Thanks Phil (aka June). Say hello to the wife, she's very supportive. :)

I feel like I'm in the mood of doing a major brake overhaul. The parts have been on the car for 8 years, nothing done whatsoever, so I think "it is time" as the monkey said in The Lion King. I got a tip from my brother that had tried to repair a rear caliper (Mazda 323 2.0) and failed in the process. He got a new one, just to find out the opposite side had early signs of wear (destruction). So get both...

If the rear disc is warped due to heat (which I think, as I feel a small vibration around 40-50 km/h , I'll need two of them aswell. And what about the front, these are used pretty hard? It will get pretty expensive, but a Bosch caliper for 100 GBP is really cheap (without returning the worn one). So 200 for a set of calipers, and 100 for 4 OMP discs:
Rear: Rear Brembo Brake Disc FIAT Stilo 01 to 07 on eBay (end time 11-Mar-10 1527 GMT)
Front: Brembo Brake Disc FIAT Stilo 1.6 16V 01 to 07 on eBay (end time 04-Apr-10 13:21:51 BST)

I'm up at 300+ GBP then. What's for 4 sets of good pads? They have to be wife-friendly and bite at once. No warming up here - I'd be keelhauled with track pads etc. Same applies if they squeak...

And perhaps 50 GBP for the shipment over the North Sea.

Some brakefluid, and all in all 500 GBP. That's a nice price in Norwegian terms. :D

Regards, Morten.

Well, at home I now have a pair of rear calipers, 4 grooved discs, 8 green stuff pads, 4 braided hoses, 1.5 litre of brake fluid. The car perfectly failed the MOT on everything mentioned above except the hoses. :) As expected actually.

So on to the questions. This is something I haven't done so 100% amateurs will be at work. My brother will come down with a pair of hands...

1. The rear calipers came with some sort of clips - thin metal. What are these for?
2. The cylinders/pistons in the calipers are not at the same "point". One cylinder is pushed more into the caliper than the other.
a. Will this need the pistons to be wound fully back?
b. Is that an idea to do when the calipers are mounted? I do have the "very-special-Stilo-caliper-piston-wind-back-brake-tool" from FIAT.
3. Where do I put copper paste? The brake pads came with some strange 3M adheshive (difficult word) which I don't have any idea what is for.
4. Do I have to slacken the handbrake wire? Both rear calipers will be replaced.
5. How do I install the braided hoses? Yes I know I've only got 4, and not 6 - does it really matter. Anyone with a spare 2? Thought the package would have 6...
6. Which way do I fit the discs? They are mirrored ofcourse, but how should the grooved "waves" look when watching from the side? Whould they grab the asphalt or whip it while driving forward? Do you get the picture? :)

And master question:
How to change brake fluid? A walktrhough would be nice. The brake and clutch share the same fluid don't they? How do I cope with this? Can I just unplug each caliper, pump out everything and refill? I've got a brake bleeding kit for those nipples, but as I will be changing to braided hoses (which I don't get how to fit) the lines will be open anyway? How can i damage anything?

Am I missing some tools or bits to make the car happy again? I need a "re-MOT" within 31st of May or the car is not street legal.

Originally Posted by Morty Mort

Well, at home I now have a pair of rear calipers, 4 grooved discs, 8 green stuff pads, 4 braided hoses, 1.5 litre of brake fluid. The car perfectly failed the MOT on everything mentioned above except the hoses. :) As expected actually.

So on to the questions. This is something I haven't done so 100% amateurs will be at work. My brother will come down with a pair of hands...

