Issues fitting front brake pads using E24 Calipers - Not enough clearance?

bmwm3owner

bmwm3owner

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Hi everyone,

I recently rebuilt a set of E24 front calipers for my E9 3.0CS. I installed new wheel bearings, rotors, rebuilt the calipers w/ new hardware, pistons, seals, etc. The calipers mount just fine. When I went to install the brake pads (I am using the E24 front pads + shims as well), the pads on the passenger side would install only on one side. When I pulled the pads, I noticed that the space between the rotor and the inner side of the caliper is really small. Less than 1mm. The outer side space between the rotor and caliper is larger. If I remove the caliper mounting bolts and place a 1.5mm thick washer between the mounting ears on the struts and the caliper mounting pads, and torque the caliper mounting bolts to the struts, then I am able to install the pads and shims without issue. I verified that the caliper pistons are all the way depressed. I ran into a similar issue with the drivers side as well. Both pads would install, but the inner side pad would not install with the shim on it.

Any ideas as to what may be happening here? Anyone run into this issue before? I have found caliper mounting shims online but I would think that these calipers should be a direct fit.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
HB Chris said:
The e12 and e24 calipers are offset slightly as you have discovered, I’ve wondered how owners claim they fit.
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It seems like lots of people have used them interchangeably. The advantage of the e12/e24 calipers is that the box width is larger, so you can use the thicker pads, which is nice. I am curious if others have run into the same issue or if the issue is with me :)
 
Mounting e12 pads in those calipers on a e9 will leave you with a car that can’t move? E12 pads are thicker to allow for the wear sensor?
most cars leaving our shop have e24 calipers installed.
just not with e24 pads.
 
sfdon said:
Mounting e12 pads in those calipers on a e9 will leave you with a car that can’t move? E12 pads are thicker to allow for the wear sensor?
most cars leaving our shop have e24 calipers installed.
just not with e24 pads.
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I believe the e24 pads should work with the e24 calipers on the E9. Carl Nelson confirmed this with me. The front rotors for the E9 and E24 are the same thickness - 22mm. The E9 is a 272mm dia. and the E12/E24 is a 280mm dia. I think the E12 & early E24 front calipers are the same, according to real oem.
 
bmwm3owner said:
I believe the e24 pads should work with the e24 calipers on the E9. Carl Nelson confirmed this with me. The front rotors for the E9 and E24 are the same thickness - 22mm. The E9 is a 272mm dia. and the E12/E24 is a 280mm dia. I think the E12 & early E24 front calipers are the same, according to real oem.
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The way I see it is this, you've had it confirmed that it should work but you've tried it and it don't. You've spent the time and worked out that you need 1.5 mm spacers and everything will be fine.......so order them all ready. There's no shame, these things exist for these situations so fit some and start enjoying your car.
 
bmwm3owner said:
I believe the e24 pads should work with the e24 calipers on the E9. Carl Nelson confirmed this with me. The front rotors for the E9 and E24 are the same thickness - 22mm. The E9 is a 272mm dia. and the E12/E24 is a 280mm dia. I think the E12 & early E24 front calipers are the same, according to real oem.
Click to expand...

the mistake occurs when trying to stuff e24 pads into e9 calipers
that extra 4mm ? is challenging!
 
gazzol said:
The way I see it is this, you've had it confirmed that it should work but you've tried it and it don't. You've spent the time and worked out that you need 1.5 mm spacers and everything will be fine.......so order them all ready. There's no shame, these things exist for these situations so fit some and start enjoying your car.
Click to expand...
Very valid points. Never had to deal with the shims, but given all the small changes, I can see where one can run into this situation. Appreciate the comment.
 
sfdon said:
the mistake occurs when trying to stuff e24 pads into e9 calipers
that extra 4mm ? is challenging!
Click to expand...
Absolutely! No way to fit the E24 pads in the E9 calipers. No doubt that the extra 4mm will be challenging :)
 
Is the right thread on the forum which is covering this topic in details.

Typically 2800CS, 2.5CS and some E3s have front non-ventilated discs and braking efficiency is always something good to have even if that would be an exception from the spec.
What is more, front non-vented discs are not longer available without a pain, so switching to E24/E23 could be a nice option to consider.

Has someone tidy and tested knowledge he would be open to share or shared already on other thread? That would be interesting to learn.

Willwood, Brembo etc I would keep for "stage #2" later on still to be able to use 14" rims. ;)
 
Honolulu said:
If you intend to grind pads, make certain they are non-asbestos, or let someone else do it.
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Even though the pads are asbestos-free, I do not intend on grinding them. I will shim the calipers up for a bit of time and when the pads wear down a bit, I will remove the shims and reinstall the pads normally.
 
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