Milano, GTV-6 and Alfetta rear brake pad replacement proceedure

[AlfaNeely@domain.elided]

    A friend said he was doing Milano brakes this weekend.  I promised to 
send instructions for doing the rear brakes.  I thought I just as well send 
this along to the Alfa Digest.
    For the Milano rear brakes, I suggest two books.  The Haynes manual for 
the Alfetta covers the rear brakes better than the Milano manuals.  Also get 
the IAP (http://www.international-auto.com) Milano workshop manual reprint.  
It is worth the $62.50. 

    On the Milano rear brakes, there are four adjusting screws, two per 
caliper.  You turn them to adjust the pad clearance.  Three of them turn one 
way and one turns opposite to the others, that is one turns opposite to 
tighten.  I will tell you which is which in a moment.
    Look at the caliper under the bleed screws on top. The inboard pads are 
adjusted with the screw that sticks out the back side of the caliper directly 
under the bleed screw.  It adjusts with a 7 mm end wrench.
     On the end of the caliper toward the wheel, there is a plastic cap.  
Remove the plastic cap with a 17 mm socket, back off the lock nut with the 
same 17 mm socket and adjust the screw inside the lockout with a 5 mm Allen 
wrench.
    In order to move the brake pad toward the caliper, turn the Allen screws 
ANTI CLOCKWISE.  The bolt for the right or passenger side inboard pad also 
turns ANTI CLOCKWISE to TIGHTEN.  Use the 7 mm end wrench on the LEFT or 
driver's side caliper and turn CLOCKWISE to TIGHTEN.

     To put this another way, conversely, to REMOVE the old pads, turn all 
adjusters CLOCKWISE, except for the inboard adjuster on the driver's side 
caliper.  I drew a diagram with the adjusters in a straight line and numbered 
1 through 4 from left to right looking toward the front of the car.  
Adjusters numbered 1, 3 and 4 turn one direction.  The one numbered 2 turns 
the opposite.  I drew my diagram on a yellow sticky and pasted into my Haynes 
Alfetta manual on page 135.
    The Haynes Alfetta manual says to set the rear brake pads with a feeler 
gauge at about 0.005 inches.  I think clearance of 0.002 inches is adequate 
if the rotor is not warped.  I have had good success tightening the pad until 
the rotor would not turn, then loosening it until the wheel turns easily.  
The do the same on the other pad in the same caliper.  It helps to turn the 
rotor if you leave the tire and wheel bolted on.
    On the outer two adjusters, you have to hold the set screw with an Allen 
wrench while you tighten the lock nut with the 17 mm socket.  I saw a Sears 
ad for a socket wrench that was hollow and allowed a bolt to protrude through 
it.  That would be great as the lock nut is down inside the caliper and an 
end wrench will not work.  I tried welding a handle to a 17 mm socket, but 
clearance is too tight for it to work well.  I have had success just 
tightening the lock nut without holding the Allen screw, but this does tend 
to tighten up the clearance, so you have to play with the set screw / lock 
nut combination until it is tight and the pad clearance is correct.  That is 
a pain of a balancing act, which is why I tried to build a tool to help.

    The final step is to apply the handbrake HARD 2 or 3 times to set the 
pads against the rotor.  Actually, the final final step is to let the car 
down off the stands.
      However, you may want to refresh the fluid in the system while it is up 
in the air.  Brake fluid has an affinity with water and it will turn to jelly 
after a few years, so replace it.  Go to your local home supply store and get 
some clear vinyl tubing in the correct size to slip over the brake bleeders.  
That keeps fluid off the underside of the car and off the caliper.
    Hope this helps you.
Ciao,
Russ Neely
Oklahoma City

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