1. The rear calipers came with some sort of clips - thin metal. What are these for?
2. The cylinders/pistons in the calipers are not at the same "point". One cylinder is pushed more into the caliper than the other.
a. Will this need the pistons to be wound fully back?
b. Is that an idea to do when the calipers are mounted? I do have the "very-special-Stilo-caliper-piston-wind-back-brake-tool" from FIAT.
3. Where do I put copper paste? The brake pads came with some strange 3M adheshive (difficult word) which I don't have any idea what is for.
4. Do I have to slacken the handbrake wire? Both rear calipers will be replaced.
5. How do I install the braided hoses? Yes I know I've only got 4, and not 6 - does it really matter. Anyone with a spare 2? Thought the package would have 6...
6. Which way do I fit the discs? They are mirrored ofcourse, but how should the grooved "waves" look when watching from the side? Whould they grab the asphalt or whip it while driving forward? Do you get the picture? :)

And master question:
How to change brake fluid? A walktrhough would be nice. The brake and clutch share the same fluid don't they? How do I cope with this? Can I just unplug each caliper, pump out everything and refill? I've got a brake bleeding kit for those nipples, but as I will be changing to braided hoses (which I don't get how to fit) the lines will be open anyway? How can i damage anything?

Am I missing some tools or bits to make the car happy again? I need a "re-MOT" within 31st of May or the car is not street legal.

Hello from the UK..

The metal clips you talk about sound like shims..not seen any on many previous stilo rear brakes..post a pic if you can so I can see if they are in fact shims..if they are then you wont need them because the ebc pads should have rubber shims which you stick to the pad before you fit them..

2.. both pistons should be wound back in to the max remember here that they dont screw in the same way on the calipers..you have left hand drive car but I am sure the caliper pistons still screw in the same rotation as right and drive cars..your drivers side anti clockwise and your passengers side clock wise..if thats unclear then go by the rotation of the wheel as if your driving forward and screw in that direction..notice here your drivers side will be rotating anti clock wise..

Copper grease should be applied to the metal backing of pads but you have rubber pads to stick in place on the ebc ones so you should not need the grease..

Both hand brake cables should be slacken right back and its the first job on the list.. guide on here how to adjust and where to access..

Handbrake adjustment

On stilo calipers the hoses screw into them.. some use a banjo type as in this vid yours just screw in ..the inner fittings are simular to the ones in the vid iirc and have a male and female connection[one into the other type connection ]held in place with a nut through a bracket iirc..your hoses on the stilo have to be fitted to the caliper first and then connected to the metal brake line last..not like in this vid..this is so the rubber hose doesnt get kinked up and lay completely straight..the vid shows you how a male to female fitting works..

YouTube - How To Replace Brake Lines and Hoses

Discs have a correct and incorrect rotation..dont they give you any instructions with them..? this the norm with the discs..

http://www.ebcbrakes.com/Assets/discdirection.jpg

If you change the hoses for the braids then clamp the clutch slave cylinder hydraulic hose with a hose clamp before you change them over..at the worst you might need to also bleed the clutch but I got away with it when i changed mine over..I only used 4 braided hoses so you can clamp the inner most rubber hose on the rear to stop any eccess fluid loss here..when bleeding the brakes its important that you never let the fluid in the reservoir drop below the low leval ..always keep the leval high because its a duel use master cylinder..

When it comes to replacing the rear pads note that there is a pin on the back of one pad that needs to locate in the caliper piston..the piston has to be in the correct position for the pad to locate correctly..look at the old pads when you remove them so you can see what I mean..

Now a few more pics first showing rear hose arrangement to caliper..





And now front hose to caliper arrangement..

Thanks mate. Will take some photos when I'm back home tonight.

How do I go with changing the fluid all over? Can I just pump everything out with the brake pedal or will I ruin something then? Will having the ignition on help me pushing the pedal?

I will ofcourse take photos of the job and post up a guide or something. :) It is scheduled to the 13th of May - in the street, so we are praying for nice weather.

I would for safety just complete one caliper and disc change and then bleed that side..then move over to the next rear and bleed that..that way you will keep some fluid and pressure in the lines and make it less of headache for yourself..make sure you use syntetic fluid tho ..thats imprtant..if you dont it will affect the seals in the calipers and master cylinder over time..having a few problems with internet connection at the mo but I will try and log in from time to time to make sure your OK and should you need to ask any questions..

