8Pack

I am doing the front brakes today. I have brand new OEM rotors and pads. Do i need to prep the rotors in terms of sanding them or anything like that, or can I just clean them good with brake cleaner and bold them on....

Also, is antisqueal grease recommended behinded the pads?

8 Pack...

MP4.2+6.0

Installed rotors as is, which is what I normally do. With the EBC red pads I used, they have a break in compound (looks sandpapery), so I just went with that. With other pads or OEM, I typically just install and then do a break in driving cycle. Search archives for more, but it nets to a half dozen or so brisk stops from speed to heat pads up.

I don't put any grease behind the pads; the pads all have antinoise type shims now. I have been putting some anti-seize compound between the rotor and the hub to minimize the rust bonding, but am careful not to get it in the lug bolt holes. On the rears I am putting the grease at the pad contact points (see my post last week about uneven OEM rear pad wear). If I get pad noise, rather than grease I use the brush or spray on tacky adhesive type stuff made for brake pads. With the shim set up on the A8 though, as I say it worked for me just to install them dry.

8Pack

I installed everything at this point but haven't driven the car yet as I had an additional question...The rotors seemed to be completely painted with a very thin film of silver paint. I assume that comes off very quickly with the bedding process and does not need to be removed...If you confirm what I think I 'm going for a break in spin!

Here's what i did when I installed the pads and rotors:

I did use the pink anti-squeal stuff on the back of the pads.

I did use some grease where the hub and rotor touch, and like you kept it away from the holes.

I greased the pins.

Otherwise just bolted everything up...

Thanks for the HElp and advice, you are a GREAT resource for this site...

MP4.2+6.0

Thanks

The rotors from BrakeWorld I am using now that are the OEM's drilled and slotted also come painted. I just left it on and ran it. No ill effects. Again though the EBC pads have this break in coating that is initially abrasive. Even without it, from pulling two used sets of D3 OEM pads in front set ups and having some new ones in hand, they appear to be semimettalics, and I can see the new ones are somewhat rough. Strikes me they would cut right through a thin paint layer.

For later possible use (<30K miles to date) I intend to get my original rotors turned. Then if the shop doesn't do it I will then paint them thinly (though not so much on the wear faces) with high temp caliper paint. One of the weakest, least classy things on my whole car was the rust on the OEM rotor hats--and there won't many weak spots to start! Thus if yours are painted there, great. The BrakeWorld machined ones are too, and the paint is holding up perfectly with heat, water, washing, etc.

Mister Bally

Why do both of you keep it away from the wheel bolt holes? I always put a bead of it on the end of the bolt threads to prevent them from seizing up. Been doing this for years on four vehicles. Never had one seize up yet.

Prior to this, a tire shop could not get several off on my '87 5000CS. They had their air impact at full torque. I told them use a 3/4" drive breaker bar but they said they could not be liable. I had to go back with my own personal tool, back the car out into the parking lot (Insurance purposes) and break all of them free. They were so tight that I had to have MrsBally hold the brakes on with the engine running (for power boost) to break them free. That's when I started using anti-seize on all wheel bolts on my VW & Audi's and lug nuts on my GM vehicles.

MP4.2+6.0

Remember since the old days of cars, there are no longer left hand lug threads on one side. There used to be ages ago. Trying to remember actually if the C1 was still that way. And, I actually had my C1 have a loose wheel one time, though I think it followed my forgetting to torque them down. Thus the rotation on one side actually promotes loosening--in theory you don't want grease there to help it along. Doesn't tend to happen, but a factor. You still see that design on bikes by the way with pedals, freewheels and bottom brackets. Too old to figure out which side of the car technically makes sense to do it on and which side doesn't.

In practice, if I do it, I put a super thin dab only at the head contact point and not on the threads. If I do that, it's to get a better reading with the torque wrench. With the high end washered D3 bolts, that is already well handled. My car is CA too, so we don't get the heavy road corrosion issues snow belters do. I do it on trailer bolts given the salt exposure and especially if I use stainless. Also on a steel bolt to an aluminum wheel, not much chance of huge corrosion there. But at the disk to hub interface with both being steel and getting hot, cold and wet tens of thousands of times over, there definitely is. By chance by the way was your CS steel wheel equipped? My 5000S had the aluminum wheels, but I remember a few had steelies with hubcaps. Saw the issue on C1's a bit with steelies when I bought them from others undermaintained, but haven't seen it since with aluminum wheels.

Finally I always torque my own wheels, so I know the wheel monkey won't go wild with the air gun at 250 ft. lbs that I find 3 years later.

8Pack

I can't remember where I have the knowledge stored from, but as I recall, using grease on the threads makes the torqueing of the nuts unreliable and they have to be rechecked reqularly and as the wise tale goes makes it more likely they will loosen...I could be all wrong, but why risk it until i have better facts

8Pack

Go for a drive and some brake bedding!!!

ricoblanco

After my misadventures with a lug bolt stripping on me (after having new tires installed, wheel monkey strikes again), I started using anti-seize as well. No issues as of yet. Good thing somebody invented "Bolt Out" to remove that lug bolt!