Two questions:

1) should the car be supported with an axle stand whilst changing the disc and pad on each wheel or would the jack be OK?

2) Do people prefer OEM parts or compatible (for the discs and pads)


My car is long out of warranty...... 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

any prolonged work on a car should be done with axle stands, just in case

as for parts, out of warranty its up to you, i would look towards greenstuff pads as i think they are less dusty, which is better for the cleaning of the wheels Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

i have just repalced all the pads and discs on my car and used mintex which i got from Paddocks, they are as good as any pads and will save you a bit oF Money compared to genuine parts!

http://www.paddockspares.com/scp/FREELANDER_2/Brakes.html

Depends what you are lifting with, it should taake no longer than 30mins a corner - so a 3 ton trolley jack seems fair to me. Working an hour or longer would always use axle stands.
Using the jack supplied or a cheap 1 ton trolley jack - I wouldn't even change the wheel without additional measures ie putting a spare wheel under the sill, and keeping limbs safe.

I always use original equipment pads - cost more, have good life, work as the rest of the systems expect them to. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

WARNING !!! To all of you who wish to lift your freelander "or any car for that matter." Once you have lifted the car ALWAYS ALWAYS support it with axle stands or blocks and timbers.
NEVER EVER rely on a hydrolic jack no matter what it can lift. These jacks are great but basicaly the only thing holding up your car is a very small "O" ring seal which from time to time can fail.
If your under the car you will be crushed, its as simple as that.
If your not under it if it goes then you might do a lot of damage to the strut etc.
You have got to ask your self, is it worth the risk, I think not. Be safe, do it right, support the car at all times.
In my time ive seen jacks fail and sizzer jacks tip

When jacking up the car, where is the best place to put the axel stands? Some people say use the jacking points, others the axel (but I don't know exactly where you place them). Can you jack the whole front or back from one place (if so where?) and put the axel stands under both sides in one go? Any help would be great. Thanks

A jack is for lifting the car only, once lifted the car should be supported on axle stands. Jacks can fail or slip.
Not being funny but if you are asking this sort of question should you be touching the brakes.

Going to disagree with the H&S mob
Have worked on Forklifts and cars for a living for over 30 years and have never had a hydraulic jack suddenly fail.
Then again I wouldn't buy a jack for less than £200.

Back to the question of jacking, at the front the best place to jack would be the jacking points near the sill just behind the front wheel, it's designed for the job structurally, and the vehicle is better "balanced" ie less likely to move, and therefore less likely to tip the jack.
At the rear I regularily jack up the whole of the car using either the tow bracket or if you have a suitably shaped jack haed the underside of the diff. Problem being you are goingto do both sides and will be up for a while, so why not use the rear jacking points, again near the sill just forward of the rear wheels.


But I must agree with 1stFreelander on the point about working on the brakes, if you are not sure about how /where to jack should you really be doing this job without assistance from someone who understands how to do the work and the likely pitfalls if the work is done wrong? Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

 At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

OK, so you have jacked up the front from the jacking point but where have you placed the axle stands? Taking into account that they do not recommend having just one axle stand under one side, are you suggesting two jacks lifting each side at the same time and then placing axle strands under axles? And wasn't there some special method to jacking in certain areas so not to damage the traction control system?

I am going to have to use CG's method!!

I was always taught that as soon as you have lifted the car(other that putting it on axle stands) you put the wheel under the sill, then if it comes of the jack it will land on the wheel and still give clearance underneath, possibly stopping it landing on you or to give sufficient space to get the jack back under.

I don't know if FL2 are OK but the rear diff was always a good place to jack a car up centrally, and the front cross member for lifting the front.

Hey CG

Is that a photo of your weekend "parking valet" service. 2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

CG - is that an application of the "buy 'em cheap and stack 'em high" policy? Freelander 1 TD4 HSE - gone, 2 weeks after the Cat.Converter!
Freelander 2 TD4 SE Auto MY08 - Santorini black

the cars owner mentioned fitting a towbar and buying a van, so I put a stop to it all


or prehaps its an old reno that needed scrapping? At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I have to have my say here and that is....manufacturers have to supply a jack that is comparable to the car and it is tested to point of failure as a matter of fact otherwise it would not be in your boot under the carpet end of,now wether it works 100% every time is not the issue here, it is will it hold your landy up and the answer is YES.
Just put 1 or 2 wheel chocks in behind your wheels and you will be fine.


PS family member tests vehicle and aircraft jacks for manufacturers 5 or 6 days a weeks!!!!!