E36 M3 Evo - Ceased Brake Caliper

[bazzer79]

My E36 m3 was parked up over Christmas and New Year for about 5 weeks. Since then it has only been driven 3 times and for distances of 20m or so. I noticed some vibrations coming through the steering wheel, these got worse and could then be felt through the brake pedal.

The Nearside Front caliper seems to have ceased. What causes this to happen? Is it simple to rectify by disassembling the caliper and servicing it. Will I need to replace the discs and pads once this has been done?

Any advice would be much appreciated?

[bazzer79]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I won't be upgrading the brakes, as I will be selling the car in a couple of months. I've never carried out any maintenance work to my car before, because I haven't been able to diagnose the faults correctly. As I've managed to this time round I'm keen to have a crack myself. I've done a bit of research on the net and stripping down the brake setup doesn't look like the hardest job in the world????

Any further tips for when I carry out the work?

[bazzer79]

Zead,

I have driven it a couple of times and the vibrations were getting worse each time. The penny finally dropped the other day when I started to wash it after a short spin. After running the hose over the car there was loads of steam coming from the whhel arch. I jacked up the front end and removed the brake but the NSF wheel would only rotate very reluctantly. I fear that I may have warped the disc which might explain the vibrations??

[bazzer79]

Zead,

Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how I get on. Will it be obvious if the disc need replacing? Suppose the best bet is to remove the OSF disc and compare?

[bazzer79]

What you describe is the feeling I got through the brake pedal the other day. If I need to replace the discs & pads I assume I have to do both sides? Which would you recommend OE parts or other?

[bazzer79]

Ok, so I picked up all the bits and bobs that I need to carry out the caliper refurb. I also picked up a Haynes manual. It doesn't cover the M3 but I'm guessing that the process is pretty much the same for a 328i????

The Haynes manual rates the job as 4/5 stars for difficulty, indicating that it is a job for an experienced DIY car maintenance person. To be honest I'm pretty in-experienced when it comes to car maintenance, although I'm practically minded. I'm starting to wonder if I should leave it and take it to Birds who usually service the car? Interested on what peoples opinions are on the difficulty of the job????

[bazzer79]

Neil,

Thanks for your response. Birds are the official UK Hartge tuning shop. They were recommended by a friend and both the service and expertise are excellent. If you ever find yourself in the Heathrow area and require some work they are highly recommended!

[bazzer79]

Only problem is that I am now living in Winchester, Hampshire. Anyone know of any specialists in the area? The car is not my daily drive, think I'm going to give it a go myself. We have a family mechanic that works on Beemers although not M cars. I'm sure he'd come to the house and sort it if it of I can't finish the job myself!

[bazzer79]

Nice one Neil. Watch this space on Monday morning!

[bazzer79]

Neil, by the way, what do you drive?

[bazzer79]

I managed to have a go at refurbing the caliper at the weekend. I removed the guide pins and the caliper mounting bolts. However, I was unable to remove the caliper. The caliper is seized in a closed position and I couldn't get the caliper off the disc. The pads were getting caught on the lip at the edge of the disc. Anyone know how this issue can be resolved?

Also the brake hose wasn't very flexible and was proving a bugger to clamp tight to shut it off? The hose is not braided (not externally anyway), are they usually this rigid?

[bazzer79]

I tried to get something flat in between the brake pad and disc, but to no avail, the pad is tight against the disc.

Any other ideas for how to remove the caliper?

[bazzer79]

Yeah, the disc will rotate. It was proving very difficult to find anything thin enough to fit between the pad & disc. I'll keep on at it and see how it goes! The lip on the disc is not too bad only 2mm. I'm trying not to change the discs & caliper as I will be selling the car soon!

[bazzer79]

Ok, So I've managed to get the caliper off and the pads off brake piston out. I've replaced the seals with the BMW kit. The old seals looked fine though. Now I'm having a nightmare trying to get the cylinder back in the bore in the caliper??? Is it supposed to be very difficult, because it's proving to be?

There are no signs of any scoring to the piston or cylinder bore, so I'm still not sure how it managed to seize in the first place?

Any ideas anyone?