[Vwdiesel] Changed brakes on A4 Jetta wagon, rear pads now wear faster

[Tad]

Bryan - I have 160k on my 01 Golf, and I'm now maybe 10k into my 3rd set of
rear pads.  The original rear pads on 01 models were both soft and thin, so
the original rears only lasted about 40k.  The 2nd set lasted about 110k and
would have lasted longer, but one of the calipers started sticking/dragging.

Front pads still have LOTS (maybe half) of material left on the original
set!

The brake proportioning definitely has a lot to do with it - if you tend to
brake lightly, you'll rarely use the front brakes.

I have a Harbor Freight version of the caliper windback tool, which works
fine unless you get right down to metal, in which case it doesn't have quite
enough clearance.  You can get this one for $20 on sale from time to time,
and it includes adapters for most brands of cars.  Some guys have said
they've done the job using a C-clamp and a pair of slip-jaw pliers and had
no problems, but I must not have a c-clamp that big. :)


On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 5:28 AM, Bryan Belman <dieselwesty at yahoo.com> wrote:

> So, all these miles, 115K to be exact, I have been watching the front pads
> on my Jetta TDI.  They were finally getting a bit thin after all these
> miles.  I was doing the 10K oil change so figured while the car is up lets
> do the front brakes.  I can't believe the wear I got out of them either.
>
> Then I went and looked at the back pads thinking they are going to last to
> 150K, wrong.  They were 95% gone and almost down to the metal.
> my local german parts guy says on most all of the newer cars, they now do a
> good bit of braking with the rear brakes, not like in the old days when they
> just did not get used unless the pressure regulator was activated.
>
> I had bought this tool some years ago but never used it.  I am sure glad I
> had it because screwing in the rear brake piston would have been very tough
> without it.  Metal Nerd Rear Brake Reset tool.
> http://www.metalnerd.com/cat08.htm
>
> Bryan Belman, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
> 04 Jetta Wagon TDI PD, 100hp, 5sp -- running :)
> 92 Jetta 1.6 Eco-Turbo Diesel -- running :}
> 82 Diesel Westy 1.9NA -- running :)
> 70 Type 1 stock Beetle -- Not running :(
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