How To Replace Front Brakes 1998-2001 VW Passat
Created on: 2012-01-30
Watch this video to learn how to replace the front brakes on your 98-01 Volkswagen Passat. 1A Auto will guide you with step by step directions.
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step 1 :Removing the Wheel
- Using a flat blade screwdriver, remove your hub cap. If you don't have air tools, you'll want to loosen the lug nuts before lifting the vehicle.
- Once the lug nuts are loosened, lift the vehicle, and support it. Now you can fully remove the lug nuts, and then take the wheel off.
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step 2 :Checking the Condition of the Brakes
- To check the condition of the brakes, you want to check how much pad you have left.
- Simply run your fingernail along the rotor to check if there are deep grooves.
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step 3 :Removing the Brake Caliper
- Right behind the brake caliper, there are two plastic caps covering the bolts-one towards the top, and one near the bottom. Use a flat blade screwdriver to pry those caps off, then take your T45 torx bit and pull those bolts out a little further with your hands.
- Remove the small retainer by using the flat blade screwdriver to pry it off. When pulling of the caliper, use caution as the rotor has the potential to fall off as well.
- The brake pads should come out easily. The inner pad has a wear indicator on it which you'll want to disconnect by pushing on the tab
- Secure the caliper up with some wire ties.
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step 4 :Removing the Rotor
- To remove your rotor, you first need to remove the bracket which is held on with two large bolts on the backside. These bolts are usually difficult to remove so take the 17 mm socket and ratchet, as well as a piece of pipe.
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step 5 :Replacing the Rotor
- Place the rotor back on, and replace the bolts behind it. Torque them to 85 foot-pounds.
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step 6 :Resetting the Piston
- Before replacing the caliper, the piston needs to be reset.
- Take a large C-Clamp, put it on and begin to tighten it. As you tighten the C-Clamp, the piston works its way back in. Tighten until you can’t tighten the C-Clamp anymore.
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step 7 :Replacing the Brake Caliper
- First, make sure the bolts are sliding easily, and push them all the way out. Replace the outer brake pad, and slide the caliper down into place. Push the bolts into place and use your T45 torx bit to tighten them to 20 to 22 foot-pound. Put the retainer back on. Replace the retainer by hooking one end it, and then bend it down like that. If needed, tap it lightly with a wrench.
- Plug in the wear indicator, and put the two plastic plugs back over the bolts.
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step 8 :Replacing the Wheel
- Start each lug nut by hand to make sure they thread correctly, then preliminarily tighten with an impact wrench.
- Torque these lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds using a star pattern.
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step 9 :Testing the Brakes
- Pump the brakes after this repair BEFORE shifting the vehicle into drive.
- Perform a few test stops at anywhere from 5 to 10 miles an hour before you take it on the road.
Tools needed
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A Piece of Pipe (for leverage)
Large C-Clamp
Flat Blade Screwdriver
Torque Wrench
17mm Socket
Jack Stands
T45 Socket
Wire Ties
Lug Wrench
Floor Jack
The video is brought to you by 1AAuto.com your source for quality replacement parts and the best source on the internet.
Hi, I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1A Auto. I want to help you save time and money repairing and maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20 plus years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts installed correctly, that's going to save you time and money. Thank you, and enjoy the video.
In this video, I'm going to show you how to remove and reinstall the front brakes on this 2001 VW Passat. This procedure is the same for any 1998 to 2001 Passat and actually similar for any 1990 to 2005, although there may be some differences in tools. The tools you'll need for this 2001 are jack and jack stands. You'll need your lug wrench or a 17 mm socket and ratchet. You may need a pipe or a breaker bar for some extra leverage, T45 torx bit with a ratchet driver, a large C-clamp, and a torque wrench.
I use a flat blade screwdriver or similar tool to remove your hub cap. If you don't have the benefit of air tools, you'll want to start with your vehicle on the ground. Loosen the lug nuts, then raise it, support it, and remove the lug nuts. I'll just speed it up here as I take the lug nuts off and remove the entire wheel.
Now we can see the condition of the brakes. Actually, the brakes on this car are brand new. You can see that the pad has tons of life left. The rotors are actually still showing some of their machine marks. They're nice and smooth. But if you want to check the condition of your brakes, you want to see how much pad you have left there, take the back of your fingernail and run it along the rotor. Make sure there are no deep grooves. Also you can look through this hole right here. There's the metal of the pad, the pad itself. Even though these are in good shape, we'll take them apart to show you how to do it.
Right back in here there are caps. Just use a screwdriver and pry that off. And then also one right down here. You can see there's a bolt right in there. The T45 torque bit put back and that bolt should come off pretty easily.
I'll speed it up here as I undo those bolts. Once you get those bolts once they stop traveling out, you can kind of just grab onto them with your fingertips and pull them out just a little further.
You're going to want to take this retainer off. You just use a screwdriver and pry that out right there. You can see as it comes off my rotor is about to fall off as well. The discs come out and the pads come out. The inner pad has a wear indicator on it. You'll want to disconnect it here, and I just did that by pushing on a little tab. Put that right over there. You pry out on that tab there, turn it, and slide it right out. Again, I don't need to change anything, so I'm just going to put that right back in. Turn it and lock in place.
To remove your rotor, you can see I just kind of secured my caliper up there with some wire ties. To remove your rotor, you have to remove this bracket which is two large bolts. One there and then one up there. These bolts are usually going to be pretty difficult, so I've got my ratchet and 17 mm socket. I put a piece of pipe on there, gives me some extra leverage. Try to hold that on there.
I'll speed it up here again as I use the pipe and the ratchet for the upper one. Obviously if you have a breaker bar or a tool like that, you can use that instead of the ratchet and pipe.
Your rotor comes off. Again, as I said, nothing wrong with this rotor. Its surfaces are very clean. Put it back on. Put both bolts in first. Torque these bolts to 85 foot-pounds. We've got to cut the wire tie from the caliper down. Pull it out. Then before we can put the caliper back in, we have to reset the piston. Since this vehicle doesn't have much wear on it, the piston hasn't come very far off. But if the pads are worn down, the piston has to travel a lot and that's how it adjusts. Basically, you want to have your old inside pad in there. Take a big C-clamp and put it on. When you tighten the C-clamp it's hard to show you this but as you tighten the C-clamp, the piston just works its way back in. Once you can't tighten it any more, it's pretty much all the way back in.
Now you're ready to put the caliper back on. You want to make sure these bolts are sliding nice and easy. Push them all the way out. Put your outer pad back in place, and slide it right down in. Push your bolts in place. Use your T45 torx bit again. Tighten these to 20 to 22 foot-pound. Put this retainer back on. You kind of put one down like that. Work this top one in. Then bend it down like that. If you need to, use your wrench, a little tap. Just make sure everything is correct here. Plug in your wear indicator, and then put your two plugs back in for these bolts.
I'll speed it up here as I put the wheel and tire back on. Then I start each lug by hand, and then preliminarily tighten them with my impact wrench.
Torque these lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds using a star pattern. There is a cutout for the valve stem. Always be sure to pump your brakes beforehand and then do test stops from five to 10 miles an hour before road testing your vehicle.
We hope this helps you out. This video has been brought to you by www.1AAuto.com your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the internet.
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