is it hard to replace your car's brakes yourself?

[supernova87a]

Has anyone here done this themselves? I've got an old car and not interested in spending lots of money on it anymore so I want to do it myself. How hard is it?

 

[MacBaine]

I haven't done it yet, but from what I know seeing my dad do it, it takes a little while... jacking car up + removing wheels, etc.

 

[Grey]

All you will be saving is labor charges when you do it yourself. Most auto stores have books on the how=to. I have replaced brakes on several cars. Drum brakes are the easiest. Disc brakes get tricky with the calipers. After you buy all the right tools it will probably even out to a pro job. How long are you planning on keeping the junker?

 

[boyRacer]

Disc brakes nowadays are a lot easier to work on... the disc brakes and the drum brakes on my old car is PITA...

 

[Smaulz]

Originally posted by: Grey
All you will be saving is labor charges when you do it yourself. Most auto stores have books on the how=to. I have replaced brakes on several cars. Drum brakes are the easiest. Disc brakes get tricky with the calipers. After you buy all the right tools it will probably even out to a pro job. How long are you planning on keeping the junker?

Not sure I agree with you there... done discs on all my cars with no trouble at all. Never even touched a drum, those I leave for the pros.

 

[wnied]

Drums are easy? What car are you talking about because I wanna check it out! Drum brakes are the biggest pain in the ass you can have when doing your own brakes. Disc Brakes are easiest.

~wnied~

 

[Soybomb]

Originally posted by: Grey
All you will be saving is labor charges when you do it yourself. Most auto stores have books on the how=to. I have replaced brakes on several cars. Drum brakes are the easiest. Disc brakes get tricky with the calipers. After you buy all the right tools it will probably even out to a pro job. How long are you planning on keeping the junker?

You sir are insane I'll be done with 5 discs before a drum.

Disc brakes are super easy, but you'll want to be sure you have a few tools handy like a torque wrench to properly torque the lug nuts when you put the wheel back on.

 

[Pepsi90919]

disc brakes take about 5 minutes, drum brakes are just a huge pain in the ass.

 

[Grey]

Come to think of it, I am an idiot. I did drums on a 93 GEO prizm, and it was a pain in the ass. The cantilever system or whatever was a pain in the ass to get back in correctly. Nevermind.

 

[GroundZero]

Originally posted by: supernova87a
Has anyone here done this themselves? I've got an old car and not interested in spending lots of money on it anymore so I want to do it myself. How hard is it?

depends on the car...
can you turn wrench?
old cars are easier than newer ones, antilock brakes are tricky.
but if you have a old car with straight up disc on the front and drum on the back...
it can be done if you can follow directions.