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Brake overhaul - doable with minimum experience?

B

beer

Lifer
EDIT:

I had an estimate done. Turns out that, in fact, my rear assembly is fine- the drums, cylinders, and shoes are intact with about 10-12K miles left. Furthermore the front calipers are fine.

The work I would need to do would be limited to pads and rotors.

I was quoted $340 for the brake work and another $60 for an alignment after that.

Anyone have any input?


As in my other thread, I'm probably going to have to overhaul most of my brake system.

I'm probably going to need to replace:
front rotors, pads, calipers
rear cylinders, shoes, *maybe* the drums

on my 98 ford contour

One of my friends is trying to tell me that it isn't that hard to do. I won't need any special tools..I'll probably have to buy a torque wrench (i need one anyways) but I can borrow his l33t jack to help out the process. I have a complete assortment of hand tools, sockets, wrenches.....I might need some clamps but probably not anything else? I also have the haynes manual, have read over the procedure, and I've read over the DIYnetwork writeup on their web site for both discs and drums

Has anyone with minimal auto experience done something like this before? How was it? How much time does it take and how much money will it save me?

 
The rotors for the most part are easy, even for clueless newbs. The rear drums are a bit more of a PITA to figure out and more time consuming due to the fact that there's more mechanical parts and such. For a total newb, probably 1-2 hours including repacking the bearings up front. The rear - if you've never done it, set aside a good solid 4+ hours for that.
 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
The rotors for the most part are easy, even for clueless newbs. The rear drums are a bit more of a PITA to figure out and more time consuming due to the fact that there's more mechanical parts and such. For a total newb, probably 1-2 hours including repacking the bearings up front. The rear - if you've never done it, set aside a good solid 4+ hours for that.
Click to expand...

How much would I save by doing it myself?
 
imo the rears won't be *that* difficult.


Just be sure to do one side/wheel at a time, so that if you don't know how something goes back together you can refer to the other side.
 
Originally posted by: se7enty7
imo the rears won't be *that* difficult.


Just be sure to do one side/wheel at a time, so that if you don't know how something goes back together you can refer to the other side.
Click to expand...

That was going to be my suggestion as well.

It's really not THAT hard. But be VERY careful NOT to over tighten the front bearings and be sure there is plenty of grease in them. I lost a wheel going down the freeway in San Diego once because I over tightened a front wheel bearing. Sheared the spindle right off! It wasn't pretty!
 
don't any of you people buy service manuals? just follow it step by step...and if you aren't a doofus you will be fine.
 
Just remember that if you mess up, the car's not going to stop when you go to test it out. Make sure you bleed the brake lines properly.
 
It can't be that bad. Without a manual or anything my first time doing my front brakes it took maybe 15 minutes a side. I can't imagine replacing the caliber and rotor would have taken more than another 15-20. You may need two different torque wrenches as well. For my Cherokee I needed a 1/2" torque wrench for the lug nuts and a 1/4" I wanna say torque wrench to tighten the bolts that held my caliper on.

- Kevin
 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: dabuddha
Originally posted by: Quixfire
You could save at least $200 in labor doing it yourself.
Click to expand...

$200 labor :Q I pay $40 labor for my brakes when I get them done.
Click to expand...

This is the front and rear brakes
Click to expand...

And, for $40 in labor, you ARE NOT also having the front calipers and rear cylinders replaced.
 
I had an estimate done. Turns out that, in fact, my rear assembly is fine- the drums, cylinders, and shoes are intact and I should get another 10-12K miles out of it. Furthermore the front calipers are fine.

The work I would need to do would be limited to pads and rotors.

I was quoted $340 for the brake work and another $60 for an alignment after that.

Anyone have any input?
 
You didn't state your vehicle, so answer on that repair is difficult. It cost me $240 to have the front brakes done on the sentra with OEM parts when I had them done a while back. The maxima would have cost over $300, simply because parts are pricier. You should price this on parts and labor separately. Labor for front brakes should not take more than an hour.
 
Vehicle information please.

On some vehicles, its not so simple. Take the honda accord for example. The rotor is bolted directly to the hub from behind, and cannot be taken off unless the whole spindle is taken out.

