A couple of nights ago i changed the pads on my Mk2 Mondeo Si. Everything was straight forward and the brakes feel fine and seem to be bedding in nicely but i have a question regarding the guide bolts that secure the caliper to the carrier bracket. The guide bolts i am referring to are the ones that require a 7mm allen key/hex. socket to release. When i removed them they seemed to be screwed in quite a long way to the point where you couldn't feel the head inside the plastic guides (the bits that have the plastic dust caps) but when i had the new pads fitted and screwed the guide bolts in tight i could feel the head with my fingertip just below the level of the plastic dust cap.
I am 99% sure that the bolts were in as far as they could go but just want that additional 1% of confirmation that it's normal for the bolts to not go in as far once the new pads are fitted.

Hopefully you can understand what i'm asking but if not then i'll try to explain myself further if necessary.

Cheers guys.

 

That's normal mate as the calipers are of the single piston sliding type.

As the pad outer pad wears, the caliper moves further towards the middle of the car causing the bolts to sit further in the holes if that makes sense?

Nowt to worry about.

 

Aaahhh i get it. I kept wondering how the guide bolts would get wound in as the pads wore down so that the heads eventually end up deeper in the plastic guides but they are not actually being screwed in, presumably the caliper just slides "up" the guide bolt as the pad wears down.

Cheers mate, you've just found that 1% for me .

 

You got it mate!

 

Your worrying about nothing matey.

 

Yeah probably but brakes are not something that i would like to take any chances with so thought i better just get a bit of clarification.

 

Yeh better to be safe than sorry matey. There is no harm in asking.

 

Did you clean them up before you screwed them back in again? They need just a tiny bit of lube on them to keep them sliding but not too much or else all the brake dust gets clung to the grease and causes more problems