Thanks for the question David. It really comes down to how comfortable you feel doing mechanical repairs on your car. It will save you a lot of money by doing it yourself. The front brakes on the Passat are pretty straightforward and will require only a few tools. You can avoid renting the brake caliper tool if you have a large C clamp available. Just follow along to the video and be sure to make sure things are tightened afterwards, especially the lug nuts. Let us know how it goes, happy to help walk you through it. Cheers!
From being poor I learn how to do my own brake that's how you learn just be glad you have videos like this I had to learn from a manual and reading comprehension
Thanks for the question Mike. Not sure what you mean by "traditional" slide pins but the VW does use slide pins. The caliper will move along those pins as the pads wear down. Check them out here 9:56 Good luck on your VW project. Cheers!
My brakes are dragging after install. I greased everything and cleaned well. Can’t for the life of me figure it out. Bled the system as well a couple times to make sure it wasn’t it.
Hey Tyler, sorry to hear that you are having trouble after doing your Passat brakes. It is normal for all disc brakes to have a slight contact with the rotor at all times. You will hear it making contact but should not affect the wheel from spinning freely. How much "dragging" are you currently getting? Will it stop the wheel from spinning? Is it the same on both sides? If not you might have a "sticky" caliper, where the piston is not relaxing after letting off the brake pedal. Please let us know and we will try to get you back up and running. Cheers!
@@BradleysGarage it just feels like I am accelerating a little harder than before and it’s effecting mpg. I can spin freely by hand and can hear it every 1-1/2 rotations but not during driving. It drives straight for the most part. I just didn’t know if it was a break in period but it seems maybe like a sticky caliper. 🤷🏻♂️
Another trick to check the functionality of each caliper is to lift it off the ground again. Then with the help of a buddy, one spins the wheel while the other applies the brakes. Do this while the car is running so the vacuum and booster is functioning normally. This will give you an idea of either caliper is sticking. Just spin and brake a few times on each side and see how the wheel spins. Like I mentioned before, it's normal for a slight drag on the pads but definitely not anything you would be able to feel while driving. Typically if you have a sticking caliper you would tend to get a pull to one side. Let us know how it goes, Cheers!
Thanks for the comments, appreciate the feedback. We have been using CRC brake grease for a couple decades now. It's a synthetic fluoropolymer (PTFE) with Moly and Graphite. It's low friction, non stick, has high thermal stability, will not affect the rubber components and has excellent chemical resistance. That being said, we do want to try our Sil-Glyde on our next brake repair. Cheers!
@BradleysGarage Yes Sil-Glyde is all I use on slide pins. Love the stuff. CRC is all I use for brakes pad ends and such as it lasts longer in elements. just not slides. Love the stuff. Not sure if it's a issue with just humid states or not. I live in ohio. But I use both, and have never had issues in 10+ years
@@SooSmokie Thanks for the info, it sounds like silicon might be better for the slide pins so we are excited to try out the Sil-Glyde product. We don't get much inclement weather here in SoCal so most products tend to last a long time. Thanks again for hanging out, Cheers!
@@SooSmokie Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear the product is working out great. We have already ordered the Sil-Glyde so it will be here for the next brake repair. Cheers!
Can we stop putting lube on the ears of the brake pad. All it does is collect dirt and brake dust and after a few thousand miles, it causes the pads to get stuck in the bracket. Leading to uneven brake pad and rotor wear decreasing your pad and rotor life. There is a reason no manufacturer puts lube on pad ears from the factory.
Thanks for the suggestions Bryce, appreciate the feedback. That's the way my pops showed me many, many years ago so I guess it's an old habit that won't die. Thanks again for hanging out. Cheers!
This is dependent on where you live. In ohio, you have to use grease on the pad ends. All dealers sell their cars with grease on the pad ends. Not in a rust belt state? Go for it. Never had this seize brakes before. Never once. Id be more worried about the CRC he put on slide pins which is not good. Should always use silicone. That synthetic grease will cause it to seize. I use sil glyde for caliper slide pins.
Oh my goodness. Spoken like a true non licensed mechanic. I take severe criticism of this comment. Lubricating the ears is absolutely vital, but only when you’re using the proper type of lubricant.
Proper brake lubricant does not gather dust and contaminants and provides the shoe with the amount of movement to evenly apply brake pressure on both sides of the rotor through the long term.
Excellent resource. I love how you specifically communicated the torque values and tool sizes. 👍
Thanks for the kind words Shoyer, glad you enjoyed the video. Good luck on your Passat project. Cheers!
Awesome vid
Thanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed the video. Appreciate you hanging out on the channel, Cheers!
great video! thank you so much!
Thanks for the comments Shanda, glad you enjoyed the video.
Cheers!
Would you recommend this if I've never done it before? I just wanna save money
Thanks for the question David. It really comes down to how comfortable you feel doing mechanical repairs on your car. It will save you a lot of money by doing it yourself. The front brakes on the Passat are pretty straightforward and will require only a few tools. You can avoid renting the brake caliper tool if you have a large C clamp available.
