New Brakes.....

[unluky]

Front anyway - man this car is a joy to work on. Everything comes off like it should and goes right back together. MUCH better than my last time/money waster......lol

Gonna do the rear next - hope they are just as easy!

[dc_wright]

The rears are just as easy. Just don't forget to have your e-brake released or you'll think the rotors are frozen to the hub.

[Efthreeoh]

My advice for the rears... (goes for fronts too)

The parking brake shoes make some drag on the rotor (in their drum) and can make pulling the rotor off problematic. MAKE SURE THE PARKING BRAKE IS OFF (yes even after 30+ years of doing BMW brakes I sometimes forget ). I use a 1 5/8 inch diameter (or a bit smaller) wooden dowel (i.e. wooden coat closet rod) about 16" long and a 3lb. sledge hammer. Once the caliper and carrier are removed and out of the way, using the open space on the backing plate where the caliper fits to the hub, tap the dowel on the inner-face of the rotor as you rotate the rotor to get it loose. Don't be afraid to give the rotor a good hit. Works like a charm. A little penetrating oil on the rotor-hub interface will also assist to get a stuck rotor free from the hub. This method it good if you are reusing the rotor and don't want risking damage to the rotor face. That said, I always replace BMW rotors when refurbishing brakes that have spent the full thickness the the pad. I've found that BMW OE rotors never last through a second set of pads.

Also, most home mechanics over-torque the guide pins that locate the caliper. The pins only need about 35 lb.ft.; any more than that can deform the pin and ruin the straightness of the pin and bind the caliper. The pins do not bolt the caliper to the carrier, but rather just locate it on the carrier. Over-torquing the pins does not increase the safety factor of keeping the caliper connected to the carrier.

My 2 cents.