....I'm at present trying to replace the rear dust shields before fitting my new discs and pads but I've just discovered I can't fit them over the hub!

Stupid question here but do the hubs have to be removed first?

Apparently so. That's why lot of people just cut them off with a dremmel. Mine are rattling and I certainly won't fit new hubs just for them.

What an absolute pain in the ars*, I had to cut the section that sits behind the calipers off with a grinder then it slotted straight into place, what's the point of that bit anyway because it doesn't even attach to anything, 3 scews later and it's not going anywhere, job done.

Even more of a headache was the new discs being slighty thinker than OEM and having to grind back the corners of the carriers to allow the disc to move freely, it's taken me from 10am till 5pm to get it all sorted when it's a 2hr job max for the initiated, done now though I guess after many naughty words said but a lesson learnt using non OEM discs!

Edited 4 November, 201312 yr by billywhiz040480

On BMWs the dust shield also retains the handbrake shoes.  The shields are notorious for rusting, causing the shoes to fall off and rattle around inside the disc (which doubles as a handbrake drum), and it's a bizarrely common MoT failure.  Most of the rest of the world has gone to wind-back pistons where the handbrake uses the normal pads, but BMW are in the dark ages.

 

It cost £500 for me to have ONE backplate replaced on an E46 3-series.  Independent garage couldn't manage it so the main dealer cut the bearing off the driveshaft at £125/hour.  Plus VAT.