im thinking of replacing the rear brake pads on my 2001 a6 4.2, but its the first time ill be doing it. ive done the brakes many times on domestic cars but never anything imported and im just wondering if there are any certain things i should be sure to do that your normal muscle car guy might not think of. for example, i was told something about having to replace the rotors as well as the pads, which sounds odd to me because the rotors are fine, but then again i dont know. i was looking at some of the DIY's on here for the 2.7 and 3.0 and was wondering if they are the same for the 4.2. any advice is much appreciated.
-serj

 

You don't "need" to replace the rotors unless they are warped or scored, but you will need to turn the pistons as you push them in. Do a searsh on brakes in this forum and you'll see a few posts about how to do it.

 

When I went to the dealership to replace my brakes they told me that replacing just the pads isn't done anymore, by default they replace the rotors and pads, this might be a liability thing, I'm not sure...

If the rotors are in good shape I can't see why you couldn't just replace the pads. Be careful of aftermarket brake pads, make sure they have the sensor in there. Personally I couldn't be bothered with the aftermarket parts and just got the parts from Audi, took them to my uncle and he put them on for me.

Also, if your replacing the front brakes take a look at the back, they seem to wear at about the same.