Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads

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Thu 24 Mar 2022 14:23
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Minilove
Can car be driven with break pads on the wrong way? And what issues could it cause? Shouldn’t break pads on ‘wrong way’ been picked up in dealer health check or MOT?
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Thu 24 Mar 2022 14:36
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Andrew-T

What do you mean by 'wrong way' ? There's usually only one possible way to fit a set of pads ... ?

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Thu 24 Mar 2022 19:23
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - bathtub tom

I have seen pictures with them fitted metal to disc.

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Thu 24 Mar 2022 22:39
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Bolt

I have seen pictures with them fitted metal to disc.

Only seen it on You Tube, but it must be noisy being metal to metal once the paint and anti squeal surface have gone, which would also mean no brakes during that time unless its only 1 pad wrongly fitted

No reason why its suspected though, just is it possible?

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Thu 24 Mar 2022 23:18
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Andrew-T

I have seen pictures with them fitted metal to disc.

I have driven a car with pads worn down to the backplate (at least that was what it sounded like) but I assumed that only a mindless halfwit might fit pads that way round. So in answer to the OP's question, it may well be possible to drive like that, but most definitely not recommended.

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Fri 25 Mar 2022 11:32
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Minilove
Apparently they were fitted two outer’s pads on one side and two inner’s on the other. Got no idea what that means......
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Fri 25 Mar 2022 12:58
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Andrew-T
Apparently they were fitted two outer’s pads on one side and two inner’s on the other. Got no idea what that means......

Pads come in pairs, one on each side of the brake disc. Apparently for a Mini the inner and outer pads are different but it's possible to interchange them. Unless one or both are loose because of that, it should not affect braking IMHO. To be safe, best to find out what the actual difference is - it could be pad thickness.

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Fri 25 Mar 2022 14:44
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Minilove
The issue wasn’t spotted until break calliper went 3 days after MOT which had reported pads were at 5mm. 3 days later they’re at 0
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Fri 25 Mar 2022 16:11
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - elekie&a/c doctor
A lot of cars have direction of travel indicator arrows fitted to the brake pads to show which way round they need to be fitted . This is usually to reduce brake friction noise . I very much doubt fitting the pads the wrong way would cause a brake calliper to fail.
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Fri 25 Mar 2022 19:43
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - bathtub tom
The issue wasn’t spotted until break calliper went 3 days after MOT which had reported pads were at 5mm. 3 days later they’re at 0

The MOT can't measure the thickness of the brake pads, as they're not allowed to dismantle anything. The 5mm would only be a guess.

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Fri 25 Mar 2022 23:18
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Andrew-T
The issue wasn’t spotted until break calliper went 3 days after MOT which had reported pads were at 5mm. 3 days later they’re at 0

The MOT can't measure the thickness of the brake pads, as they're not allowed to dismantle anything. The 5mm would only be a guess.

Pad thickness is always visible somehow or the MoT check could not be made. I think most testers can estimate millimetres fairly well. Anyway we are talking about new pads, aren't we ?

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Sat 26 Mar 2022 10:22
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - Minilove
No not new pads at point of MOT.
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Sat 26 Mar 2022 11:23
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - elekie&a/c doctor
I’d blame the mot station for carrying out brake roller test . This puts extra load on the braking system and will inevitably show up any weaknesses in the system . I guess you have a seized calliper , nothing unusual on a Mini.
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Sun 27 Mar 2022 22:58
Mini Cooper s - Mini break pads - bathtub tom

I did wonder if the title for this thread was a query about accommodation for mini-breaks.

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