Hi everyone.
Very happy new owner of a Rover Sportspack, can't stop driving the bloody thing whenever I get the chance so relise I need to keep up maintenance.
My front brakes (disc) are starting to squeal a little every now and then. And getting a lot of brake dust on the alloys after each driving session. Will cleaning the dust off the disc's make much difference to performance and can I adjust the brakes without any tools? I don't really have anywhere to work on the car as I live in Melbourne CBD.
I'm gonna order some bright work from mini spares in the UK and was thinking of ordering some brake pads as well. Can anyone advise on what type to get as I'm a bit unsure.
Will these work ?? Brake Pad set - Mini 1984 on - 8.4'' discs (12'' wheels).
Just unsure as I have 13inch wheels on the car not 12's.

Sure i'll have more questions to come.

The front brakes on your car can't be adjusted, as they are disc brakes. (The pistons in the calipers move out to account for the wear in the pads).

The rear brakes require adjustment, and whilst you do need at least one tool (and a jack and stands) it's quite straightforward. You will need to have the car on flat ground, and preferably chock it.

There might be something in the Ausmini how-to section on the step by step process.

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'68 Deluxe w/Metro engine

Disk brakes are self adjusting so you don't have to worry about the fronts. There's not much to be gained by cleaning the dust off, the disks don't get very dusty anyway.

The rear drum brakes do still need occasional adjusting and you need a spanner to do it. A proper brake adjusting spanner with square holes in it is a worthwhile investment, not very expensive and much easier than stuffing around with ordinary spanners or little shifters.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

Is it normal to get such brake dust build up after a days driving round town?
The brake perfomance was at 75% on the report when buying the car (bout a month ago/maybe 1000k's)

its normal, and the car quite possibly has origonal pads on it (or cheap replacements) just replcae the pads when they wear out with decent reaplcements (EBC),

make sure you clean off the brake dust off your mags though (MAguires FX wheel cleaner is great), otherwise after a while its near impossible to remove..

I would bet the car has some pretty old discs on it - I'd get some new slotted ones and new pads. I recommend bendix pads (the standard road series, from autobarn, etc.), They aren't strictly a performance pad, but are excellent for city driving, and there is next to no dust on my 13" wheels.

Hey Tim
Are you able to post a link to the type of brake spanner you where recommending? I need to start collecting some tools I think

The reason you're getting a lot of brake dust is probably because you have pads on similar to those you're looking at buying. I've heard great things about EBC, they seem to be the way to go. They'll cost more, but they'll last longer and work better.

To adjust the read drums, you will just need a single spanner, but I can't for the life of me remember what size.

Something like this, although there's several different styles around.



http://www.minisport.com.au/prod116.htm

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

Coat the back of the brake pads with Copaslip or similar to minimise squealing.

+1

But you may as well change the pads out. The pads many cars had fitted through the 90's were miserably dirty in use. Newer pads like the EBC blacks and greens run nice and clean, as do their MINTEX equivalents. There's no need to put up with dirty pads, especially as they are relatively inexpensive.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

http://www.minisport.com/mini-spare-par ... BK02E.html

other than what was in the link above. Will this just bolt in to the front brake setup?

Adjust rear brakes and all done?? Sorry for my ignorance

Yes they will, but you will get stung for freight on the discs. They're both large and heavy.

Standard discs are relatively inexpensive locally, so I would look to the local suppliers. Special drilled discs are not so cheap, having those special holes and everything.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.