How to Replace a Brake on a BMW 528i

The BMW 528i model vehicles come equipped with four-wheel disc brakes. The braking system is designed to stop the car by applying pressure from the brake pads to the brake rotors. When the brake pedal is pushed in, the brake caliper cylinder compresses the pads against the inner and outer sides of the brake rotor. The friction from the pads sliding against the brake rotor is the process that stops the wheels from turning. Over time, the brake pads will wear down. Change the pads before they reach one-eighth of an inch in thickness.

Instructions

Park the BMW 528i on a flat surface in a safe location. Set the parking brake.

Loosen the lug nuts from both front wheels about one-quarter of a turn with a tire tool or a lug wrench.

Jack the front of the BMW 528i up and set the jack stands under the designated front jacking points. Slowly lower the jack until the car is sitting securely on top of the stands.

Remove all of the lug nuts from both of the front wheels. Pull the wheels off and place them down flat.

Locate the two upper and lower hex-head mounting bolts on the back of the front driver side brake caliper. Loosen and remove the two bolts with a ratchet and a 7mm hex-head socket.

Slide the flat head screwdriver through the access hole on the front of the brake caliper. Pry the caliper back and forth until it is loose enough to remove from the rotor. Pull the caliper off of the rotor and hang it to the steering arm behind the wheel hub with a bungee cord.

Pull the inner brake pad out of the metal retaining clip inside of the caliper. Place the adjustable end of the C-clamp inside of the caliper facing the outer brake pad. Compress the outer brake pad against the caliper cylinder with the C-clamp until the cylinder is fully compressed inside of the caliper housing. Unscrew the C-clamp and remove it and the outer brake pad from the caliper.

Inspect the inner and outer sides of the brake rotor for wear and grooving. If the wear or grooving is excessive, replace the rotor with a new rotor. If the wear or grooving is minimal, have the rotor machine turned by a machine shop.

Insert the new brake pads into the metal retaining clips inside of the brake caliper. Remove the bungee cord from the caliper and hang the caliper back over the side of the brake rotor Screw the two mounting bolts back into the rear of the caliper. Tighten the bolts down tight with the ratchet and the 7mm hex-head socket. Slide the wheel onto the wheel hub and screw all of the lug nuts completely onto the studs.

Move to the other three wheel hubs and repeat the same steps above for replacing the brake pads. After all of the pads have been replaced and the wheels have been secured to the wheel hubs with the lug nuts, jack the car back up and remove the jack stands. Lower the car back to the surface.

Tighten all of the lug nuts with the tire tool or lug wrench.

Crank the engine and pump the brake pedal four or five times to properly set the new pads to the right distance from the sides of the brake rotor. Turn the engine off. Test drive the BMW 528i around in a safe location to test the operation of the new brakes.