Front brake pad renewal.

[XTR]

Hi guys,I had the car serviced a few weeks ago at Barretts in Canterbury and they made a note that the front brake pads were 70% worn and they offered to replace the pads and discs at a special rate.
At the time I thought,'No,I'll just change the pads myself in a while'!

Well,I got a set of front pads through my brother in law who works at the local Citroen dealer parts department and set about this afternoon to replace the pads.
Having printed out the page from the Citroen site on how to change the pads it all seemed perfectly straightforward,I've done loads of pads and discs over the years on various cars and was very confident.
Until I came to remove the caliper,it seems you need a special tool to fit the bolts that hold the caliper on.

Does anyone know what tool it is? I got my inspection mirror behind the caliper to have a look and it seems to be hexagonal,but I don't have an allen key that will fit,is it a special size or unique to PSA cars?

So,I've put the wheels back on and will have another attempt next weekend.

[evdama]

Torx (or splined)

If its a socket headed bolt the size begins with T
If its an external spline it begins with an E

Torx

[steve valentine]

Are you sure you're looking at the correct bolts? The torx bolts are to remove the entire caliper. The pad carrier part of the caliper should be held with a 13mm headed bolt.

[royboy302]

[quote='XTR' pid='42220' dateline='1367157139']
Hi guys,I had the car serviced a few weeks ago at Barretts in Canterbury and they made a note that the front brake pads were 70% worn and they offered to replace the pads and discs at a special rate.
At the time I thought,'No,I'll just change the pads myself in a while'!

Well,I got a set of front pads through my brother in law who works at the local Citroen dealer parts department and set about this afternoon to replace the pads.
Having printed out the page from the Citroen site on how to change the pads it all seemed perfectly straightforward,I've done loads of pads and discs over the years on various cars and was very confident.
Until I came to remove the caliper,it seems you need a special tool to fit the bolts that hold the caliper on.

Does anyone know what tool it is? I got my inspection mirror behind the caliper to have a look and it seems to be hexagonal,but I don't have an allen key that will fit,is it a special size or unique to PSA cars?


So,I've put the wheels back on and will have another attempt next weekend.
[/quote
If its a hexagon it could be 7mm you dont normally get that size in a standard set of hexagon keys , but you can by them from car accessory shops

[XTR]

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[/quote
If its a hexagon it could be 7mm you dont normally get that size in a standard set of hexagon keys , but you can by them from car accessory shops

Think you could be right,I have a set of allen keys and 6mm is too small and 8mm is too big.
It's not a headed bolt or a torx.

[XTR]

It is a 7mm hex,bought a set (long and short with 3/8" drive) from local motor factors last week and it took me less than half an hour this evening to fit the new pads.

Amazing what you can do with the right tool for the job!

[steve valentine]

My record for changing front pads on my mk1 van, from loosening the first wheel nut to tightening the last, 9 minutes 50 seconds :woop:

[addo]

If I wasn't OCD about cleaning everything during service work, I'd consider that a challenge. :twisted:

[ron]

My record for changing front pads on my mk1 van, from loosening the first wheel nut to tightening the last, 9 minutes 50 seconds :woop:

I'll pay you at the rate of £60ph to do mine.:whistle::whistle:

[steve valentine]

My record for changing front pads on my mk1 van, from loosening the first wheel nut to tightening the last, 9 minutes 50 seconds :woop:

I'll pay you at the rate of £60ph to do mine.:whistle::whistle:

£60 per hour or part there of :thumbsup: