Performance 3 Rear Brake Pad Installation - Racing Brake XT910
Torque reference:
Two caliper bolts - 77lbft
All others hand tight - surfaces touch plus 1/4~1/2 turn
You can turn the car in tow mode to disable the parking brake, then disconnect the power to parking brake motor. Need to pull up the light grey safety clip before you can pinch the release on the power plug.
Tow mode reengaged my parking brake as soon as I get out of my car and close the door. I think because my car is on a sloping driveway. Anyway, even without tow mode, there is a way to release the parking brake, and this is what I'll be doing here. Remove the parking brake wiring bracket and the parking motor. Tesla uses Loctite on the two star bolts for the parking motor, so when removing it, there will be an unnatural amount of resistant for such small bolts. Once the bolts are removed, the motor will still be attached to the caliper due to the friction o-ring seal, so you would need to pull on it to get it off.
Do this part before you remove the caliper from the car. Use a star wrench, turn the now exposed bolt at the back of the caliper clock-wise to retract the piston. You can retract it all the way if you wish. For my car with 10,000 miles, one or two full turns is plenty to retract the piston for a new pad. With the caliper still on the car, even if you turn the wrong way, the worst you could do is press the pad against the rotor.
Now remove the caliper by removing the two bolts.
Another forum member has quantified that the rotors are 15~20% cooler without dust shield. My own experience with previous cars concurs with his observations. Off comes the dust shield. The only thing that is not high heat resistant behind the dust shield is the ABS sensor cable. A bit of heat reflecting tape would be sufficient protection for the radiating heat from the rotor.
So this is one of the quirks of the P3. Can you spot it in this photo?
The inner and outer pad aren't not even aligned. The actual brake force is less than if the pads were aligned. Why can Tesla use the standard 3 rear brakes, instead of this poser of extra mass of weight and lump that makes fitting wheels difficult?
Sorry for the rant over, back to the installation. The outer pads are held in place by two tension springs on the ears of the pad. Removal of the pad is simple by using a flat head screwdriver to pry it off gently.
Clean this black surface thoroughly for the RB pad application.
The RB XT910 P3 Rear pads with 3M HT tape, this tape is used to affix brake shimes on pads. The only purpose of the tape/spring(stock) is to retract the pad from rotor. The two ears of the pad are holding the pad in place against the rotational braking force.
The upper arm is a good perch for the caliper while you are busy with something else.
Place the new RB pads into the caliper. I only use my fingers to press the outer pad against the caliper for 5~10 seconds. Once everything is put back together, engage the parking brake will apply all the pressure it needs for a secure bond.
Done. Get something cold to drink before you tackle the other side.
Torque reference:
Two caliper bolts - 77lbft
All others hand tight - surfaces touch plus 1/4~1/2 turn
You can turn the car in tow mode to disable the parking brake, then disconnect the power to parking brake motor. Need to pull up the light grey safety clip before you can pinch the release on the power plug.
Tow mode reengaged my parking brake as soon as I get out of my car and close the door. I think because my car is on a sloping driveway. Anyway, even without tow mode, there is a way to release the parking brake, and this is what I'll be doing here. Remove the parking brake wiring bracket and the parking motor. Tesla uses Loctite on the two star bolts for the parking motor, so when removing it, there will be an unnatural amount of resistant for such small bolts. Once the bolts are removed, the motor will still be attached to the caliper due to the friction o-ring seal, so you would need to pull on it to get it off.
Do this part before you remove the caliper from the car. Use a star wrench, turn the now exposed bolt at the back of the caliper clock-wise to retract the piston. You can retract it all the way if you wish. For my car with 10,000 miles, one or two full turns is plenty to retract the piston for a new pad. With the caliper still on the car, even if you turn the wrong way, the worst you could do is press the pad against the rotor.
Now remove the caliper by removing the two bolts.
Another forum member has quantified that the rotors are 15~20% cooler without dust shield. My own experience with previous cars concurs with his observations. Off comes the dust shield. The only thing that is not high heat resistant behind the dust shield is the ABS sensor cable. A bit of heat reflecting tape would be sufficient protection for the radiating heat from the rotor.
So this is one of the quirks of the P3. Can you spot it in this photo?
The inner and outer pad aren't not even aligned. The actual brake force is less than if the pads were aligned. Why can Tesla use the standard 3 rear brakes, instead of this poser of extra mass of weight and lump that makes fitting wheels difficult?
Sorry for the rant over, back to the installation. The outer pads are held in place by two tension springs on the ears of the pad. Removal of the pad is simple by using a flat head screwdriver to pry it off gently.
Clean this black surface thoroughly for the RB pad application.
The RB XT910 P3 Rear pads with 3M HT tape, this tape is used to affix brake shimes on pads. The only purpose of the tape/spring(stock) is to retract the pad from rotor. The two ears of the pad are holding the pad in place against the rotational braking force.
The upper arm is a good perch for the caliper while you are busy with something else.
Place the new RB pads into the caliper. I only use my fingers to press the outer pad against the caliper for 5~10 seconds. Once everything is put back together, engage the parking brake will apply all the pressure it needs for a secure bond.
Done. Get something cold to drink before you tackle the other side.
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