First of all, Do this at your own risk! Although this is somewhat an easy task, you are dealing with the brakes in your car! I take no responsibility for the mistakes that you make and this is just a guide for those who want to do the work themselves.
Now, since all of that mumbo jumbo is...

Mr 5, I've done this on my E36 and E46. The 335's front caliper looks very different. How did you pop the spring/clip off the rotor? Thanks for the great write up.

BMWCali, you are wrong. I suggest you go back and read the DYI and study those photos more crefully. Listen to what cn555ci said.

Nice DYI btw. But surprisingly, of all the photos in the DIY, non of them show where you have your jackstand :sad0147:

dam mr 5 you make some of the best threads

Thanks man.
I try my best to not be an idiot, but sometimes it doesn't work.

Sorry about that, but I just didn't think to take a pic of that.

Great article man. Thank you for taking the time to do this for the community!

Great DIY wright-up! I've done a number of front pad replacements to reduce dust on various cars - why don't the manufacturers do this for us? The only thing I'd add is that most performance pads I've installed recommend sanding the rotor surfaces to remove the residue from the old pads. Few realize that it is the friction between the pads and the residue they leave on the rotors that gives the best braking friction. You need to bed the brakes in after any install - or with any new car for that matter. This usually entails repeated hard stops to heat up the pads and rotors to transfer material to the rotors. Or, just normal driving for a few hundred miles.


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nice write up!

I did mention the bedding in because it really is important to do.
You are correct about the light sanding if the rotors have a good amount of miles on them, but my rotors had only 4k miles on them when I did this, so they were hardly even used.

sry bro, but you dont need to remove the complete caliper to change the brake pads......

Great post. Can you tell us where you ordered both the front and rear pads from?

I understand what you're saying. You're talking about taking one of the bolts off and pivoting the caliper down, but I don't recommend this. If you take the caliper completely off then it will be much easier to clean and apply the "stop squeal".

But, you can write up another DIY with your method if you want.

those bolts are impossible to remove, so forget this, im getting done by a shop

What did you use to try and get them off? I'm doing the pads this weekend. Hopefully I won't have any issues.

dont bother, they wont come off, and tugging and pulling while a car is on jacks isnt safe or smart either. I tried using a socket wrench and those bolts are on there way too tight.

Did you try putting some WD40 on the bolts? Maybe a rubber mallet? I'll give it a shot either way this weekend.

Could you use a small torque wrench?
I too will be doing this proceedure soon. What exactly is the difference between the E9x and the E36 caliper front and rear?

like i said, i've even tried using Liquid Wrench, and no luck, that fucking bolt is on there way too tight.

An Airgun seems like the only solution then. I think I'll have access to a compressor and gun in case. Please keep us updated on the install.

Which pads are you changing to?

same pads as Mr.5, but im getting mine done at a shop tomorrow becuase theres noway im going to be able to take those bolts the calipers myself, i tried alot of things, absolutely no luck, didnt even budge one bit.

great write up, subscribed for my future references. thanks again. BTW its 335i steps apply to 320i too?

Took a look at the rear caliper today to see what I need to change the pads. Looks like behind the black plugs is a 7mm alen head. I assume that if these are unscrewed, the center of the caliper should fall back exposing the pads in a two piece design. Has anyone tried unscrewing these instead of removing the caliper bolts and taking off the entire assembly?