Measuring Disc Brake Pad Wear

The front disc brake segments wear out faster than their rear counterparts. Check, under normal driving conditions, the linings every 20,000 km - or once a year as a standard. If the pads, including their bearing plates, have become thinner than six millimeters, donate new brake elements to the bridge immediately.

PROCEDURE

To properly check the condition of the pads, you must remove the corresponding wheel. Take a 1.5 mm thick plate and insert it between the disc and the pad holder. If the pad is the same thickness as the plate, then all segments on the corresponding bridge must be replaced.

PRACTICAL ADVICE

Brake pedal and brake pads With this check, in principle, it is impossible to establish the wear of the linings. In free brake calipers, the elasticity of the brake piston gaskets and the standard swing runout are sufficient (0.05 mm) of the brake disc in order to – after each braking process – automatically press the lining out of the brake disc. When the pedal is not depressed, the basic position of the linings relative to the brake disc and the brake pedal travel remain constant - at least until the linings are completely worn out. Check with your hand when the engine is running, the idling of the brake pedal, it should be, in extreme cases, a third of the full stroke. If the pedal travel has noticeably increased, then this is due to worn - or possibly jammed in the calipers - brake pads, sometimes «clamped» as well as the disc brake caliper itself. Of course, you can reduce the pedal travel after repeated pumping, so that the system «appeared» less air: however, uncover the cause, repair the problem and bleed the brake system as described below.