Hi!
New to the forum, hope my post doesn't violate rules and apologies if this has been asked/answered before! (I did try to search)
I love my '09 Z4 and have been doing some minor repairs on it recently given its age. In deciding what repairs to do or leave for a shop, I am trying to balance cost with complexity and safety. I have no issues paying for something that is complex or might be unsafe, I hate having to pay someone to unscrew a few bolts and follow procedure.
One issue that I was hoping to address was to replace the front pads and rotor. I am aware that the rear are more complicated, but the front didn't seem that crazy. That is, until I got my hands on the service manual (if only to get the right torque values) and went through the procedure in detail.
I searched through the forum but couldn't find a clear answer on a few questions:
- Do you actually need to electronically disable the break system? The service manual seems to imply that you do by putting it in a 'service' mode, but all the videos I've seen of it being done on BMWs use a C-Clamp instead.
- Would only a BMW shop be able to do a break test? The manual references various pressure levels and testing conditions, but that's clearly something I can't do myself.
- Do you need to bleed the breaks afterwards? That was brought up a couple of times, but it's not clear to me why you would need to do this since you're presumably not introducing air or spilling break fluid out of the system.
- The service manual talks about various "BMW approved" cleaning products you should use for the calipers and surfaces. Is that overkill? I've yet to see a single video that used any of these. I did plan on using BG 860 for the pads to avoid squeaking, but so far haven't purchased other products.
Thanks!