I needed to replace my rear brakes on my mk5 jetta 2.5 so I figured I would write up a little DIY on how to do it. Its pretty straight forward as far as a brake job goes I just had some extra time on my hands
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First off, I just realized how many damn pics I took lol. I tried to make this a nub friendly as possible.
Now to the good stuff:
First let me say SOME "SPECIAL" TOOLS REQUIRED!!!
The oddball things you are going to need:
14mm triple square driver, also known as a spline drive. I checked locally here (rochester MN) and very few people even know what this is, and even fewer sell them. Just for reference to save yourself some time if you think your going to buy one of these locally this is where I checked.
Sears - N/A
Napa - Has 8mm to 12mm, they can't order 14mm
O'Reillys - Has 8 - 12mm at some stores
Advance Auto - N/A
Fleet Farm - N/A
Home Depot - N/A
ACE - N/A
So really your only option is to order one. I got one from Matco the P/N is: CQ14M2B
I saw 2 listed on their site, but I couldn't figure out the difference between them. Looking back I think the cheaper one (the one I got) is the style where you put it in a socket. The other must be a whole socket.
I tried a long one that I borrowed from my mechanic. It doesn't work, its too long.
Second you will need a caliper reset tool. DO NOT just push the piston back in, you will probably break it. The caliper piston needs to ratchet back in. I rented my kit at Advance Auto.
Heres the rest:
13mm open end wrench
16mm open end wrench
17mm deep socket
t30 torx socket
Breaker bar
Brake part cleaner
Brake anti-squeal past/can
Anti-Seize
Torque wrench
Needle Nose vice grips (not shown, this will make the job a LOT easier)
Flat head screw driver
Floor jack (I used the factory one, my good one was elsewhere)
Jack stand
Rotors, NON-HD, OEM P/N: 1K0-615-601-L
Pads, OEM P/N: 1K0-698-451-G
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Here is the 14mm triple square driver
![]()
And this is how it works!
![]()
First carefully remove your badass hub cap
![]()
Loosen up the lug bolts, 17mm
![]()
Jack up the car, you can sorta see the arrow for the jackpoint on the pinch weld
![]()
Insert jack stand
![]()
Remove the wheel!
![]()
Ok, first to come off is the bolts for the caliper guide pins. The actual bolt part on the back is a 13mm. The nut in front is a 16mm
![]()
This is where the needle nose will come in handy. The 16mm nut is narrow, and you can't really fit a wrench on it. You can clamp on the needle nose just to hold it so you can crack it lose, then put the 16mm on like such:
![]()
After you get the top and bottom off, you are going to realize that you left the e-brake on and that's why the caliper isn't coming off. Now is a good time to chuck up the front wheels and take the brake off
![]()
While you're at it, throw on some MC Chris to pass the time
![]()
Now the caliper will come off
![]()
Take your flat head and pop the pads off. They just go outward
![]()
MMMMM Look at the meat left on my inner pad, I bet in 2 miles I would have hit backing plate! lol
![]()
Now to get the caliper carrier off
There's 2 big bolts, the 14mm triple square one
![]()
I would suggest blowing the heads of them with some compressed air or something. I had a lot of sand and road gunk in the heads so the socket wouldn't sit in right. I bet it wouldn't be fun at all to strip these out. They are TIGHT, and really awkward to get to
Well my socket didn't work because it was impossible to get on straight. It would probably work swell if you had the car up on a lift so you could swing your wrench from the bottom. But since I'm a badass and use jack stands I couldn't
Fix:
![]()
Here's the bugger:
![]()
I don't know why they couldn't just use regular hex bolts, or even damn allens like I am used to seeing on VW brakes.... *******s.
Now the caliper carrier will come off
![]()
Now all we gotta do is get the rotor off!
![]()
There's just 1 t30 torx to hold it on
![]()
This is about the time you realize you should have loosened this up before taking the brakes off.
Improvise:
![]()
Woot! Now its all taken apart
![]()
My inner pad damage
![]()
Open up your pads and it should have come with new anti-rattle clips, guide bolts, and of course the pads
![]()
Pop off the old anti-rattle clips, and put the new ones on
![]()
![]()
You can see on this carrier the boot for the guide pin popped off at some point. Check yours over and push them back on the lip if they did. Not a huge deal or anything. If you feel like it you can take the pins out and re-lube them.
