I'm replacing my brake pads this weekend and after reading a few how-to's (just to see if there are any gotchas), the only thing I'm wondering about is a caliper compressor, which by all accounts is absolutely necessary for the rear.

On other cars I've used a C clamp + old pad or block of wood to do this. Can someone explain why that won't work on the rear calipers?

Also, any other non-obvious tips?

 

you have to turn the piston while pushing to compress it. i was able to borrow the tool from autozone when i did mine

 

ah, so like on acuras and infinitis? my dad has a box tool that fits both those, and since it's a cube i imagine it'd fit the audi, too.

 

Ya.. from what I understand, those all-in-one or universal box type break tools work.

 

i have a cube and its diff than what i got for the audi.

 

shane.trammell: can you link to what you have for your audi? i want to get everything together so i don't have to run out to the store mid-job....

 

I don't really know what I got, I just went to autozone and rented the brake caliper tool kit. I really don't believe it was the same as my cube. I think part of the problem is that the cube won't fit in there.

 

Yea, if you just go to your local parts store and tell them you need the tool to compress your caliper, the set they give you has what you need. The one I borrowed had different attachments for different cars.