Other vehicles it can be as simple as unhooking the caliper(make sure to support the caliper by a wire of some sort DO NOT support it by the brake line), taking off the caliper braket (or carrier) and then removing the bolts/screws that hold it to the hub.
 
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Vehicle information please.



On some vehicles, its not so simple. Take the honda accord for example. The rotor is bolted directly to the hub from behind, and cannot be taken off unless the whole spindle is taken out.



Other vehicles it can be as simple as unhooking the caliper(make sure to support the caliper by a wire of some sort DO NOT support it by the brake line), taking off the caliper braket (or carrier) and then removing the bolts/screws that hold it to the hub.
Click to expand...
Holy crap that's stupid (the accord)!

If I were the OP I'd, at the least, do the fronts myself. Just jack the car up and buy some either OEM parts or ones from autozone. I bet on that car the pads and rotors will be very cheap. It will be something you'll be glad you did, and doing the fronts doesn't require bleeding brakes or anything fancy. You can get the parts for under $100 I'd bet.
 
I will say that depending on what you actually need done, it could vary from cheap to expensive, even for the do-it-yourselfer.

Pads/shoes are cheap. Wheel cylinders for drum brakes are cheap. Brake hardware, such as parking brake components or springs are usually cheap. Drums and rotors are relatively expensive. Brake hoses are not too awfully priced. Brake lines are cheap, but you should buy a tube bender to bend them properly. The master cylinder will be pretty expensive. The power brake booster will be quite expensive. Brake fluid is cheap. Parking brake cables are fairly cheap.

Recently on my truck, I have replaced the front brake pads and rotors. Pads were about $20 for the set, and rotors were about $25 per side. Fortunately, my calipers were fine and my hoses were fine.

For the rear, however, I had to replace one drum ($45), one wheel cylinder ($12), the brake line going from the speed sensor to the wheel cylinder ($3) and had to buy a tube bender for that line ($7). I bought new brake shoes ($15 after core returned), a bottle of brake fluid ($1), and new parking brake cables for both sides ($20 per side). When you say overhaul, it could mean anything. Nearly every brake component is replacable.
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Vehicle information please.



On some vehicles, its not so simple. Take the honda accord for example. The rotor is bolted directly to the hub from behind, and cannot be taken off unless the whole spindle is taken out.



Other vehicles it can be as simple as unhooking the caliper(make sure to support the caliper by a wire of some sort DO NOT support it by the brake line), taking off the caliper braket (or carrier) and then removing the bolts/screws that hold it to the hub.
Click to expand...
Holy crap that's stupid (the accord)!

If I were the OP I'd, at the least, do the fronts myself. Just jack the car up and buy some either OEM parts or ones from autozone. I bet on that car the pads and rotors will be very cheap. It will be something you'll be glad you did, and doing the fronts doesn't require bleeding brakes or anything fancy. You can get the parts for under $100 I'd bet.
Click to expand...


Skoorb,
Did you ever get the rotors off/turned on the Maxima?
 
Unless you have really bad/deep scratches on the rotor, you may not even need to get them turned. Removing the rotors is probably the most varying aspect of the job - they're not all mounted quite the same way.

Pads at autozone will run you anywhere from $12 a pair to 35 or 40 for the pair. Rotors vary in price quite a bit, but are fairly cheap. See if yours are thick enough to just get turned - usually 5 to 10 apiece. You don't have to worry about bleeding the brake lines when you simply change the pads. Remember to open the brake fluid reservoir before you begin though. Unless you top off the brake fluid as the brakes wear, you shouldn't have a problem with the fluid overflowing. If you've topped off the fluid, you'll need to remove some from the reservoir to avoid it overflowing.

It really is a simple job worth the time to learn how. The first time or two will take longer, but after you gain some experience, you'll be able to zip right through the process. In fact, I think it takes me more time to get out the jack and tools, jack the car, remove, then later return the wheel than it does to replace the pads. If someone else jacks the car and removes the tire for me, I'd rather change the pads on a car than on a 10 speed bike. It's easier. (and, I've got 2 sons... therefore, I don't jack the car)
 
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