Changing rear disc and pads on a 2003 VW Passat 1.8T. This video applies to the 1998-2005 VW Passat and 1996-2001 Audi A4. Remember to use jack stands and ch…
2003 VW Passat Rear Disc Brakes
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Bleeding the system when doing a brake job is the RIGHT thing to do, so you
SHOULD do it. I take a shortcut in this video to avoid bleeding the system.
I specifically open the bleeder valve and pinch off the supply line to
prevent any back pressure from being applied to the ABS module. Good luck
with your project!
I just want to confirm before I do this. Has everyone that has done this,
automatically screwed up their ABS module? Or are there a bunch of people
who’ve done it, and not had any problems with ABS?
Great video. I love the speed-ups. I’ll be doing this this weekend.
Thanks for the nice comments! I totally agree! Keep it short and
to-the-point.
Thank you for doing an instructional video like this. You didn’t talk
unnecessarily and you didn’t skip any steps. I like that you sped up
through the mundane areas. This should be a template for all other
instructional videos.
Excellent tutorial. Just about to do this myself. THANKS
a hammer and a flathead screwdriver, leave handbrake off and put the car
into gear to prevent any roll. now try and prize them apart!
thanks i had proper tool but never came up with idea to open bliding valve
now it will probably be posible to twist cylinder back..
Thank for the positive comment! It feels great to be able to contribute to
the knowledge base that has saved me so many Saturday mornings!
great video, thanks very much, it made my saturday morning job much easier
seeing how you did things.
Glad you found it helpful!
Excellent video. The Haynes manual says to fully release the parking brake
from underneath then completely remove the caliper.The top caliper bolt is
blocked by the parking brake actuator. I was uncertain about this and found
this video. Watching this video I had an Ah-HA moment. No parking brake
interaction required! Remove the bottom bolt only and leave the caliper on!
Hooray youtube! Hooray HH! I also do the bleed avoidance maneuver. I will
be doing a full flush of the brake fluid soon.
Hi there, thanks for helpful video. Last weekend I changed my rotors
following all your instructions. However I discovered that my calipers are
not pressing brake pads all the way, there are 2 mark lines which are
making only contact with the rotors. I wanted to replace calipers and
brackets, while attempting to do that I found more rusty screws(hard to
remove) on wheel bearing hub assembly. Question: what needs to be done to
replace this assembly, is it screwed in just with that 5 bolts?
That’s bizarre! Is it like that on both side of the rotor? If the outside
pad is not making good contact with the rotor, but the inside pad is, you
probably have stuck slider bolts. The two metal pins that the caliper
slides on sometimes get rusty and seize. Remove the caliper, remove the
slider bolts. Inspect and replace if necessary.
There’s some heated debate on this topic including… 1.) whether to open
the bleeder valve at all,… 2.) whether to clamp the brake line, and…
3.) whether to perform a full flush every time the system is opened.
did you get the “brake fault STOP see service manual” with beeps??? mine
does it all the time? brakes are good, brake fluid is full????….WTF some
one plz tell me how to fix it? ABS mod? and the check engine light is on,
hooked it up and it shows no faults? I can reset engine light but it just
comes back????
Agreed. I’ve done a dozen brake jobs without opening the bleeder valve and
have had no issues, but I can’t recommend it. as a best-practice, always
open the bleeder valve as seen in this video. Any brake fluid behind the
piston is squeezed out through the bleeder valve. The needle nose vice
grips theoretically prevent air bubbles from moving up the brake line while
the bleeder valve is open.
Definitely replace the calipers soon. Did you open the bleeder valve before
C-clamping the pistons? If not, you could have potentially damaged the
brake master cylinder too:(… I don’t think the clutch hardness could be
related to the brake issues. Good luck!
hey yes unfortunantly i did both sides with a c clamp.. the parking break
is out it doesnt work and the car seems to be loosing break fluid.. so u
think the calipers are gone.. also my clutch got harder since the incident
..
Sounds like an ABS module problem to me. Also, from what I understand, ODB2
scanners are notoriously bad at diagnosing VW issues. VW has their own
proprietary scanner called the Vag-COM. Verrückter Deutscher!
Those pads were sitting too tight… yes the wheel was spinning after you
released the hand brake, but either one will eventually stick and cause
uneven pad wear (similar to what the old ones looked like). Lubing the
sliders would also have been a good idea… as someone already mentioned.
Nice!
you can wreak the master if you don’t undo the bleed valve before pushing
the piston in, it’s a small chance, but a expensive one.