![]()
New rotor
![]()
Generally speaking new rotors are going to have an oil coating on them so they don't rust on the shelf. Take the new rotor outside and hose it off with the brake part cleaner. Get all the oil off the rotor. Oddly enough these OEM ones didn't have it, I hosed them anyways, not going to hurt it or anything.
Side note: Don't get that crap in your eyes. It hurts like f*&king hell. I got a nice droplet in my eye a year or so back when I was soaking down an oil pan. Got me right behind my damn glasses. The vicodin from the ER was nice. The permanent vision loss wasn't.
Ok, mount the damn thing up
![]()
Re-install the caliper carrier and put some anti-seize on the bolts so they come out next time. Then add the pads. I bought anti-squeal for the back of the pads, I then noticed the OE pads already had a pad on the back for this, so I didn't put any on. If you are using aftermarket stuff just read the directions on what you need to do.
![]()
Now is the time to bust open your brake service kit. I rented mine from Advance Auto. Find the appropriate adapter for the piston.
![]()
You can see after you assemble the tool there are 2 bits that stick out and will go into the caliper piston to turn it
![]()
The 2 notches on the piston is where they fit.
Check your brake fluid level now. If its nice and full you will want to take some out. When you retract the caliper piston its going to raise the level in the reservoir. You should be ok unless someone added more fluid for whatever reason at some point.
![]()
Tighten (rather loosen) up the hex deal on the back and turn the handle clockwise. The piston should retract in some. Tighten the hex again and repeat until you get it in all the way. Don't crank the hex part down too hard or you won't be able to turn the handle. Its just tedious.
![]()
![]()
Here you can see the piston is fully retracted
![]()
Your pads should have come with new guide pin bolts, VW suggests that you replace these when you put in new pads. Mount up your caliper.
![]()
Put the wheel back on and torque to 90 FTLbs
![]()
Install hubcap and congratulate yourself for a job well done!
![]()
Now do the other side...
Torque Specs:
Caliper Carrier bolts (triple square ones): 90nm/66 FTLbs + one 90 degree turn.
Guide pin bolts: 35nm/26 FTLbs
Modified by equate at 6:31 AM 2-5-2009
First off, I just realized how many damn pics I took lol. I tried to make this a nub friendly as possible.
Now to the good stuff:
First let me say SOME "SPECIAL" TOOLS REQUIRED!!!
The oddball things you are going to need:
14mm triple square driver, also known as a spline drive. I checked locally here (rochester MN) and very few people even know what this is, and even fewer sell them. Just for reference to save yourself some time if you think your going to buy one of these locally this is where I checked.
Sears - N/A
Napa - Has 8mm to 12mm, they can't order 14mm
O'Reillys - Has 8 - 12mm at some stores
Advance Auto - N/A
Fleet Farm - N/A
Home Depot - N/A
ACE - N/A
So really your only option is to order one. I got one from Matco the P/N is: CQ14M2B
I saw 2 listed on their site, but I couldn't figure out the difference between them. Looking back I think the cheaper one (the one I got) is the style where you put it in a socket. The other must be a whole socket.
I tried a long one that I borrowed from my mechanic. It doesn't work, its too long.
Second you will need a caliper reset tool. DO NOT just push the piston back in, you will probably break it. The caliper piston needs to ratchet back in. I rented my kit at Advance Auto.
Heres the rest:
13mm open end wrench
16mm open end wrench
17mm deep socket
t30 torx socket
Breaker bar
Brake part cleaner
Brake anti-squeal past/can
Anti-Seize
Torque wrench
Needle Nose vice grips (not shown, this will make the job a LOT easier)
Flat head screw driver
Floor jack (I used the factory one, my good one was elsewhere)
Jack stand
Rotors, NON-HD, OEM P/N: 1K0-615-601-L
Pads, OEM P/N: 1K0-698-451-G
Here is the 14mm triple square driver
And this is how it works!