Okay, I've got Honeywell synthetic brake fluid DOT 4, which should be alright for normal road use.

So basically, I should start with one side rear with caliper, disc, braided hose and pads. The first in line rubber hose should be clamped before I start though. Then after everything is mounted, I should bleed that caliper?

Then the other rear before the fronts.

But won't the old and new fluid get mixed? How much should I bleed before filling new fluid in the reservoir? Why can't I just empty the whole reservoir if existing fluid?

I feel very confident doing it, it's just never bee done before. :)

Will I need some new bolts or bleed nipples?

I have heard some stories about screwing up the ABS after brake work, so how do I avoid this?

Regards, Morten.

Originally Posted by Morty Mort

Okay, I've got Honeywell synthetic brake fluid DOT 4, which should be alright for normal road use.

So basically, I should start with one side rear with caliper, disc, braided hose and pads. The first in line rubber hose should be clamped before I start though. Then after everything is mounted, I should bleed that caliper?

Then the other rear before the fronts.

But won't the old and new fluid get mixed? How much should I bleed before filling new fluid in the reservoir? Why can't I just empty the whole reservoir if existing fluid?

I feel very confident doing it, it's just never bee done before. :)

Will I need some new bolts or bleed nipples?

I have heard some stories about screwing up the ABS after brake work, so how do I avoid this?

Regards, Morten.

Braking circuits run front to back and are called duel circuit they link front to back on either side..just do one at a time and all will be OK just keep the reservoir full with fluid and dont let it drop below the min mark or you will suck air into the brake lines and this can be a bitch some times to get out ..as you pump and bleed all the old fluid will eventually come out and just leave the fresh in the system..better safe that sorry in your case mate..you shouldnt need new nipples wire brush the old and lube them and the only way you will possibly screw an abs sensor is if you force a piston back into a caliper and not loosen a nipple before doing so..clamp up a flexy brake line loosen a nipple will not harm the abs and is the right way to do it..I have done it the other way[not loosened a nipple but that was me being lazy ]

Shouldnt need any new bolts just clean them up with a wire brush..I take it you mean the caliper bracket mounting bolts ? the one that holds 2b in place..

Great. Thanks again. Here are some pictures of the items...


Front pads with wear sensor. Mysterious 3M rubber gadgets with faces like the pads.


Rear pads. These have a little "tap" on them. The rubber gagdets seem to need some cutting as they come in square pieces.


Front disc. Propably front right if I interpret your link correctly, Phil. The terms offside and nearside doesn't tell me anything. :)


One rear caliper with some mysterious small metal and rubber installations. What are these?


Both rear calipers. Notice the left piston is more retracted than the right one.


Steel braided hoses. 4 of them...

Now I know what you mean about the shiney clips they are anti rattle clips ..when you take the old pads out you will see that the pads sit in them.. they fix onto the calipers and as the pads ware they slid in them..grease the bases of them before you fix the pads in place..note how the old ones fit so you know how to insert the new ones..rubber shims are self adhesive pads that stick to the metal side of the front pads..you might have to trim the excess..place one on the metal side of the pad to see how it fits and if nesessary mark the shape of the pad on one and trim off excess..when thats done you can peel off the backing and stick inplace on the metal side of the pad..this acts as a shim and stops brake sqeal ..also I can see that one piston needs winding in make sure both are wound in the same amount..finally offside is our drivers side in the UK and nearside is passengers side in the UK when sat in the car looking forward..think I got those the right way round some one will correct me if I am wrong and got me arse about face no doubt..lol

Edit here not mentioned it before.. before you fit the discs in place make sure you degrease them with brake cleaner..this is just one such product on the market..

http://www.pvrdirect.co.uk/productin...x?catref=41925