Polo, disks & pads?

[PoloTDI]

Front disks & pads (possibly rear too) are due for replacement, how easy a job is it?

One for the dealer or do-able as a diy job. Any special tools necessary or potentioal pitfalls?

Also front pads and disks from Mr VW come in at £106 + Vat. OEM about half that, any reason why I shouldn't go for the cheaper OEM, or where brakes are concerned should I stay genuine?

[Frenchman]

Changing the brakes is quite straight forward, but whether it's worth changing them yourself will depend on what tools you have and if you plan to carry out more work in the future to justify the cost of purchasing the tools.

You will need a set of axel stands to support the car safely whilst you change the discs, the front brakes just require a socket set and some spanners, and a torque wrench, the rear brakes are a little different because the caliper needs winding back.

I tend to stay away from the cheaper pads/disc as they often are not a good fit and it really isn't that much more to get better quality, a haynes manual is a good buy.

Frenchman

[PoloTDI]

Thanks for the reply.

Sat Haynes manual in had last evening, as you say fronts look fairly straight forwards. Have everything at hand, well almost (No torque wrench) but can borrow the rest. Calipers on mine are marked FS-III which I think are 256mm, 4 bolt pcd.

Still need to read up on the rears as yet, do you need a specific tool to wind em back in, or can you make do with a little ingenuity and patience? Or is it one of those jobs than can turn out to be a bit of a pig, so is best left to those who know how.