Rear brake back plate fitting

[Neil Wilson]

I changed the rear discs and pads on my 2.8 today. All went well but, off side back plate needs replacing. Research tells me I either remove the hub and replace the rear wheel bearing (or rather I pay my mechanic to do it) or I use the cut method as documented on here. What have others done?

 

[Pingu]

I have done both, but I would only do the hub off method if I needed to replace the bearing.

Every repair brings the possibility of things going wrong, so you should only do what you need to do.

 

[Neil Wilson]

I have done both, but I would only do the hub off method if I needed to replace the bearing.

Every repair brings the possibility of things going wrong, so you should only do what you need to do.

The bearing is fine, did you weld the back plate once on or just cut through one of the bolt holes and hold in place with the retaining stud with a bigger washer?

 

[Delk]

Pulling the hub and replacing the bearing is a lot of work. As stated above I would only consider this option if I was already planning on replacing the bearing. Cutting the back plate and fitting it over the hub is easy and can be done without lots of added trouble.

 

[Scooblitz]

This is a point in Z ownership where you need to have a bit of an assessment and a think.

Are you planning on keeping the car for 5+ years?

If it’s not the plan to keep the car for a long period of time, the backplate cut method is certainly going to be stress-free in comparison to taking the hubs off.

However, the rear suspension assembly and all its brake, bushing and bolted components are usually in need of a refurb or renew as these cars hit 25+ years old. This is especially so in regards to subframe bushings which 99/100 on a z3 are toast and drooping the whole assembly down.

If there is desire to keep the car, consider holding off till winter where some time can be set aside to tackle a lot of jobs at once. A full rear end refurb will make a massive difference in the drive-ability of the car. Plenty of advice, support and guides on the forum if you feel inclined to spend some time and money into the car for some future proofing.

GL

 

[Pingu]

I cut the back plate in two parallel lines, and used small strips of steel and some M3 nuts and screws (with washers) to reassemble the backplate. I needed to use screws as bolt heads were too big, and interfered with the handbrake shoes.

I don't think I took any photos, but I hope the image below gives you an idea of what I did...

Red is the cut line
Blue is the steel strip
Green are the screws

I also painted the new backplate to add some additional protection.