My brake discs and pads need replacing at 24k miles which was a quite a dissapointment. I know they need replacing because they warp and knock after a lot of braking when they get hot. Ford confimirmed they needed doing when I had my service and wanted £200 to do the work.

I know the parts are quite cheap and wish to do the job myself. Normally I would buy a Haynes manual to help me out but unfortunately they don't seem to be selling useful manuals these days. They don't even seem to be doing a manual for the popular 500. Maybe I need to get a Panda manual?

So I wondered first of all if I can get a manual for such jobs? It would be nice to know torque settings etc. If not is there anything to look out for when doing the job? Also are there any options as far as getting the the discs to last any longer? 24k seems rediculous. I know you can get brembo gear etc. However its more the life of them I am worried about than performance.

Many thanks for any advice you can give.

1st off loosten wheel nuts

then jack up & secure car off the ground i.e use axel stands

remve wheels
remove the master cylinder reservoir cap : use a good large screwdriver to prize the pads apart ( prise off springs etc ) but check if you have wear indicators & unplug them
undo caliper usually 2 bolts/hex nuts then tie them up using rope to the suspension so u dont damage brake pipe
remove disk usually 1 hex screw
then remove pads as u do on any car
then insert pads n springs then refit all parts n refit master cylinder reservoir cap.
once all parts refitted n all tightend just tighten as we usually say bloody tigh if you dont hav torq rench then pump brakes n go for test drive.

remember the brakes will take a while to bed in so be careful for the 1st few miles as braking will be diffrent from what your used to


i live in the bristol area so if your nr let me know & i'll glady do it for you

try here for parts
real good parts ford quality n cheap postage

www.bypartsby.co.uk

phone them to confirm the parts u need

if doing brakes you need to to both sides at the same time

is this a fiat panda your doing or a ka as you dont say what car you have??

[quote name='delboy' timestamp='1306269511' post='128800']
1st off loosten wheel nuts

then jack up & secure car off the ground i.e use axel stands

remve wheels
remove the master cylinder reservoir cap : use a good large screwdriver to prize the pads apart ( prise off springs etc ) but check if you have wear indicators & unplug them
undo caliper usually 2 bolts/hex nuts then tie them up using rope to the suspension so u dont damage brake pipe
remove disk usually 1 hex screw
then remove pads as u do on any car
then insert pads n springs then refit all parts n refit master cylinder reservoir cap.
once all parts refitted n all tightend just tighten as we usually say bloody tigh if you dont hav torq rench then pump brakes n go for test drive.

remember the brakes will take a while to bed in so be careful for the 1st few miles as braking will be diffrent from what your used to


i live in the bristol area so if your nr let me know & i'll glady do it for you

try here for parts
real good parts ford quality n cheap postage

www.bypartsby.co.uk

phone them to confirm the parts u need

if doing brakes you need to to both sides at the same time

is this a fiat panda your doing or a ka as you dont say what car you have??
[/quote]

Many thanks for taking the time to go through it for me. I really appreciate it. It all went ok (I think) and as you described. Just one bolt on each side though and a pin holding in one end of the caliper (which I didn't need to take out to get the caliper off).

The only slight concern I had was that I found the rubber had a small split that was covering the hex bolt. Hopefully that won't become a problem long term. Mangled one of the wheel alignement studs a little bit as well.

Surprised the discs were warping as they didn't look that worn. Seems to me there is only about 3mm of wear before they are supposed to be replaced (according to the min thickness of 9.2mm stamped on the new discs). Probably going to have to be replaces every time the pads are done

Cheers, for the offer of help also. Very kind. It is a MK2 Ka.

Thanks again