Fitting disc pads

Justinjured

I have just received replacement hayes disc pads to fit but cant get more than one in at a time! old ones go in and out easily but there doesnt seem to be the space now to fit the new ones in together.
is there something obvious i am missing??!!

cheers for any advice!

nicklouse

as iy says in the manual push the pistons back in with a spanner. but get and read the manual as there are clips and pins you do not want to brake.

links in the tech links sticky.

dave_hill

Hayes brakes can be a bit tricky to replace the pads but I find that the following procedure works (assuming that you have hydraulic Hayes). BTW you will need to remove the caliper from the frame/forks.

Remove the old pads from the caliper.

Use a ring-ended spanner (8mm isfine) or the flat end of a metal tyre lever to GENTLY walk the pistons back into the caliper. This is the ball-ache bit. You will need to be patient and persevere because the pistons have a habit of moving back out once you let go of them. But keep at it and they will go eventually. DON'T touch the lever when you are doing this.

Fit the spring clips to the new pads and insert them into the caliper, making sure that the clips are located on the pegs in the centre of the pistons. You should now be able to refit the caliper to the frame forks, and the pads should slide easily over the discs.

Refit the mounting bolts but only JUST so they hold the caliper in place. Pump the lever a few times to centralise the caliper over the disc and then hold the lever back (or get an assistant to hold it) and tighten the caliper mounting bolts.

You might find once you've done this that the pads drag on the disc but a short ride and 20 or 30 hard stops should sort that out.