Driving home tonight the "red" BRAKE light illuminated and the check control says "check brake linings" does this simply mean I need new pads? I only ask as I am tired of going to the dealer and lately I feel as if my wallet has a black hole in it sucking away all of my money, so basically I am wondering can I just call Dave Z up and order some new pads and slap them on? or is there more to it? just wondering, also would I need to turn the rotors or replace them? Just looking to do this myself either by the pads themselves through Dave or rotors and pads from pacific Bmw and performing the labor myself, as always any suggestions are welcome, thanks, Josh
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1/2 of the Southern Renegades....
Driving home tonight the "red" BRAKE light illuminated and the check control says "check brake linings" does this simply mean I need new pads? I only ask as I am tired of going to the dealer and lately I feel as if my wallet has a black hole in it sucking away all of my money, so basically I am wondering can I just call Dave Z up and order some new pads and slap them on? or is there more to it? just wondering, also would I need to turn the rotors or replace them? Just looking to do this myself either by the pads themselves through Dave or rotors and pads from pacific Bmw and performing the labor myself, as always any suggestions are welcome, thanks, Josh
Could just mean you need pads and new sensors, but you could also need new rotors, depends if they are to bmw specs or below.. but bmw does not recommend resurfacing rotors at all.. rule of thumb I follow , new rotors every 2nd pad change.. seems to be working out ok..
Thanks for the advice, this is my first pad change at 42000 miles, do you know if I can measure the rotors with a micrometer and if so does anyone happen to know the minimum thickness, thanks Josh
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1/2 of the Southern Renegades....
usually you do not have to change brake disks with the first change of pads
so just change the pads and sensors.
that's all you need to do
then keep enjoing your car
Thanks, I think I will just go ahead and order the pads this morning so I can install them this weekend, thanks, Josh
Check with Dave Z, I think the minimum thickness is .30,but that is from and old and feeble memory!! Sensor indicates pad wear, not rotor wear. Visually inspect pads, but they should be 1/8 inch or so from the backing plates. Also check to see if your pads are wearing evenly. This would be also be a good time to get better pads from Dave since you have to change out anyway.
Regards,
Jerry
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'01 Black/caramel
Dinan Stage 3 suspension, SS jet coated headers, ESS SC kit, open brake ducts, Hamann front splitters, TEC cupholder, U.S.(Euro style) tilt/slide armrest, 6k HID fogs, 6k super white low beams, V1/Stealth1, dual head LI, 2.65 diff w/40% lockup/2x dynamic, compact spare, Euro trailer hitch, Mocal oil cooler, ACS type rear spoiler, Rogue custom SSK and tranny mounts, ST 355 BBK (fronts), BP sway bar brackets, Bluetooth retrofit
Just checked with Dave Z, and he got me all setup with some axxis ultimate pads, the real kicker is that I got all four sets of pads with next day air shipping for cheaper then just the front brake pads alone at the dealership. Also I would like to note for those of you contemplating your own brake job or have yet to cross this bridge that Dave Z spent almost 30 minutes on the phone with me detailing the brake change procees as well as making sure all of my questions were answered, so basically I highly reccomend Dave Z if any of you have any braking concerns, Josh
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1/2 of the Southern Renegades....
bmwusa, happy to hear you received good advice and service from Dave Z, I myself had a very pleasant experience dealing with him just last week.
As far as your issue, the cause may be of a different sort (and luckily, much less expensive) - it could very well be one of the two brake sensors gone bad. One is in the front left (driver side) wheel well, the other is in the rear passenger side. I had the same issue like you a month ago - warning Park Brake light came on, as well as "Check Brake Lines" on the instrument dash. Turned out my front brake sensor was snapped (the end clip at least), and it is an easy and cheap replacement (about a $20 part which is the same for all E39s). If indeed your brake pads are worn out, then they would have snapped it (that's the purpose of the sensor anyway - to indicate fade beyond the normal operating recommendation).
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