current best mail order brake parts&panels

Firstly hello all , been away recovering from the accident that wrote off my jap spec D1 - head on with a 23Tonne Dennis dustcart 100 yards from my gate....dont get me started about insurance companies and lawyers....really , dont .

Anyway , heres I , back in the fold . Driving the R reg 300tdi auto Di last night I heard that fatal metal on metal grind of the gone home brake pad . On inspection this morning the other side ,N/S , was fine , smooth disc and plenty of pad . Drivers side , scored disc and no pad material on outer ..... stone or foreign matter got stuck in ? Sticking pistons ? Whatever , needs replacing .

Now I have a new set that were on the old japsec for less than 1K miles so thats where the discs will me from but in the meantime time , health and money issues mean that this will be a quick fix until I can transfer the whole lot over from other vehicle . This R reg is all I have on the road and I have a father paralysed from a stroke and a sick wife to look after so the car cannot be off the road . Obviously I know that the job should be done right and done once but under the circumstances,,,,,well , its getting new pads and like it .

So....having been out of the game for a while I dont know whos best for mail order prices at the mo . I have looked at Paddocks and some others and even though I swore off the the "P" word , they seem cheaper just now , cheaper than Island at least .

Also ,on another truck , same model , I need a rear arch repair panel for the back doorway - I cant be arsed with fettling another patch in so I plan to drill out the spots , slit cut and put in a new piece . Have people found that the inner arch needs doing too , where the seatbelt mount is ? And is it worth spending out on spot weld drill bits ? I have always used a regular HSS bit and an air chisel if things got sticky....

So , to sum up ...best place and price for :

front pads on late D1 300tdi auto

rear arch repair panel (and inner arch plate if needed)

thanks guys

shocksi

PS obviously I will be going to my local independent with the prices to see if they can match them first ....cos I is a loyal , yet tight git

hi m8 first of all i have the same disco and replaced the disks and pads all round from lanranger in stockport the lot £160 and then get sombody too fit em mine was £60 of a m8 and they are of very good quality good luck

Hello Shocker , Long time no post Ive got a set for my 94 auto from Paddocks. They are Mintex pads made in uk and look good quality. The front pads are different than the rear in that they have two holes in the top. Can,t help you with the wheel arches though.

I would use Landranger mate, I use them from there Leigh branch

Thanks guys , for the welcome and advice . I was passing my local indy place and chanced my arm at haggling . Got them to match the mail order prices by telling them that while I was alongside the "use it or lose it" aspect of supporting local business I was also conversant with the concept of not spending lots of money when I could avoid it . This resulted in a set of mintex front pads at over the odds but a well below par priced bonnet release cable evened that out nicely and the wheel arch was ordered at a paddocks price match . So , all cushty mushty . As it were .

Rather than start another thread , while we are here , whats the word on theses special drill bits for taking out spot welds ? I have always , being a cheap luddite , used big old HSS twist drills for this job .

The options seem to be a type that looks like a wood point-and-spur bit with a short flute , thus...

8mm Cobalt Spot Weld Drill Bit Excellent Quality | eBay

or a cutter ring with pilot type , thus

Spot Welders Cutting Drill Bits Garage Tools Spot Weld | eBay

worth the money ? Save much time or trouble ? Whats the word ?

We call them spot breakers, dwfinately better than a normal drill bit as you dont end up drilling through the skin you want to save

i ordered pads and discs all round for my 95 300tdi off ebay. mintex pads and qh discs. set me back around £90 for the lot including postages, which i thought was a good deal

Planny ,which ones are they ? The first link or the second ? Plain bit or one with cutter ring ? And what sizes to go for ?

The first link, make sure they are quality though , They should be 8mm to drill spots correctly. The ones advertised on the ebay link seem to be ok looking at the amount they have sold. Its worth buying one to see how it goes, a quality one should last enough to easily drill out both wheel arches, 5 times over. I would never use an air chisel though, just a small hand chisel to gently break the spots, there is not much control with an air chisel & they seem to do more damage than good.

Thanks Planny , message received and understood .

Did some searches and so on and saw a reference to a specific spot weld removing chisel , not the usual bar type cold chisel nor even the various air tools , but a piece of flat stock about 30 mil wide and maybe 5 thick (or so it looked in the picture) ground to a cutting edge . I agree that the air chisel is a bit brutal for this particular section - for the floor job , bloody brilliant - but not quite the ticket here !

I reckon I will make one up , tempered etc , and give that a go . Ive an idea to try an equally ground to centre edge and another with a flat back , as it were , ground from one side . The thinking being that the flat would lay along the surface to be kept and the taper up against the metal being removed . Maybe put a slight crank in the shaft to make it an easier hammer hit . I have a box of old smiths chisels and a couple use that flat back and crank design - could be that its an idea worth resurrecting .

So , thats me sorted .....on that question at least

this is a link , I think from Redhand , from some time ago that seems to be a good deal on cobalt spot weld drill bits......

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Got my first spotweld drill today and it works a treat . I got the cobalt 6mm bradpoint and spur type rather that the toothed zipcutter as I thought it would make less mess and so far it seems it was the right choice . I havent seperated the wheelarch panel off yet as the ABS fault I thought I had cured was in fact NOT cured so the panel job is backburnered for now .