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Hello

Need a bit of help

Installing front brake pads on my friend 53 plate polo tdi1.4

Can't get the caliper back on, pushed the piston all the way in but the calliper will not go over the carrier bracket..... Very strange. He took it to a garage before as they tried changing the pads but failed

They told him he needs a new hub/carrier unit and possibly outer cv joint and the abs light is on

Has anyone experienced this before? Want to know any answer before I go ahead and get him a new hub carrier

Thanks

Can anyone help

Check it's got the right discs on, and that the pads that you've been supplied with are right too. On older cars, there were issues with this kind of thing due to confusion over solid and vented discs. I presume there's no way this can be the issue on these though? (I'm pretty sure - from memory - that our 1.2 poverty spec one has vented discs)

To the OP, I don't want to be insulting, but, you do realise that there is a lug that needs to get eased over the lower end of the calliper mounting bracket - the calliper does not just push onto the bracket as older ones did, you need to offer the calliper in by keeping the upper end out a bit and then lower the calliper in and down and finally push the top inwards after the bottom has been located with the lug inside the bracket.

Yeh I know that. It fits on perfectly on the near side but the offside is tight. I noticed that the abs ring is sticking out a little on the dodgy side. Am I right in thinking that maybe the wheel bearing isn't in all the way and that's restricting the caliper to go over the bracket? Seeing as the hub carrier and calliper carrier is the same unit the bearing may be restricting the caliper to go over the bracket

Think it's the wheel bearing. I can see the abs ring on the bad side but not on the good side plus the hub is very hard to rotate with the wheel on that's with the pads off too so brakes aren't binding and the abs light is on

Ah, I have heard about that sort of thing in other VAG forums, so either the bearing has been replaced - badly, or its goosed and is "walking" out of the hub.

I'll let you know Saturday afternoon when I've had the car back in.

Cheers

Dannysconnect wrote:I'll let you know Saturday afternoon when I've had the car back in.

Cheers

yeh it was the wheel bearing - it had started working its way out of the hub and meant that new pads were too thick to for the caliper to reach over the caliper carrier

all done in the end - new bearing fitted and new pads now fit