RESPECT The book said all this remove brake oil half way with turkey baster
and all this.
sounds like an adventure.. i will look around n see what happens i hope i
didn’t blow the master cylinder .. but ill keep u updated .. thanks a lot
for the replies and the advice .. great channel buddy cheerz
The piston gets pushed back out by the pressure of the brake fluid like the
front. The need to screw in the piston has to do with the parking brake
self-adjuster within the piston. Although the caliper will work without
this step, you should apply and release the parking brake to extend the
parking brake self-adjuster before pumping the brake pedal to set the
piston. “myturbodiesld0tcom” has a great video showing a disassembled
caliper that will help you make sense of this concept.
I really don’t think it is necessary to pinch the brake line. I open the
bleeder when using the caliper retraction tool. Then close it. After
pad/rotor replacement I then bleed that wheel incase any air got into the
caliper or brake line. Of course you will need someone to work the pedal
for you or use a one man bleeder kit. Then top off the master cylinder. The
2003 passat uses DOT4 which is synthetic fluid for those who might be
interested. Don’t use DOT3. 3 can use 4 but 4 can’t use 3.
My opinion? The absolute best thing would be to completely bleed the system
every time you do a brake job. Failing that, I think the pinched line trick
does two things… First, it prevents fluid from getting pushed back up
into the ABS system and master cylinder (although having the bleeder vale
open should prevent that). Second, it prevents gravity from pulling more
fluid out of the system (leaving an air pocket behind the piston) while you
complete the brake job. Hope this helps!
Did you use a C-clamp on both rear calipers? Are the regular rear brakes
working on both rear wheels? I’m just trying to figure out if you should go
buy a new rear caliper (or two). If the regular rear brakes are working at
both wheels, you could probably just continue to drive that way. If you
only broke the parking brake self-adjuster at one of the rear calipers, you
could probably just continue to use the one working parking brake.
Otherwise, you can get an OEM caliper for $100. Good luck!
Youtube doesn’t allow links to be posted in comments, but if you Google
“drive accord pinch off”, the first hit should be a thread concerning this
topic. The thread contains a lot of nay-saying, and specifically references
Eric the Car Guy’s video.
so i used a c clamp to do the bak and my parking break gave out .. i didnt
realize that i had to use the special too…so wats next ? should i re-open
and push it bak with the tool or its too late ..?
There is some discussion in the comments section about bleeding brakes.
Bleeding the system when doing a brake job is the RIGHT thing to do. I take
a shortcut in this video to avoid bleeding the system. I’ve even compressed
FRONT calipers before WITHOUT opening the bleeder valve and it has worked,
although that technique is not recommended because supposedly it puts undue
pressure on the brake master cylinder.
03 vw Passat 1.8T
It’s the ABS module. I sent my module to this guy in VA who fixed it for 99
bucks.
Hi Pbielek, I’m glad you found the video useful. I’m not sure what you mean
by “two mark lines which are making contact with the rotors”. Did you
replace the pads too? Are you able to apply your parking brake? How can you
tell the calipers are not “pressing brake brake pads all the way? As far as
the hub goes… I haven’t replaced a hub assembly, so I’d direct you to the
manual for that one. Why do you want to replace the hub assembly anyhow?
wow..i dont recall opening any valves when i pushed the piston back 🙁 well
the vehicle i have is an a4 Quattro 03 . so i was wondering if i can get
the calipers from the junkyard.. so is the Passat compatible with the a4
Quattro ? cheerz
Isn’t it better to just loosen the cap on the brake fuild container, rather
than pinching off the brake lines?
Glad to be of service!
WHY DIDNT YOU BLEED THE BRAKES?
By 2 lines I mean that from all rotor area there is just contact with the
pads on the bottom(1″) and (1/2″) on the top of the rotor. I can see the
marks after breaking. Pads are 2months old, at first I thought replacing
them is all I need to do. Hand brake works, not 100% I need to pull the
lever a few clicks more, but it was like that even with the old pads. The
hub assembly and assembly bolts are very rusty so I thought might be time
saving to replace it in the same time
The ’98-05 VW Passat and ’96-01 Audi A4 are the same platform, so your ’03
A4 is one generation newer. That doesn’t mean there aren’t common
components between generations, but… Make sure you do your research to
see which vehicles use the same calipers as yours. If you don’t have a shop
manual, call an auto parts store and ask which part works for your car.
Does the piston screw back in or is it just pushed like the front?
dad parked my volks with the handbrake on, took the battery out and left it
for 3 months – handbreak seized – know how I could take the hb off or
unseize it without removing the weels?, caliper disc breaks, 99 passat, can
I take off the back wheels and get the hb off ??? HELP!