Brake pad renew question

[rogerkiu]

hi all! Yesterday I renewed my front bake pads by following the instruction in this forum. in the instruction, it did not mention the piston side brake pads are directional, so I just put on the brake pad without paying any attention to the direction. after the job, I looked into the TIS and it said the piston side brake pads were directional. I am not sure if I installed the piston side pads correctly by following the directional mark.

my question is do I have to dissemble the brake to check if it is in correct direction or it is still ok even I install the pads in wrong direction. Your comment is much appreciated. I an now very confused.

[Scott ZHP]

I've done a dozen front brake jobs on an E53 and I've never noticed a difference in pads. The inboard pad clips into the piston and the outboard pad just floats in the carrier.

What sort of reference mark do they describe? The pad ears are identical on the backing plate of all four pads.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

[admranger]

The pads don't care which direction the rotor is turning as long as they are beveled edge on both ends (anti squeal/chatter feature). All the pads I've seen over the past 22 years of working on BMWs have the beveled edge on both ends. You're fine.

[rogerkiu]

Thanks a lot for the comment! As shown in BMW TIS, it says front brake linings are directional. Please see the attached. As you guys say, I will ignore this guideline shown in TIS. Thanks again!

[g300d]

First I've seen of that, interesting.

My experience mirrors that of the others though, and personally I wouldnt worry about it.

[rogerkiu]

Maybe the instruction in BMW TIS is obsoleted as it was published in 2007, almost 10 years ago. The OEM brake pad has been superseded by new version that is not directional. What do you guys think?

[StephenVA]

Never seen these instructions before, much less a piston pad plate with the R -L markings. Ignore

[rogerkiu]

One more thing, when I was installing the new brake pad, I pushed back the pistons so that I could fit the new pads in, I found that some brake fluid leaked from the brake fluid container. Do I have to top up the brake fluid after the job?
No warning saying brake fluid low in the dash.

[admranger]

No. You're fine, though you should wash that brake fluid off any paint it touched since it eats paint...

Technically, you want to bleed the brakes after installing new pads. Suck the old fluid out of the reservoir w/a turkey baster or some other suction device. Pour in new fluid (or let your pressure bleeder to that if you have one -- good investment if you don't) and the bleed the brakes. Don't stroke the brake pedal all the way as the seals can be damaged. Put something under the brake pedal to prevent full travel.

Good luck!

[wpoll]

If you got the pads on the callipers, then there is no issue. The BMW TIS shows pads that incorporate an anti-squeal mechanism on the inner pad, like these: -



When replacing pads, it's best practise to either open the bleed nipple on the calliper being worked on when pushing the pistons back or remove fluid from the reservoir first. The excess fluid has to go somewhere...