First carefully remove your badass hub cap
Loosen up the lug bolts, 17mm
Jack up the car, you can sorta see the arrow for the jackpoint on the pinch weld
Insert jack stand
Remove the wheel!
Ok, first to come off is the bolts for the caliper guide pins. The actual bolt part on the back is a 13mm. The nut in front is a 16mm
This is where the needle nose will come in handy. The 16mm nut is narrow, and you can't really fit a wrench on it. You can clamp on the needle nose just to hold it so you can crack it lose, then put the 16mm on like such:
After you get the top and bottom off, you are going to realize that you left the e-brake on and that's why the caliper isn't coming off. Now is a good time to chuck up the front wheels and take the brake off
While you're at it, throw on some MC Chris to pass the time
Now the caliper will come off
Take your flat head and pop the pads off. They just go outward
MMMMM Look at the meat left on my inner pad, I bet in 2 miles I would have hit backing plate! lol
Now to get the caliper carrier off
There's 2 big bolts, the 14mm triple square one
I would suggest blowing the heads of them with some compressed air or something. I had a lot of sand and road gunk in the heads so the socket wouldn't sit in right. I bet it wouldn't be fun at all to strip these out. They are TIGHT, and really awkward to get to
Well my socket didn't work because it was impossible to get on straight. It would probably work swell if you had the car up on a lift so you could swing your wrench from the bottom. But since I'm a badass and use jack stands I couldn't
Fix:
Here's the bugger:
I don't know why they couldn't just use regular hex bolts, or even damn allens like I am used to seeing on VW brakes.... *******s.
Now the caliper carrier will come off
Now all we gotta do is get the rotor off!
There's just 1 t30 torx to hold it on
This is about the time you realize you should have loosened this up before taking the brakes off.
Improvise:
Woot! Now its all taken apart
My inner pad damage
Open up your pads and it should have come with new anti-rattle clips, guide bolts, and of course the pads
Pop off the old anti-rattle clips, and put the new ones on
You can see on this carrier the boot for the guide pin popped off at some point. Check yours over and push them back on the lip if they did. Not a huge deal or anything. If you feel like it you can take the pins out and re-lube them.
New rotor
Generally speaking new rotors are going to have an oil coating on them so they don't rust on the shelf. Take the new rotor outside and hose it off with the brake part cleaner. Get all the oil off the rotor. Oddly enough these OEM ones didn't have it, I hosed them anyways, not going to hurt it or anything.
Side note: Don't get that crap in your eyes. It hurts like f*&king hell. I got a nice droplet in my eye a year or so back when I was soaking down an oil pan. Got me right behind my damn glasses. The vicodin from the ER was nice. The permanent vision loss wasn't.
Ok, mount the damn thing up
Re-install the caliper carrier and put some anti-seize on the bolts so they come out next time. Then add the pads. I bought anti-squeal for the back of the pads, I then noticed the OE pads already had a pad on the back for this, so I didn't put any on. If you are using aftermarket stuff just read the directions on what you need to do.
Now is the time to bust open your brake service kit. I rented mine from Advance Auto. Find the appropriate adapter for the piston.
You can see after you assemble the tool there are 2 bits that stick out and will go into the caliper piston to turn it
The 2 notches on the piston is where they fit.
Check your brake fluid level now. If its nice and full you will want to take some out. When you retract the caliper piston its going to raise the level in the reservoir. You should be ok unless someone added more fluid for whatever reason at some point.
Tighten (rather loosen) up the hex deal on the back and turn the handle clockwise. The piston should retract in some. Tighten the hex again and repeat until you get it in all the way. Don't crank the hex part down too hard or you won't be able to turn the handle. Its just tedious.
Here you can see the piston is fully retracted
Your pads should have come with new guide pin bolts, VW suggests that you replace these when you put in new pads. Mount up your caliper.
Put the wheel back on and torque to 90 FTLbs
Install hubcap and congratulate yourself for a job well done!
Now do the other side...
Torque Specs:
Caliper Carrier bolts (triple square ones): 90nm/66 FTLbs + one 90 degree turn.
Guide pin bolts: 35nm/26 FTLbs
Modified by equate at 6:31 AM 2-5-2009
