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MG MGF Technical - Rear Brake Discs

Having changed the rear discs on my 2003 TF160 yesterday, I thought that I would share some 'lessons learned' for (hopefully) the benefit of others...

The disc retaining screws were stuck solid, needed an impact driver to release them. Would be worth investing in a new set before starting the job.

The discs would not come off! I suggest that you soak the things in penetrating oil before you start taking the calipers off. You can get oil in through the wheel-stud holes, the retaining screw holes and round the edge of the hub nut (be careful not to get it behind the hub nut). I then levered against a protruding section of the hub assembly (bottom rear) with a crowbar, turning the disc a quarter of a turn between tugs. Took me an hour to get the first disc off (hammer, pullers, a bigger hammer) before I tried the crow bar - then two minutes of tugging and it was off! Second one was just as tight but the crow bar did the trick.

I bought a very cheap Draper caliper wind-back cube. I bought it from a tool shop on Amazon, ordered on Sunday arrived Tuesday. About a fiver and worth every penny.

The manual say that the guide pin bolts have to be torqued to 45Nm. But I found that access was limited to a ring spanner - so, according to my trial-and-error method, 45Nm is about as tight as you can go with a normal size ring spanner (I'm a slightly larger than normal man!).

Hope this helps someone...

Neil
Neil22

Thanks for the info Neil - do you have the Draper part number for that wind-back tool you mention?
Rob Bell

Draper 52334

£5 plus p&p on Amazon (I got from AHC), about double that from MG 'specialists'...

N
Neil

Thanks for that :o)
Rob Bell

For interest, I've always found a suitably sized G clamp combined with slackening the bleed nipple works very well to wind the calipers back.

I've just fitted new grooved discs and black diamond pads to my F today, but where I changed discs previously and lubed and did not over torque, they came apart very well.

Cheers, Russ
Russ D Mellor

Russ, that doesn't work on the rear calipers - the pistons screw into the caliper body, unlike the fronts that press in. I usually just use a flat edge or a suitable mole grip or similar for the rear pistons, but if the Draper tool for the job is that cheap, well... seems daft not to doesn't it?
Rob Bell

Russ

I used a G-clamp for 15 years until I bought a proper pad spreading tool and found that it does the job in seconds with no damage to pistons or knuckles... Another cheap tool worth it's weight in petrol.

Clamps don't work so well with modern rear brakes that need the piston turning.

N
Neil

I stand corrected! Although I'm sure I used a clamp the last time I did my rear pads.

Anyhow, if the proper tool is that cheap, it seems like a good bet...
Russ D Mellor

This thread was discussed between 05/05/2009 and 11/05/2009

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