[moralfibre]

We've found a novel way of maintaining my brother's E90 320D for reasonable costs. The car was acquired way back in 2012 with the odometer reading a shade above 10,000 kms. The deal was lucrative and the package an absolute stonker. As enthusiastic as it may sound, the E90 became his daily driver that once took the family all the way from Pune to Delhi and back just a few months after purchase.

Since the purchase, a couple of services were done at the authorized BMW workshop and they did a good job while denting the pocket even more decently. It is a given that a "premium" car commands a premium service expense as well. But, in the back of our minds we figured out that there is only so much that workshops are competent with. Routine service is not rocket science and can be pulled off anywhere as long as you have access to the right tools, information and people. The car had approached 30,000kms in 4 years. The car remains idle for about 5-6 months a year when my brother is sailing. I merely keep the battery healthy by driving the car around once a month or so.

Last year when the MID threw a service warning, we gathered all parts from Shetty motors in Bombay and headed to . Along-with routine filter and fluid replacements, we replaced both front shock absorbers since the left one was shot after hitting a rather rough patch enroute Goa. The car was jiggly and warranted a replacement. Some elbow grease and about 8 hours of labour later, we came out shining with a well serviced BMW at an FNG. The confidence grew and we decided to ditch the authorized service center completely.

Last month, the rear brake pad wear indicator prompted a replacement in 3000 kms. Gotta love BMWs individual service warnings for replacements. This time around, we tried an alternate source to bring down necessary parts for the replacement from http://www.schmiedmann.com/ . Although the parts arrived in good condition, the wiper blades were wrong part numbers and the the shipment was charged a heavy duty at customs clearance. Next time around, we will rely on sources like www.narenjpr.com to get all required parts for the car.

Booked an appointment with Tune Up plus and took the car to the workshop this morning. The front pads still had a life of about 30000km in them. We decided to replace the rear ones and while at it, get the horn replaced. The required parts had arrived from Schmiedmann about a month and half ago.

Unpacked the brake pads from the box to ensure they are the right fit. Compared pictures on the internet and cross checked part numbers as well. All seemed ok.

Please bear with the quality of pictures. It is pretty difficult to operate the phone camera with dirty hands at the garage.

[moralfibre]

The E90 is a relatively low slung sedan. This makes it difficult to hoist the car on conventional lifts found in garages. You need a low trolley jack to bring it up. While we could have put her on a 4-post lift with some effort, we decided to use traditional tripods and a trolley jack method.

Here's how you replace rear brake pads in easy steps:

Raise the rear and secure it safely on a tripod. Undo the rear wheel using a 17mm wheel spanner:

The forward mounted caliper on the rear disc:



Notice brake pad clearance. There's hardly any pads left. Visual inspection confirms that the brake wear indicator is working as expected:



A 7mm hex bit mounted on a ratchet is used to undo the caliper bolts:



Pop the caliper open after loosing the pair of 7mm hex bolts holding the caliper in place from the inner side of the mount:



The outer brake pad simply drops down after you undo the pin plate securing the pad in place. Comparison of new v/s old:



Inner pad is easily distinguished by looking at the floral clip mounted on top:



Once you pull out the inner pad, be a little careful with the brake wear sensor cable attached to the pad:



Pull it out safely:



And also the locking pin that is attached to the small groove on the pad:



Place the inner pad on the caliper piston and gently push it in place. The pad will self lock itself in the seat:



Notice how far out the caliper piston is. You need to gently push it back in place to compensate for the thicker pads that will replace the outgoing worn out ones:



First get a large syringe to pull out some brake fluid. The reason for this is that once you push the piston back in, the brake lines will return brake fluid back to the oil canister. Possibly spilling it in your engine bay. Therefore, extract sufficient quantity out of the system.



What you see in the picture is a syringe usually used for injecting medicines for horses. Yeah that big!



Use a good quality vice clamp to securely push the piston back in place:





Quick look at old v/s new:



Place the caliper back on the disc and tighten hex bolts to secure it:



Secure the locking pin back on the caliper:



Place the wear sensor back on the inner pad. Ensure that you lock the wire in the rubber cap on top of the nipple used for brake bleeding:



And we are done:

[moralfibre]

Other points:

Do not ignore brake warnings ever. That's the most important component between you and St. Peter. Second being your car tyres. Co-incidentally, there was a Land Rover Discovery at the workshop that had come in for brake troubles. The driver ignored the warning lights on the dash until it was too late. And then this happened -

Look ma only metal:



Inner side of the disc completely scratched due to lack of padding material:





We also bled the entire brake system with DOT4 oil. The end result was a nice and tight brake pedal. Cars with traction control are bound to have their rear brake pads shot too often if you drive them a little too hard.

Once done, do not forget to reset the on-board computer to apprise it of the newer pads and fresh oil.

- Press and hold trip reset meter for greater than 5 seconds.

- Self help menu can be toggled using the left stalk behind the steering.

- Once you are at the rear brake pad menu, press BC button to enter the menu options and choose reset.

Quite a cake walk! Most online resources recommended a brake wear sensor replacement along-with the brake pads. Not sure why though!

