Do any of my learned colleagues know what size torx spline fits the bolts for the rear caliper carriers where they are fixed to the hub.

I have tried a T55 which is too small, and a T60 does not seem to fit!

Is it definitely a torx and not an M14 triple square?

Paul, its an M14 12 point spline bit you need. Make sure its strong (impact quality) and 1/2'' drive as the bolts are very tight. Haynes have a valve for retightening, which I can post later if required. However skoda mechanic told me they dont bother torqueing them as ''its just a big bolt and they know when its tight''. I took their advice. If you want to do it to the letter you should replace the bolts as they are stretch bolts requiring torqueing and then further angle tightening.

Make sure you get a short splined bit if possible, I bought a set that are about 70mm long but they caused wrench to foul on suspension components making removal and refit very awkward indeed.

http://www.motorshac...pline_Bits.html

Edited 30 May, 201214 yr by Bobsco011

Thanks for your responses. As you can't see the head of the bolts I was going by feel alone! I'll get some of those splines, and some new bolts.

I found this guide handy, noted its a mark 5 buy it should be pretty much the same.

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40013

And you will need a caliper reset tool for the rears. Got one from eBay if you don't already have one.

I found this guide handy, noted its a mark 5 buy it should be pretty much the same.

http://www.golfmkv.c...ead.php?t=40013

And you will need a caliper reset tool for the rears. Got one from eBay if you don't already have one.

Not reading all that 'linked' thread but did anyone mention the fact that it's a good idea to remove the brake fluid reservoir cap before pushing/rewinding back the pistons and keeping an eye on the level in it to make sure it isn't going to overflow?

I know this is now an old thread and a very well covered topic (wasn't sure where else to do a write up?), but I've just (today) replaced the front and rear brake discs on my 2009 Octavia vRS CR170 Limited Edition, with Pagid items from Euro Car Parts. I must say, that after reading numerous posts on here about replacing the rear discs (or, more accurately, removing the rear caliper carriers) I wasn't exactly looking forward to the job in hand. However, I have a fairly good box of tools and really hate paying for jobs that I can do myself.

I tackled the rears first to get the worst job out the way. Once the wheel was removed the caliper and pads came off easily, as expected. I then got under the car (axle stand in place) to have a look at the access to the M14 multi spline bolt heads. The bottom bolt isn't too bad to get to but its the top one that's a little awkward and access is tight for the M14 spline tool - even though I used a short/stubby M14 tool . 

 

Here's how I did it....

I jacked the car up (one side at a time) really high (I have a 3Ton low profile, high lift trolley jack - I doubt a typical £20 trolley jack from Halfords will have enough lift) and secured the car with an axle stand. I then removed the bottom nut and bolt for the coil spring pan and removed the coil spring. I then removed the bottom bolt and the two top bolts for the shock absorber and removed that too. Doing this little extra work (that literally took an extra 4 or 5 minutes) gives much better access to both the top and bottom caliper carrier bolts.

On the top carrier bolt I used a 17" long breaker bar (hence the height the car needs to be jacked up) with 2" long 'wobble' extension fitted to the spline tool. Yes, the spline bolt was very tight, but it cracked loose straight away with just a bit of brute force. On the bottom carrier bolt I just used the breaker bar on the spline tool as the wobble extension wasn't required. There is no way a normal size wratchet would crack the carrier bolts as there's just not enough leverage (unless you've got arms like Popeye, I suppose ;). Once the carrier bolts were off the rest of the job was a piece of cake!

I gave the carrier bolts a good clean with the wire brush wheel on my bench grinder and then coated the threads in copper slip. For refitting, the Haynes manual states the bolts should be torqued to 90NM and then further tightened another 90 degrees. However, I just torqued them to 90NM as I felt that was quite tight enough. With the shock and spring already removed and out of the way there was enough room to get my torque wrench in the available space, and again, I used the 2" wobble extension on the top bolt. 

I realise now, as i'm writing this up, that I should have taken a few pics of the different stages as I went along as they might have been helpful to someone - but honestly, if you're already thinking of changing the brakes yourself then, believe me, removing the shock and spring is no more taxing.

 

DISC SIZES!!!!

 

Prior to starting this job I contacted my local branch of Euro Car Parts and gave them my registration number. They assured me that my disc sizes would be 312mm front and 282mm rear, and as they had access to a VAG database I had no reason to doubt them. I'm pretty certain that the sales chap on the phone quoted me £94.00 INCLUDING VAT (I always ask about VAT) for front and rear Pagid discs (I already had new pads to fit) so, thinking 'That's a bargain' I headed straight down to ECP. The chap on the counter told me the actual price was £94.00 PLUS VAT but I insisted I was quoted £94 including vat so they 'reluctantly' honoured the quote!.

 

I set about replacing the brakes the following day and when I had eventually removed the rears I managed to accurately measure them and discovered that my OE rear discs were 286mm not 282mm. I contacted ECP who then double checked their database and confirmed that my car should be fitted with 282mm rear discs. I enquired about exchanging my new 282's for 286's but was told 'NO' as they don't have a reference for 286mm discs for my car/model. I therefore decided that an overall diameter of -4mm is neither here nor there and duly fitted the 282's - and all is fine.

 

Regards,

Mothy.