Ceramic Front Discs Brakes installed on the BMW X5 35d

Posted By on June 21, 2016

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It was past time for brake maintenance as the wear sensor on the BMW X5 35d has been warning me to replace the front brakes for weeks. After a bit of research, I opted for the Power Stop (17-1294) Evolution-Plus Ceramic brakes and am hoping to reduce the dirty brake dust. I’m hoping for continued solid and repeated hard stops without over heating or fading,  yet have cleaner wheels (that is yet to be seen). So far I’m happy with the price, have take care to break-in appropriately and current solid stops. Who knows now long they will last, but so far they have been solid.

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Hear are a few of my tips from years and years of replacing brakes. First, fully compress the caliper on the car and before you remove the old pads. You can gentle apply pressure to force the brake caliper open (watch the brake fluid reservoir) using a small pry bar (be sure you can compress without turning — ie. Volkswagens require a special tool). Don’t use the rotor itself to pry against. If that doesn’t work … a clamp works wonders to evenly put pressure on the disc faced caliper.

Also liberally use the Disc Brake Quiet as it both helps the new disc stick when reassembling as well as eliminates chatter.

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Before putting the "giant" wheels and tires back on the X5 (they are amazingly large and wide), be sure to clean off the grungy buildup of brake dust and then add some anti-seize or lithium grease to keep things from freezing over time. I hate snapping off a stud or component (used a Helicoil on the old Mercedes when this happened … but I’m not sure it was the best solution?)

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Speaking of frozen, rusted or corroded in place … I could not even "mule kick" the front wheel loose when taking it off the car. I had to end up "jerry rigging" (correct term), a small bottle jack and length of oak in order to force the two front wheels apart and pop the stuck one off. Worked like a charm.

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