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$110 to turn Rotors on a car???

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thx for all the info. shims don't come w/the pads that midas uses.

the caliper is only sticking on the left side causing uneven wear on the inner and outer pad.

for oiling the caliper, do i just remove the tire and put in wd-40 into the caliper?

Rotors: how can u tell if it's wet-glass or normal traction? the rotor w/the sticking caliper had heat marks. when i touched it, it felt smooth to the touch, but the rotor on the right side also felt the same.

Could i just have not machined the rotor and live w/that lip on the rotor (assuming the new pad fits below the lip)?
 


<< for oiling the caliper, do i just remove the tire and put in wd-40 into the caliper? >>



If you need to ask that question you need a mechanic and one that will NOT rip you off as Midas has been known to do....and HAS done to you!

Never go back there and tell all your friends!
 


<< I was hearing the warning noise from my brakes on my '93 Sentra. I take it to Midas since I had my brakes done there b4 and they had a lifetime warrenty, which meant free brakes. (More about the "free" later.)

1) They said my calipers were sticking to the rotors. $200 to replace both left and right front ones.

2) They said my car's manufacturer (Nissan) recommends that rotors be turned while it's on the car, thus $55/rotor = $110. Regular turning = $50 for both. (i know nothing about brakes.)
a) Is this BS?
b) Did i need them turned in the 1st place? They said there was a lip on the rotor cause by the brake pad. (could i have lived with the lip? The rotors felt smooth, w/no or very little warping.) Also, there were heat marks. And he also said something about glazing. Any ideas here?

3) They also suggested shims ($20 for both) for the calipers.

4) The free brakes were for pads only. Labor wasn't covered 🙁

-I said ok to turn the rotors on the car. Big mistake?

-I turned down the new calipers. I figure that they have to take off the calipers to service the rotors so now the calipers wouldn't stick since they have to reseat them anyway. AM I RIGHT?

-I said yes to the shims since they said it would cut down on the noise. Another mistake?

Total for "Free" brakes - $200 >>




For a bit more than that, you could have bought new rotors.
Rotor Assembly, 1.6 liter; Rotor Only.; VIN E E; VIN E GXE; VIN E SE; VIN E XE Listing
? Usually ships in 7 - 10 business days. RAYBESTOS 9908 $54.16 $ <--- from carparts.com
 


<< Usually ships in 7 - 10 business days. RAYBESTOS 9908 $54.16 $ <--- from carparts.com >>



I can beat 99% of their prices buying locally. Carparts is owned by J C Whitney.
 
I don't know too much about foreign cars, but I see those calipers are REALLY expensive. Like over $100.00 each! I'd hesitate to replace them if they cost that damn much! The rotors could have been replaced for about $65.00, so I would have gone that route, rather than that fancy "on the car" turning job. I hear that many foreign cars have thin rotors that end up warping and aren't worth turning anyway. Usually the place you buy your pads from will turn a rotor for under $10.00 each.

Gads, those pads are on the expensive side too, at over $30.00 a set. But I'd rather do it myself and spend that $35.00 and $10.00 each to have 'em turned, than get charged a couple hundred to have somebody else do it. It's really not that hard. Even putting calipers in isn't bad, but that price for them would make me flip! I'm kind of missing the point of why they're called "economy cars". 😕

Edit: Oh, now I see why those prices are so high! Thanks Tom.

I always go to AutoZone. If there's one near you, buy there. A friend told me they have "packages" for brake jobs that include calipers, rotors, pads and springs for less than the parts purchased separately.
 
lets not forget the markups on Mida. A $85 master cylinder will cost about $300 when purchased from Midas as a necessary parts during repair.
 


<< thx for all the info. shims don't come w/the pads that midas uses. >>


That's right. They use either the cheapest pads they can get, or they "upgrade" you to "premium" pads that cost them a little and you a lot more.



<< the caliper is only sticking on the left side causing uneven wear on the inner and outer pad. >>


OK. That means the pins are sticking. They need to cleaned out and re-lubricated with grease intended for such a use. You might need to replace the rubber seals if they're split. Get them at the dealership if a good auto parts store like Napa doesn't have them in stock.



<< for oiling the caliper, do i just remove the tire and put in wd-40 into the caliper? >>


I agree with some advice given above: Ask for help, or bring it to a decent mechanic.



<< Rotors: how can u tell if it's wet-glass or normal traction? the rotor w/the sticking caliper had heat marks. . . >>


If there's heat marks (discoloring), the rotors should be replaced. I'd go to Napa for rotors.



<< Could i just have not machined the rotor and live w/that lip on the rotor (assuming the new pad fits below the lip)? >>


Yeah, probably, but I don't think it's a good idea. Like I've said, I usually feel best just getting new rotors at a place like Napa (much, much less $) and getting pads, shims and other special hardware at the dealership.
 


<< ...always go to AutoZone. >>



4 out of 5 times I find the best deals at Autozone!

I worked at and managed an auto parts store for ten years. I do 90% of all my own repairs and shop HARD for parts.