Just follow along to the video and be sure to make sure things are tightened afterwards, especially the lug nuts. Let us know how it goes, happy to help walk you through it.
Cheers!
From being poor I learn how to do my own brake that's how you learn just be glad you have videos like this I had to learn from a manual and reading comprehension
I give this video a full endorsement for a man who wants to give er. Very thorough.
Thanks for the kind words Chad, glad you enjoyed the video.
Cheers!
How do the brakes slide back without traditional slide pins?
Thanks for the question Mike. Not sure what you mean by "traditional" slide pins but the VW does use slide pins. The caliper will move along those pins as the pads wear down.
Check them out here 9:56
Good luck on your VW project.
Cheers!
My brakes are dragging after install. I greased everything and cleaned well. Can’t for the life of me figure it out. Bled the system as well a couple times to make sure it wasn’t it.
Hey Tyler, sorry to hear that you are having trouble after doing your Passat brakes. It is normal for all disc brakes to have a slight contact with the rotor at all times. You will hear it making contact but should not affect the wheel from spinning freely.
How much "dragging" are you currently getting? Will it stop the wheel from spinning?
Is it the same on both sides?
If not you might have a "sticky" caliper, where the piston is not relaxing after letting off the brake pedal.
Please let us know and we will try to get you back up and running.
Cheers!
@@BradleysGarage it just feels like I am accelerating a little harder than before and it’s effecting mpg. I can spin freely by hand and can hear it every 1-1/2 rotations but not during driving. It drives straight for the most part. I just didn’t know if it was a break in period but it seems maybe like a sticky caliper. 🤷🏻♂️
Another trick to check the functionality of each caliper is to lift it off the ground again. Then with the help of a buddy, one spins the wheel while the other applies the brakes. Do this while the car is running so the vacuum and booster is functioning normally.
This will give you an idea of either caliper is sticking. Just spin and brake a few times on each side and see how the wheel spins.
Like I mentioned before, it's normal for a slight drag on the pads but definitely not anything you would be able to feel while driving. Typically if you have a sticking caliper you would tend to get a pull to one side.
Let us know how it goes, Cheers!
@@BradleysGarage thank you for the help and insight. 🙏
@@TylerSmithMusic1 No worries, let us know if you get it sorted. Cheers!
TDI gang
Thanks for the comments Ronald, we have a few of them at the moment. 😎
Cheers!
NO! you are not supposed to put grease on the slide pins. Specially not CRC. Slide pins need silicone. That stuff will seize a caliper.
Thanks for the comments, appreciate the feedback. We have been using CRC brake grease for a couple decades now. It's a synthetic fluoropolymer (PTFE) with Moly and Graphite. It's low friction, non stick, has high thermal stability, will not affect the rubber components and has excellent chemical resistance.
That being said, we do want to try our Sil-Glyde on our next brake repair. Cheers!
@BradleysGarage Yes Sil-Glyde is all I use on slide pins. Love the stuff.
CRC is all I use for brakes pad ends and such as it lasts longer in elements. just not slides.
Love the stuff.
Not sure if it's a issue with just humid states or not. I live in ohio.
But I use both, and have never had issues in 10+ years
@@SooSmokie Thanks for the info, it sounds like silicon might be better for the slide pins so we are excited to try out the Sil-Glyde product.
We don't get much inclement weather here in SoCal so most products tend to last a long time.
Thanks again for hanging out, Cheers!
@@SooSmokie Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear the product is working out great. We have already ordered the Sil-Glyde so it will be here for the next brake repair.
Cheers!
@BradleysGarage Goodluck on your channel! I wish the best for you!
Can we stop putting lube on the ears of the brake pad. All it does is collect dirt and brake dust and after a few thousand miles, it causes the pads to get stuck in the bracket. Leading to uneven brake pad and rotor wear decreasing your pad and rotor life. There is a reason no manufacturer puts lube on pad ears from the factory.
Thanks for the suggestions Bryce, appreciate the feedback. That's the way my pops showed me many, many years ago so I guess it's an old habit that won't die. Thanks again for hanging out. Cheers!
This is dependent on where you live. In ohio, you have to use grease on the pad ends. All dealers sell their cars with grease on the pad ends.
Not in a rust belt state? Go for it.
Never had this seize brakes before. Never once.
Id be more worried about the CRC he put on slide pins which is not good. Should always use silicone.
That synthetic grease will cause it to seize.
I use sil glyde for caliper slide pins.
Oh my goodness. Spoken like a true non licensed mechanic. I take severe criticism of this comment. Lubricating the ears is absolutely vital, but only when you’re using the proper type of lubricant.
Proper brake lubricant does not gather dust and contaminants and provides the shoe with the amount of movement to evenly apply brake pressure on both sides of the rotor through the long term.
As a new owner of a Passat, I thoroughly enjoyed and approve of this video. You did a great job.