It was time for a brake job! The pads on the car were pretty much useless, so I ordered a set of Hawk brake pads to replace these. Check how worn they were! Remember, if your rotors need it, either replace them or turn them!

VW TECH BY: Zerin Dube

First and foremost, make sure you get the car secured properly on jackstands before attempting this.

Here is the brake caliper on the drivers side. You will notice the red wire in the middle. This is the brake wear sensor. I went ahead and shorted it out and did away with it so pay attention to how it sits in the pad.

Turning the wheels all the way to whatever side you are working on makes things significantly easier.

Next, remove the cross bar by using a screwdriver and a hammer and hammering it out the other side of the caliper.

Remove the retaining spring by first unclipping the brake wear sensor wire and wiggling the spring loose.

Remove the shim from the caliper and set aside. Replace these as necessary as they are cheap to replace. I reused mine since they were still in good shape.

You can see my pads needed to be replaced BADLY!

Repeat the process for the inner brake pad.

Apply brake anti-seize to the back side of the piston shims. Use this sparingly. Three lines across the width of the shim will do fine. Smear the lines with your finger across the shim and wipe off any excess.

Re-insert the shims being careful not to get any grease on the rotor.

Insert the brake pads. These just drop right in.

Center the retaining spring and insert the crossbar making sure to keep the hole for the cotter pin facing you and in the center. Use a hammer to hammer the crossbar in all the way till it butts up with the caliper.

Re-insert the cotter pin and you are done! With the car off, pump the brakes very gradually to build up pressure, and you are good to go.

NOTE: Make sure to follow your pad manufacturers bed-in procedures!