While at the workshop, we also got the car's horn replaced, the low tone had gone for a toss and required a replacement. Each tone is placed on far ends of the bumper and are quite cumbersome to replace. Original replacements are from Fiamm and have a custom socket. When time permits, we'll open up the old ones to have them repaired as a backup set. These are German cars, they barely test their horns during R&D:






Very impressed by the rising standards of my FNG. The mechanics are constantly trained to follow best practices. Hope they'll get accustomed to using gloves and safety gear while working on the shop floor as well.

[moralfibre]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Quite a cake walk! Most online resources recommended a brake wear sensor replacement along-with the brake pads. Not sure why though!

Pretty neat and detailed thread. Wear sensor can get worn if the car is driven for long after the wear indicator lights up. Its a simple metal strip, hence it is advised to replace the sensor also.

One suggestion from my side, get a good wash including underbody done before you go in for any work, especially on the under side of the car. It will keep the whole process less messier and help avoid muck getting into bolts and other delicate areas. Ideally keep the underbody clean even otherwise, especially for cars that are parked long time like this.

Doesn't BMW recommend clean up of caliper assembly and pins, especially lubing the pins with appropriate grease? During pad change?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

One suggestion from my side, get a good wash including underbody done before you go in for any work, especially on the under side of the car. It will keep the whole process less messier and help avoid muck getting into bolts and other delicate areas. Ideally keep the underbody clean even otherwise, especially for cars that are parked long time like this.

Completely agree on this. Was quite lazy to get this done fast and skipped the wash. Will ensure this is done next time onwards.

Doesn't BMW recommend clean up of caliper assembly and pins, especially lubing the pins with appropriate grease? During pad change?

I relied on online posts from E90 post and Pelican to check the process. None of them showed caliper pin greasing. Most of them recommend using brake quiet kind of stuff on the pads to stick them in place. Though I skipped that.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Place the wear sensor back on the inner pad. Ensure that you lock the wire in the rubber cap on top of the nipple used for brake bleeding:

Lovely write up moralfibre! I changed the brake pads on my E90 a few years ago but my write-up was no where as detailed as yours.

I stuck with the OEM pads (Textar is one company that makes BMW OEM pads) as I believe they're perfect for normal driving conditions.

It is recommended to change the brake wear sensor along-with the pads, as has Jaggu mentioned already.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Wear sensor can get worn if the car is driven for long after the wear indicator lights up. Its a simple metal strip, hence it is advised to replace the sensor also.

Doesn't BMW recommend clean up of caliper assembly and pins, especially lubing the pins with appropriate grease? During pad change?

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I relied on online posts from E90 post and Pelican to check the process. None of them showed caliper pin greasing. Most of them recommend using brake quiet kind of stuff on the pads to stick them in place.

Yes, BMW does sell caliber pin grease (P/N: 83 19 2 158 851). It comes in a small white packet (sachet).

I don't know whether using the CRC Disc Brake Quiet on the pads makes a difference but I remember I used (a lot, where little would have sufficed).

[the_skyliner]

What a detailed writeup, moralfibre! Thanks for sharing.

My car's front pads are due for change in 2k kms. Will connect with you to explore the option of replacing them at TUP. I asked BMW ASS to not replace them during last servicing as iDrive was still showing 4k kms of life left in them.

Could you please share the price of sourcing including the customs and all?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

What a detailed writeup, moralfibre! Thanks for sharing.

My car's front pads are due for change in 2k kms. Will connect with you to explore the option of replacing them at TUP. I asked BMW ASS to not replace them during last servicing as iDrive was still showing 4k kms of life left in them.

Could you please share the price of sourcing including the customs and all?

Here's the total cost of purchase for various parts that we ordered. Duty was roughly Rs. 6,700/- odd. I'd suggest you source the parts locally. Brake pad replacement and service is truly a cake walk with after market support. Just to give you a comparison reference, the Land Rover Discovery brake pad replacement at A.S.S is nearly Rs. 1.3L or so (hearsay prices). Aftermarket brake pads made in UK and widely used among Land Rover owners cost roughly Rs. 70k. That 50% off!

Total was Euro 274.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Here's the total cost of purchase for various parts that we ordered. Duty was roughly Rs. 6,700/- odd. I'd suggest you source the parts locally. Brake pad replacement and service is truly a cake walk with after market support. Just to give you a comparison reference, the Land Rover Discovery brake pad replacement at A.S.S is nearly Rs. 1.3L or so (hearsay prices). Aftermarket brake pads made in UK and widely used among Land Rover owners cost roughly Rs. 70k. That 50% off!

Total was Euro 274.

Attachment 1611693

Thanks a lot!
1.3L for brake pad replacement?

I have a colleague who would be visiting Europe next month for a couple of weeks. He can get the parts for me.

Will he be required to pay custom duty at the airport for that?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I have a colleague who would be visiting Europe next month for a couple of weeks. He can get the parts for me.

Will he be required to pay custom duty at the airport for that?

Hopefully not if he hand carries the parts. This is a very useful resource to get your part numbers right. Enter the last 7 chars of your VIN and you are set.