Jetta, Golf, New beetle brake pad and rotor replacement, front and rear
Difficulty: 2/5
Back to a4 "how to" index

Disclaimer: Before you attempt any brake work on your car, refer to the factory service manual and follow all precautions.  Any and all information presented on this website is not a substitute for a certified professional mechanic.  See the TOS Agreement for the full legal disclaimer.

Introduction

This article will start with the front brakes, then show how to do the rear brakes.  You may want to flush the hydraulic system while you are under there.  For that procedure, see: 1000 answered questions: bleeding brake/clutch hydraulic system.  For a FAQ and mythbusting of brake tips,  see 1000q: basic brake FAQ

The front rotors on your VW TDI will tend to wear out earlier than the rear brakes.  This is due to the electronically distributed braking on your TDI.  If you are doing the fronts, check the rears as well.  In addition, VW rotors are often worn out at the same time the pads are worn out.  In general, the rotors should be turned and cleaned if there is sufficient material to remove and stay above the minimum thickness and last long enough to the next brake job and if there is excessive runout.  However, since "turning the rotors" involves putting them on a brake lathe and removing the top layer of material to make it flat, it makes them more likely to warp.  Braking generates heat and the less rotor mass there is to absorb the heat, the more likely the rotor is to warp.  It should only take a few minutes to turn the rotors at a shop, but you could buy new rotors just as easily.  If you are having problems with rotor warping, buy better rotors or check hub runout.

Parts

large phillips head screwdriver 
large flat head screwdriver or pry bar
7mm Allen wrench
8mm Allen wrench
13mm and 15mm wrenches
17mm socket for the lug nuts
Wire brush or rough scrubbing pad and file

Can of antiseize
PB blaster or liquid wrench penetrating lubricant
brake grease
brake cleaner fluid

new or resurfaced rotors
new brake pads - note if it has a low brake pad indicator and check to make sure it is the same brake pad!
brake fluid (if changing the brake fluid, DOT 4, see above link for the writeup)

Front and rear brake rotor wear specs (for the mk4 1.9L VW TDI only)
Diameter: 280 mm
Thickness: 22mm
Wear limit: 19mm

Procedure

Front brakes
Chock the rear wheels, apply the parking brake, and put the car in gear if it's a manual transmission.  Jack up the end of the car you want to work on (using the factory jack points) so that the tire is just barely touching the ground.  Remove the center cap to get to the lug bolts, and loosen but don't remove the bolts.  I do this so that the car's full weight isn't resting on the wheel.  This makes it easier to remove the lug bolts.  Do not completely loosen the lug bolts because the car is not secure when on a jack only.  See 1000q: tips for the mechanic for more useful tips on jacking up the car and other topics.  Also try using a breaker bar to increase leverage or your foot.  Your legs are a stronger, longer lever than your arms, so using your legs will make it easier and faster.

Once the lug bolts are loosened but not removed, finish jacking up the car and rest the vehicle securely on jack stands.  Remove the lug bolts and the wheel.  Make sure the car is secure before doing anything else.

Remove any electrical connectors such as brake pad wear sensors attached to the caliper or brake pads.  Pry off the dust cap from the dust boot, marked by the dashed red line, pictured below.  The rest of the rubber boot should not be removed.  Remove the guide pin bolt inside (marked with green below, it's inside the caliper) with a 7mm allen wrench.  Repeat for upper and lower bolts.

Here is a picture of the back of the brake caliper showing both black caps and a brake pad wear sensor plug at the top.

Pry out the pads and slide the caliper to the side.  Do not let the caliper hang by the brake line, tie it to something with a piece of string or rest it on the removed wheel.  Remove the brake pads before you remove the caliper because there is normally a lip on the edge of the rotor (from wear) that will prevent removing the caliper and the pads as one assembly.  Clean the seals and slides with with brake cleaner.

The new pads will not fit onto the rotor since the new pads are thicker than the old ones and the caliper pistons were set for the old ones.  You may want to open the brake fluid reservoir to let some pressure out.  I do not suggest opening the bleeder since it's dirty and an air bubble might get into the brake fluid circuit, depending on how the caliper is positioned.  Bleeder nipples (marked with yellow in the above picture) are always on the top of the caliper to let air out and prevent air from getting in, but prefer to not open it.

