dale55

How difficult is it for a not so mechanical guy to change the front rotors on a 3.2 tt?

Rebel TT

Not hard at all, i know a little about cars but am not a mechanic by any means and it took me about 45 min on one side and about 20 on the other once i knew what i was doing. Theres a link somewhere on how to do this if i can find it i will post it later

dale55

Thanks a lot!

rabbiTT

It's not hard at all. I looked for a link myself - I think it was one of the AudiWorld tech articles (found at https://www.audiworld.com/tech/ ). You will have to take off the wheels, release the brake pads, remove the two bolts holding the calipers on, but do not let the caliper hang - you'll need some heavy duty wire to suspend it from the upper control arm or springs. Once that is off there is usually a retaining screw on the rotor. For re-assembly, everything is done in reverse.

I upgraded mine to Stoptech cross-drilled and vented at all four corners. Get yourself some brake cleaner and a stiff wire brush. Also you may need an impact driver with an appropriate sized phillips bit as the rotors can become rusted on to the hub and the retaining screw may be a bear to get off after years of use. Once you remove the rotor, give the hub a good cleaning with the wire brush.

Also, if you have not changed the fluid in the last 2 years, it would be a good idea to do that. Either way, as you push the pistons on the calipers back in to make room for the new, thicker pads and rotor be careful it does not overflow the reservoir - unlikely but can happen and brake fluid is pretty corrosive stuff on other car parts and paint. If you are going to I might recommend the motive products pressurised canister which makes the one man job so much easier and much faster even if you have an assistant who is going to pump the brakes.

Good luck!

gaber6

when removing the screw that holds the rotor on..
tap a screwdriver in with a hammer, push in as hard as you can, and have a friend turn the screwdriver with a pair of vice grips. It'll save time when it starts to strip because it's all rusty.

Oh_My_VR6

Very easy. Remove the (2) 13mm bolts that hold the caliper to the pins, and the (2) 17mm bolts that hold the caliper carrier (caliper bracket) to the hub. After that, try to remove the the rotor securing screw, bust chances are it won't come out, so just smack the rotor off with a mini-sledge. The head of the screw should pop and then you can unscrew it with a set of needle nose pliers. Remove the lid on the brake fluid reservoir and then compress the caliper piston back in. It is mandatory that you take the cap off and relieve the pressure or you run the risk of blowing fluid out of the seals at the master cylinder. Installation is reverse of removal.

wibs

I'll have to try this, I stripped the screw yesterday and spent 2h drilling the screw out and I still couldn't get it out. I called everyone I knew and finally someone with some high school mechanic experience told me I had to buy a better bit because I probably killed mine on my last project. We'll see how cry-treated cobalt works today. He said it shouldn't take longer than 15-20 minutes with the right drill and proper lubricant (NOT WATER) he said for non-diamond drill bits.

wibs

*cryo-treated

Huey52

I'm really surprised that the hand impact driver, with appropriate torx bit, didn't work to remove the rotor retention screw. Sometimes it can take quite a few brisk 2-lb hammer strikes but always comes free in my experience (unless someone has already deformed the torx head).

wibs

Normally I'm sure it'd work but I already partially stripped it trying to use an allon wrench to open the screw. I didn't realize at the time there was a special Torx bit but I do remember making the comment to myself that the allon bit didn't fill the screw head like it should have.