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  1. Car
    2. :
  2. BMW
    3. :
  3. Serie 3
    4. : replacement of front brake pads

BMW Serie 3 - Video tutorial

Model: BMW Serie 3 E36 - Years 1990-2001
Part: Brake pads
Operation: replacement of front brake pads

First of all, checking the oil level of the braking system on the relative reservoir, you will notice a lowering of the level itself as the wear of the pads causes the operating piston to come out more and consequently the oil level in the reservoir drops. Let's proceed with the disassembly of the front wheel: locate the protective cap of the jack housing along the sill and remove it with the aid of the small screwdriver. Insert the jack and tension it without starting to lift the car. At this point, slightly loosen all the wheel fixing pins and proceed with lifting until the wheel is sufficiently distant from the road level. Complete the unscrewing of the pins and remove the wheel. Identify the protection box for the ABS sensor sockets (gray socket) and pad wear (black socket) located immediately behind the shock absorber, open it and release the pad wear sensor socket to facilitate subsequent disassembly, also removing the grommet. Unhook the retaining spring of the front pad by levering with the large screwdriver. Identify the protection caps of the brake caliper fixing pins located at the rear of the caliper itself and remove them with the small screwdriver. With the 7mm hex wrench, completely loosen the pins and lever with the large screwdriver on the pads to create a bit of play and facilitate the disassembly of the caliper. Then remove the worn pads (it is possible to distinguish the front pad from the rear one as the latter has tabs anchoring it to the piston) and remove the wear sensor from the rear pad. It is now necessary to retract the piston to create the housing of the new pads which have a much greater thickness than the worn ones: for this operation use the clamp by inserting the head of the screw inside the piston and slowly rotate so to overcome the pressure opposed by the oil and make the piston go down as far as it will go. Reposition the wear sensor in the appropriate housing of the rear pad, pass the cable inside the piston and correctly hook the pad to the piston. Then insert the front pad in the appropriate housing (this is a mandatory position) and reposition the caliper. Screw the calliper fixing pins making sure that they thread without hindrance, proceed with tightening and reposition the protection caps. Hook up the sealing spring; fasten the sensor cable gland, the socket and close the socket protection box. Refit the wheel by correctly tightening the pins, lower the car, extract the jack and check the tightening of the pins again. Finally, pump on the brake pedal until it opposes the correct resistance (this operation is to put the piston back in the correct position). The tools needed to perform this operation are: the lifting jack, the key / lever for the wheel fixing pins, a large and a small screwdriver, a 7mm hex wrench, a clamp and of course the new set of pads.


Posted on 23 June 2023 by ScegliAuto

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Handbrake adjustment on Ford Ecosport

First remove the plastic profile at the base of the gear lever. To do this, slightly widen the side edges and carefully lift it to release it. There is no need to remove it completely, just move it forward to avoid bother. Now remove the plastic center console around the handbrake by first working from the rear to release it and lifting it until the brake lever passes. Also in this case it is not necessary to remove it completely but, paying attention to the connected cables, it can be stowed in front of the passenger seat. At this point we notice that at the base of the handbrake lever, on the front, we find a nut. By acting on it, with a 10 wrench, we can adjust the brake force, increasing it by turning the nut clockwise, or decreasing it by turning it counterclockwise. Once adjusted, the center console can be repositioned first, pressing lightly to engage it, and then the profile of the gearbox base.

Watch the video!


by ScegliAuto

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