For instance, I just bought a '92 Mitusbishi Expo....$300 and another story...it needs rear struts. Auto Zone can't get them. The parts store I was employed at $112 each! I happened in to the local 'Lube N Shine,' $150 installed. I asked around where they got their parts... Car Quest has them on order for $23 each. I will install them myself.

Did a brake job on my '77 Ford pickup. Carbon Fibre pads with a lifetime warranty for $23 bucks from Autozone. I ended up needing calipers...in a hurry! I paid $23 each from the local Carquest although Autozone's price was $12 each, but none in my area had both left and right.

Just like ANY commodity, get educated on what you need and then go shopping!
 
I think the biggest thing to observe about this thread is that computer geniuses are quite often car idiots.

It is also interesting to observe the contrast between comments from the mechanically inclined and those that take their cars to the dealership for anything and are content to pay someone else 10 times what they should.

New OEM Brembo rotors are cheap. The impact screwdriver needed to remove them (on my CRX at least) is not incredibly expensive. A decent jack and jackstands might hurt a little bit. A C clamp for compressing the brake piston will be cheap. Pads are cheap. For around the same price as midas charges you to f!ck up your brakes, you can buy all the parts and tools to do it yourself for the rest of your life. An hour of labor per wheel, MAX and you are done.

I'm very glad I've started to learn about cars. I no longer live in dire fear of when my car breaks. Hell, I don't even have the "right" engine in my car anymore.

I figure if I go to med school, I won't be able to be ripped off on anything. 🙂 I'll be able to buy/build quality computers and technology, fix my own vehicle (and make it fly 🙂), and diagnose what the f!ck is wrong with me. Maybe 🙂
 
Calipers sticking is internal in the caliper. Usually the piston inside is pitted or plating flaking off. I do my own brakes and buy rebuilt calipers (cost like $28 each). I buy new rotors , they don't need to be turned, they already have been. I change the fluid every 2 years. It gets contaminated , and leads to caliper failure. I change hoses at about 60 k miles.
They screwed you on costs, you could get lifetime warranty pads from any mechanic. Rotors cost about $16 each to get turned.
 
My experience with brake repairs has been that to replace the pads at all four corners, re-surface the drums in the rear and turn the rotors in the front is about $200 including labor. (Labor rate: $58/hour.) This is at a local shop just down the road from me, and my car is a 3rd generation Accord.

ZV

EDIT: Almost forgot, that included a complete cleaning of the front calipers, which corrected a slight pull when braking. (A caliper had stuck, causing a pad to rub constantly, which in turn wore the rotor....)
 
Has everyone forgotten the on-car turning of the rotors???? Sometimes when the rotors are machined off-car, when they are reinstalled on the car they are not true. The on-car
brake lathe is an expensive, specialty device, that even Midas will charge you more to use. Granted, it's prolly worth it to turn them off-car and see first. Agreed, Midas is not the
place to go for brakes. I would recommend a brake/ front-end shop that is well-established. Also, I would always get the rotors machined in some fashion (assuming they are
still thick enough for machining) the new pads will not 'break-in' correctly without the proper rotor finish. If there's a ridge at the edge of the rotor, they prolly have significant wear
on them, they should be measured for thickness.



<< I think the biggest thing to observe about this thread is that computer geniuses are quite often car idiots. >>



LOL at least I was a paid mechanic from '84-'95 and still do all my own work. Computers are like cars to me, only not as greasy 😀

JC
 
Well, here's what my mechanic told me... I own a '96 cutlass supreme, and these sorta cars are known for seizing calipers like you wouldn't believe. Anyways, he told me that if you knock out the pins and clean them off and stick them back in, that there is a very high chance they will just seize again within a year. He instead sugested that we replace them with a loaded set, which would resist the seizing better and would have a 2 year guarentee on them in case something DID go wrong.

As for the turning of the rotors, it probably was a good idea. The reason I tell you this is that those lifetime shoes you had are built to last, and when there is pressure from those against your rotors, SOMETHING has to give. Those damn hard brakeshoes will instead eat rotors, which are much more expensive. Next time I'd go with a softer shoe, I'd much rather pay $20 a year for shoes then $120 for each rotor.
 


<< Sounds like they pulled a stunt on you... Turning your rotors is somthing some stupid that you could do yourself in 10 minutes. 55 bucks was a waste. >>

Umm, explain to me how you are going to turn your rotors at home?

That is quite a high price, not to mention that they could have done the rotors off of the car, even though the manufacturer recommends doing it on the car. Could you have lived with the lip? Yes, but you really shouldn't, it should be smooth all the way across or you will likely wear through breads quite quickly.

The only place they screwed you, and they screwed you big here, is the price they charged for doing it on the car. It should have costed no more than ten bucks a wheel and even that I cannot understand because leaving them on actually is easier for them to do.
 


