you ordered is fine, but you have to twist the piston back by hand instead of using a screw mechanism thats on the tool I suggested. The 2 'pins' on eash side of the cube relates to the slots where they fit in the piston. The tool I suggested also has the 2 pins, but the design allows the piston to be retracted by turning the handle at the top. For yours, you just put the pins in the slots on the piston and twist the cube thing by hand to retract the piston. Simples!

[ddave05]

Oops, i've just seen the listing. It says you need a 3/8" ratchet in the middle of the cube thing to twist the piston back, so you can just use that.

[njek]

UPDATE - have changed the pads today. All went well. Although the MOT report said the front AND rear pads were below 1.5mm, the front were actually in pretty good condition, and the rear were about 3mm. That would explain why I didn't get a brake warning message! My little cube tool worked OK, but I can see how the other tool may have worked better. The only problem was with the NSR piston which refused to wind back. I tried to open the bleed nipple to release some pressure, but the nipple wouldn't budge. I was scared to over-stress the nipple in case of it snapping, so in the end had to loosen the brake pipe from the back of the caliper. I now have new pads all round, for the far more pleasing total sum of £40 :D