I'm doing front pads/rotors tomorrow on my 2001 A6 2.7t. Can I get the pads replaced by just taking the whole carrier assembly off? Since I need to take that off for the rotors anyway, I wasn't going to mess with hunting down the 7mm hex that I'd need for just doing the calipers.

So - will I be able to do the front pads with the whole carrier assembly off? Sounds like a dumb question, I'm sure, but I want to make sure nothing will be in my way.

Thanks.

 

Yeah you can do that. If your rotors are worn with lips then you may need to pry the pistons back with a screw driver.

 

What?? Too lazy to find the hex key!

You need to make sure the slides are free or your going to have problems. The best way is to remove the calipers from the carrier.

 

you have to take the caliper off to get at the rotors anyway, but some of the calipers dont have the 7mm hex key. I've seen several people with the 8 pad fronts (myself included) that don't have the hex key, the slide bolt is just a round hole.

 

actually you don't .. the only thing holding the caliper is the carrier .. pretty lazy aproach though .. go get the right tools and do it right

 

related to brake pad replacement...my audi has 230k miles on it and the brake pad wear indicator just lit up. how many miles typically are left before actual replacement. After replacing the pads, will that indicator light automatically NOT show up anymore or do you have to follow some kind of reset procedure? Lastly, I used to replace my maxima pads...simlple job with compression of the piston using a large c clamp after releasing one of the caliper bolts and swinging the unit up and tying it out of the way. Is this basically the same procedure....it has been a few years!