<< The only place they screwed you, and they screwed you big here, is the price they charged for [turning] it on the car. >>



What about the $20 shims? It was a few pennies worth of sheet metal that should be in the box, but isn't, and 30 seconds of aggravation for the ?installer.? That 30 seconds is all of 10 cents labor cost for the shop at a measley ass $11 an hour, but I don't know what they are actually paid to work on cars. NOTE: I?m not giving them the undue credit of calling them mechanics.
 
There is a theory that turning rotors will rarely get you a trueness good as new or original. Never had this on car technique done though but it does make partial sense because the rotors need to run true on the car not the lathe. All this would depend heavily on the mechanic. Often part availabilty has alot to do with the decision to be made. Or the car, which may have specialty (cross drilled,vented) rotors that are substantially more in cost, may be worth turning. Each situation is different but again look up prices before going in for service.
One approach is just keep changing pads and shoes every year. Once you learn to do it youself. Even rough looking rotors, drums can work fine, if thick enough. The scores are mostly symetrical, a new thick pad will simply wear to fit the grove then wear down the rotor to perfection. This works best on older softer pads which were designed with more wear built in, namely rivet depth. But the real advantage of frequent pad change, you get under the car and look around and make sure things such as cv boots, calipers, brakelines are as they should be. That alone is worth the afternoons effort and the ~$50 for pads,shoes. Changing brake fluid is a great idea because the brake fuild itself picks up moisture very easily. This moisture causes corrosion on the innards of the system. Replace fluid by displacement, new pushes out old.. not draining and rebleeding which just succeeds in reintroducing moisture into the system.
 


<< Rotors cost about $16 each to get turned. >>



Around here it's $7.50 each at a dozen shops I could name. Buy the pads at Auto Zone and they charge $5 each! They also supply you with any speciality tools you may need for FREE!

Rotor wear has nothing to do with softer or harder pads. The resurfacing grinds the glazed surface off of the rotor and smoothes any imperfectionincludeing minor warping. The actual wear caused by the pads is minimal.

The brake system should be flushed at the manfacturers recommended intervals and DOT3 spec fluid should be replaced by a High Performance Silcone based fluid unless specifically prohibitted by the manfacturer. Regular brake fluid attracks moisture like a sponge and it is the water in the fluid that causes rust and then a seized rotor or brake cylinder. The silicone based fluids do not have this problem and can be considered a permanent solution.

It is always a good idea to replace the pins when replacing the rotors. They come with a special lubricant that resists high temperature and are inexpensive. These pins are what the caliper rides on when the brakes are applied and must be in near perfect condition for proper brake operation.

Brake systems are very simple if you take the time to try and understand them. They turn friction into heat. It is that simple! Get a Haynes or Chiltons for your specific model and do smo reading. It will save you a bundle!
 


<< Rotor wear has nothing to do with softer or harder pads. The actual wear caused by the pads is minimal. >>



I agree with all but this, Tominator. From personal experience, I've noted that organic pads are kind to rotors and the pads only are what wears. With semi-metallic pads, however, the rotors tend to wear quite a bit, and not
flat ('grooves') Witness any Mercedes-Benz brake rotors, you'll find they nearly always need to be replaced at brake time because they are worn thin be the hard pads.

JC

<edit> Oh yeah, and while DOT 5 (silicone) fluid is great, switching to it requires a complete flushing with denatured alcohol and replacement of all the internal rubber parts. So it's prolly more cost-effective to just replace the fluid
with DOT 3 again. </edit>
 
JCIV

I was speaking generally and yes those damned metallic pads do wear the rotors an inordinate amount. I always use Carbon pads if available.
 
Gotcha 😉

And, have you ever had problems with silicone fluid leaking? Like it's even thinner than DOT 3 fluid...had a couple older cars with brand new brake systems develop leaks with it
that disappeared when switched back to DOT 3....mysterious...
 
Anytime I've switched was after a complete brake job that included master cylinder and all wheel cylinders and never had a problem with leaks.
 
This thread makes me sick. There are some accurate answers here but for the most part it makes me laugh that people who know nothing about automotive brake system diagnosis and repair are giving advice and I shudder to think that the poor sould who asked the question in the first place may actually listen to some of the replies.

Did the guy who said to buy $5.00 brake pads get a $10.00 video card for his own computer? That's what he is telling you to do with your car!

When it comes to a cars brakes I cannot give advice over the "phone" I don't want to be responsible. Get a second and third opinion. Even if you don't get the pads for free the 2nd or 3rd opinion may better suit your budget and put you at ease.
 
Long live the shade tree mechanic. Too bad Detroit doesn't believe in practical, economic and easily maintained transportation. Bureaucracy is not only the cancer of our government but also of the auto industry. Far from benign this cancer permeates down to the lowly service tech. Don't believe the hype folks it's all plug and pray.

Your mileage may vary.
 
thx for the answers 🙂

i've decided to enroll in a automotive 101 class at my local community college. hopefully my calipers will last till i learn about fixing brakes 🙂

now i need to work construction part time since my house is also a big maintenance headache sometimes 🙁

thank god i know how to build a computer since that's my 3rd highest expense 🙂
 
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