Vauxhall Astra
For those you who possess an Astra from 1990-1998 the following hints might prove useful along with the more long winded description provided by the Vauxhall Astra (1991-98) Service and Repair Manual. I bought a set of two vented rotors and four brake pads for about £40 on ebay so they are reasonably cheap.
Removing the calliper from the calliper carrier requires a 7mm allen key and to remove the calliper carrier from the hub you will need a 10mm allen key.
To make it easier you will need to remove the calliper from the carrier first and then drop the carrier off. The calliper bolts are hidden behind a rubber grommit so they are nicely protected from the elements and corrosion the bolts for the carrier however can be quite tough to shift because they are exposed so I recommend using an allen socket on the end of a breakers bar to get it moving.
The calliper is held in place with a wire spring type fitting kit. This is easy to remove with a screw driver and some leverage and just as easy to fit back up once the pads are changed and the calliper & its carrier are refitted to the car.
A philips head screw driver will have the rotor retaining screw out and then it is simply a matter of reversing the process.
If you are just changing the pads then you should remember to have the rotor/disc surface machined flat again.
There is nothing complicated with a fairly simple single piston calliper so it should not be any problem for someone with any experience of brake maintenance.