Front & Rear Discs and pads replacement

[JayA3sline]

:biglaugh: hi all,

Just looking through the internet and eBay in particular for a new set of front and rear discs/pads to change in the summer, im sure itll be a rip off for Audi to do it.

What size of discs will i need? And is the job straight forward or does the handbrake cause problems when changing the rear?

Details:
Audi A3 s line 2.0TFSI Quattro (2006) size of the wheels are 18inch.

Any info would be appreciated...

[iwaters]

Don't rule out Audi for parts, brake stuff is generally not too badly priced, particarly the pads. Discs can be a bit more. I went for Pagid discs from ECP, they are good.

I am not familiar with the 2006 A3 (and cant be bothered to check, sorry) do you have the electronic parking brake? If so you will need VAG-Com or one of those Sealey elec-parking brake windback gizmos to retract the pistons. If normal handbrake then you will need a piston windback tool for the rears. The front pistons can be pushed back with a g-clamp or pair of Stilsons, the rears are threaded and have to be wound in. Some people do this with pliers, I have never tried.

An important thing to do when winding the pistons back is to crack open the bleed nipple and attach a bleed bottle. This stops the contaminated fluid in the caliper from being pushed back up the system.

I only just learnt this yesterday from veteran poster extraordinaire PeterD. :beerchug:

In order to tell you what size discs you need I need to PR numbers for the fronts and rears from the data sticker in the spare wheel bay.

Fronts will be one of: 1ZF, 1ZE, 1ZP, 1LJ, 1LK, 1ZD
Rears one of: 1KF, 1KJ, 1KU, 2EA

It may be better to get the wheel off and measure the disks, particluarly if you are buying non OEM discs to be sure.

[NickPicks]

I'd avoid ebay for brake parts. There's a lot of very cheap un-safety approved stuff around.

I'd recommend Euro Car Parts, GSF car parts or my local motor spares shop (but he's a long way from Kent).

Audi dealer prices arean't usually too bad for brake pads.

I'm currently running Pagid pads on the front and EBC black on the rear. It feels exactly the same as before I changed them.

[JayA3sline]

Thanks for the relies fellas :beerchug:
Yeah i was getting that impression from looking through eBay, looked slightly suspicious! Sorry i didnt make that clear, i was refurring to Audi doing the job instead of me. But i guess dealers know the type to the specific car.

I shall have a look at the types you guys have given me and will check the data label too by the spare - (didnt even know that info was there)

Thanks again :Blush:

[iwaters]

Ah yes definaltely don't pay Audi to do it. £90 per hour for something simple like that? No thanks.

[kite]

you can get OEM parts from Euro Car Parts or Trade Part Specialists cheaper than your dealer.

[iwaters]

I have never found TPS to be cheaper than the dealer. But I think they vary from place to place.

You can get OE-spec parts from ECP but genuine Audi parts only come from dealer/TPS.

[alankru]

Audi is £249 for discs and pads under their affordable servicing:
http://www.audi.co.uk/owners-area/servicing-with-audi/affordable-servicing.html

[JayA3sline]

Alan under the affordable servicing on the site I think it's £249 for just the front pads/discs or the rears...so effectively costing £498 for all round! Damn!

Thanks again for the replies fellas