| Author | Message | ||
| axel wulff (Axel)
New member Username: Axel Post Number: 14 Registered: 5-2003 |
Good work Dom .. great pics. I will keep this one on file .. regards axel | ||
| Ron R (Ronr)
Junior Member Username: Ronr Post Number: 179 Registered: 10-2002 |
Nice procedure, Dom. Think I'll save that one for later! | ||
| Mike Procopio (Pupz308)
Member Username: Pupz308 Post Number: 389 Registered: 10-2002 |
Great pics and procedure, Dom! | ||
| Henry D. Chin (Hanknum)
Junior Member Username: Hanknum Post Number: 165 Registered: 2-2002 |
Glad to hear everything went well Dom. Sorry I couldn't make it. I'm in the middle of laying pavers in the backyard. I hope to make it for Byron's adventure. Henry | ||
| Dom Vitarella (Dom)
Junior Member Username: Dom Post Number: 207 Registered: 11-2002 |
308 GT4 Brake Pad Replacement First off all, many many thanks to Lou Staller and Byron (Bmyth) who graciously spent a good chunk of their Sunday to help me out. I purchased a set of Porterfield R4-S pads to replace the stock pads on the car. This was my first time changing the pads on my 308 GT4, and I didn't want to do it alone. So, Byron and Lou came over to my house to help me change the brake pads. Before they arrived, I decided to lift the car onto 4 jackstands and remove the wheels, so we could be ready to go when they got here. Tip#1 Loosen your wheel bolts BEFORE jacking up the car. Doh!!! I'm an idiot sometimes. Since I had already screwed up step 1, I truly don't know how I could have finished the job without Lou and Byron's help. Anyway, after Lou and Byron got here, we started on the front brakes first, since they were rumored to be easy. Luckily they were. On top of the front caliper are 2 pins that need to be pushed out with a punch. The 2 pins hold a pad retaining spring in place. Once the pins are removed, the retaining spring comes right off.  The front pads are then pulled out, the piston is pushed back, and new pads are inserted. Here's a photo of Lou pushing in the front piston.  Once the new pads are in, the retaining spring and Pins are reinserted. Not bad, after doing the first one, we did the second one in less than 5 minutes. On to the rears. The rears are a little more difficult, but thankfully, I had printed out some threads from the Ferrarichat archives. First step was to back off the parking brake adjustment at the rear calipers until the cable is loose. The pins on the caliper are held in by a cotter pin. First step is to remove the cotter pin, then remove the caliper pins.  To retract the calipers, you must turn caliper adjustment screws on the outboard and inboard caliper. Before turning the caliper adjustment screws, the caps off of each screw must be removed. On the outboard caliper, the cap requires a 13mm wrench. On the inboard caliper, we used a 4mm hex wrench. Once the caps are removed, we used a 4 mm hex wrench to turn the caliper adjustment screws on both inboard and outboard calipers. Don't ask me which way to turn the screws, because I don't remember, and for at least one side it was ass-backwards, I thought. Once the pistons are pushed out, new pads are inserted. Then the pads are adjusted to 0.004 inches (0.1 mm) to set the parking brake. The photo below shows me turning the inboard caliper adjusting screw while Lou measures the gap with a feeler gauge.  After completing this step, we were set. One problem. The rivet holding the caliper retaining spring together broke when I was taking the spring out. A quick trip to Home Depot for a rivet gun, and a stop for lunch, and we were ready to go. We put everything on, and tried it out. It worked (though Byron and Lou opted not to get in the car while I tried out the brakes). I think I feel a difference in the Porterfields vs. the stock pads, but it is just seat of the pants feeling- I don't have any number comparisons. But it feels good. It turns out that we could have adjusted the parking brake a little better, but overall, the parking brake still was working better than when I got the car. Maybe when I get a chance, I will try another shot at adjusting the parking brake. In summary, a great experience. I am truly indebted to Lou and Byron for helping me out. Frankly, I don't know how far I would have gotten without their help. Next time, we're going to change the pads on Byron's 348 Challenge... Dom |