To move the caliper piston, use a c-clamp or brake caliper tool to press the piston back into place.  Below is a picture of an autozone brake caliper tool to press the piston back.  Autozone loans this tool and many others for free or you could buy one at any auto parts store.  Note - the rear brakes are slightly different and require a special tool like the one pictured below to press the caliper back in AND turn it at the same time, so don't use a c-clamp on the rear brakes.  Your caliper may look slightly different.

Remove the phillips set screw in the rotor (marked with red arrow below) and remove the rotor.  If the screw is rusty, try spraying it with some penetrating lubricant like PB Blaster.  If it's bad, you may have to drill the head off or use a stripped screw extractor.  Take care to not damage the hub.  If the rotor is stuck, tap it lightly with a rubber hammer or a piece of wood.

This was after removal, you can see the the two holes for the caliper allen bolts on the left.  The ring with holes is an ABS sensor.  

Installation

Scrub any rust off the hub with a wire brush and put a light coat of anti-seize around the lug holes and especially the set screw hole to help prevent rusting.  Excessive rust could cause the hub to not seat flat, causing minor wheel vibration and other problems.

Clean the various parts with brake cleaner, pop in the new brake pads, lube the slide pins and the back of the brake pads with a very light coat of brake grease.  Apply anti-seize to the bolt threads and reinstall everything.  Do not apply brake grease to the pad or rotor friction surfaces.  If this occurs, wipe it clean with brake cleaner fluid.  

Make sure that any electrical plugs for the ABS or brake pad wear sensors have been put back and that everything is sitting level.

When reinstalling the wheel lugs and rotor set screw, make sure to use anti-seize if you didn't apply it to the threads earlier.  Go for a test drive to double check for any fluid leaks and proper braking action.

Torque specs:  
guide pins (the 7mm allen bolts:) 22 ft lbs
rotor set screw : 3 ft lbs  Just tighten it very lightly and make sure the screw head is level and not sticking out
lug nuts: 89 ft lbs (dry spec)

And you're done!  I didn't have a good pic of the mk4 car so here is an mk3 car.

Rear brakes:

Since replacing the rear brakes is similar to the front brakes, I will only note the differences.

Use pliers to remove the parking brake cable retaining clip (marked in green below, just pull it out), and slip out the parking brake cable.  You will probably have to move the parking brake lever around on the caliper to get it out.  The parking brake lever in the cabin must be off so that there is no tension on the cable.

Remove the caliper bolts (13mm x2 bolts outlined in red).  Note that the service manual says that these bolts must be replaced each time they are removed!  The caliper bolts must be counter held with the guide pin nuts (15mm x2 outlined in yellow)  You can now place the caliper off to the side.  Again, don't let the caliper hang by the brake line, always support it or tie it to something with a piece of string.

Remove the rotor set screw.  Loosen the carrier bolts (8mm 2x allen) just enough to remove the rotor.  Remove rotor.  Here is a picture of the rear caliper from the top.  The brake carrier bolts are outlined in blue, the caliper bolts marked again in red, and the nuts which you have to counterhold marked again in yellow.

The rear pistons are slightly different from the front brakes in that you can't just push the pistons back into the caliper with a c-clamp.  You must turn it while pushing it back.  Use VW special tool 3272 or something similar from autozone, this tool is shown above being used on the front brake caliper.

Again, scrape any rust off, use brake cleaner to clean the seals and surfaces, then use new brake grease or anti-seize as appropriate.  

Put everything back, replace the parking brake cable/clip and double check that everything is connected and level.  Go for a test drive to double check for fluid leaks and proper brake and parking brake actuation.  

Torque specs:
brake caliper bolts - note that these are self locking bolts. The factory service manual says that they are one use only, torque to: 26 ft lbs
8mm brake carrier bolts: 48 ft lbs
rotor set screw: 3 ft lbs - very light, just make sure the screw head isn't sticking out
lug nuts: 89 ft lbs

Feel free to sign up and ask a question about this article at the forums here: myturbodiesel.com forums