How to Remove the Rear Rotors on a VW Jetta MK5
With time, the rotors on your Jetta MK5 can become pitted, cracked or riddled with "hot spots" that then cause uneven and rapid wear on your brake pads. When this starts to happen, it's important to replace the rotors as soon as possible. Getting the rear rotors off of your MK5 is a multistep process but not a particularly complicated one. These instructions apply for all model years.
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Things You'll Need
- Wheel chocks
- Floor jack
- Jack stands
- Tire iron
- 13mm socket wrench
- 14mm socket wrench
- Twist tie or twine
- Allen wrench
Instructions
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1
Park the car on a level surface and put it in "Park," but don't apply the parking brake. Place wheel chocks behind the two front tires.
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2
Use a tire iron to loosen the lug nuts holding both rear wheels in place. Do not remove these lugs; just loosen them.
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3
Roll a floor jack under a solid part of the rear frame. Pump the jack and carefully raise the car until it is high enough to allow you to slide two jack stands under the rear end.
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4
Slide two jack stands under the rear of the car. Make sure you put one on each side and place them underneath solid sections of the frame. When the stands are in place, carefully lower the car on to them.
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5
Remove all of the rear wheel lug nuts with a tire iron and pull off both rear wheels.
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6
Use a 13mm socket wrench to remove the two retention bolts from each of the rear wheel calipers. Pull the caliper off of the caliper mount, but don't let it hang by the brake line.
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7
Tie the caliper to a nearby part of the undercarriage using a twist tie, twine or some other suitable material. This is just to support the caliper so that it won't put strain on the brake line.
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8
Pull the two brake pads out of each of the two rear caliper mounts.
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9
Use a 14mm socket wrench to remove the two retention bolts from each of the two rear caliper mounts. When these bolts have been removed, the caliper mounts will slide right off.
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10
Find the set screw in each wheel hub. The set screw is an Allen screw installed in one of the hub's holes. Use an Allen wrench to remove these two screws.
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11
Pull the rotors off of each wheel spindle.
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