The dash icon in my 2002 3.0L A4 Quattro went on for worn brakes yesterday. So I found pads and a Haynes manual, but I have a question or two.

1. The repair manual has different instructions for like 4 different kinds of brakes; FNR-G, FN3, C54, Brembo etc. Is there any way I can ascertain which type my car has besides pulling the wheels and visually checking?

2. Do I *really* need to replace all caliper bolts I loosen/remove when doing this procedure? Looks like they're $20 apiece.

THX
sF

 

I recently upgraded to the exact same brakes you have. If you are only doing a pad slap (replacing pads only) you only need to remove the two bolts holding the caliper to the carrier. It is not necessary to replace them, but I would recommend a little extra caliper lube on the pins before reinstalling.

Just replacing pads is not recommended though, at minimum you should resurface (turn) the rotors so you have a nice clean and flat surface for the pads to grab on to. The 312mm rotors are a bit on the high side, but highly recommend replacing them.

A couple of rotors I recommend are OP parts and Centric premiums, because the non seating surfaces have a black anti-corrosive coating on them and are not super expensive. You can find both these on RockAuto Auto Parts or Federated/Fischer Auto Parts can order them next day, mine are from Fischer.

 

dude. Just swap the pads. No need to resurface rotors unless u plan on tracking the car. Also you will need to depress the caliper on the piston in order to install the new pads. U can use a c clamp instead of using the audi tool to do this.