Brake Cost & questions?
 

Hey guys,

I'm pretty sure I am going to have to be getting some new brakes soon so I have some questions.

I know I had new pads put on in 07, but nothing since. So Im probably overdue. Is it likely I need to replace front and rear shoes? Also should I go ahead replace the rotors? I have never done this before myself, but I know there are plenty of in depth how tos on here, and my lil bro has access to a nice shop his girlfriend's dad uses for his racecars.

Also what should I expect to pay? I'm not looking for high performance or anything, I need to spend as little as possible without being excessively cheap.

I know the front does most of the work, so that is why I was not sure if I could just get away with doing the front now and the rear later, or if that would cause problems.

Also any advice on brands. I have looked at autozone or advanced autoparts, which carries duralast and duralast gold. Any reasons not to go with these?

Would it be worth it to find a shop to do the work for me if I buy the parts?

Sorry guys for being an idiot...

I was looking at these:
pads:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...uestid=2900388

One of these rotors:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...&parentId=44-0

rear:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...&parentId=44-0

do you have a carquest by you??

not sure...

yup just searched and there is one 10 miles from me.

we use their brakes at work and they seem to do just fine

Just go to any auto parts store and get the mid-range priced ones. They will last a heck of a lot longer then the cheepies and have less dust. I'd get new rotors if you only put pads on in 07, they are cheap too. I'd pull a drum off of the rear and see what they look like.

If you had new pads put on in 07 and at the time they didn't see a need to do anything to the rotors etc, you should be in pretty good shape. What makes you think you need new rotors? Are the current ones smooth? Do you have a lot of pad chatter/noise, or more effort on the pedal than you feel you should? Unless your breaks have been screaching for a while and you've been ignoring it, your rotors may very well be fine. At worst maybe a couple turns on the lathe...but if you've kept up with pads as recently as '07 I doubt you need new rotors. If the current rotors are smooth, just throw some new pads on if you need them. 07 isn't that long ago...somewhere between 30 and 50k on the pads?

When I had the pads done in 07 one mechanic had said I should turn my rotors then, but I didnt trust them and they quoted me aridiculous price.

In the last week they have begun making noise so that is why it is worrying me. They still work fine but I dont like the noises they are making.

Get new pads and rotors, then you'll be set, no worrys for a few years.

Wagner Thermoquiets (ceramic)

they last a hella long time....no noise and no dust

Guaranteed for LIFE against wear and tear

sure they cost about $50 but you'll never have to buy them again just warranty them out when they start squealing.

Brakes are expensive if you do them at a shop. paying ridiculous shop fees is one reason I'm a mechanic now.

How much pad is left on the front? 2 years doesn't seem like too much, I wouldn't say you need them but it depends how you drive etc.

That being said, when was the last time you did the drums? (rear brakes) You *should* machine the rotors, they're likely to make noise, and might be slightly warped. You probably don't have to do the drums unless they've never been done, you can pull the drums off and see how much material is left above the rivets, i forgot what the spec is.

shops are ridiculous my girlfriends mom had a blow out and got 2 new tires and the guy who did them said they were 90% gone and he could do them for 198.00 plus tax, and that was just the backs

she thought her fronts were bad and I told her I'd do the back for free if she paid me for the front, so she paid for the parts and gave me 50 bucks and still saved from the parts store because i go in there and give them so much business I get 10% off all the time now :biggthump

aside from all that brakes are easy, its 2 bolts for the caliper 2 bolts for the bracket and all you have to do from there is pop off your wheel bearing re-pack it and re assemble...shouldn't take you more than 30 minutes per side

I had my 91 ranger for at least 6 years and never changed the drums...till the rear end blew a line....after that thos were some stiff brakes

I know everyone says all this is so easy, and I am sure it is with the right tools and a little experience. I however do not have those tools. I will try to get over with my bro to his GFs dads shop to pop them off and take a look at everything and see what it looks like. I am sure I need to repack everything with grease as well, however I have no experience with any of this, and I always fear for screwing something up or getting to a point of no return and not being able to finish the job. I can't not have my truck at any point, so I usually end up going to a shop out of convenience and lack of ability to do it myself.

Ok, so now that Im listening to it, I'm thinking it might be more likely my bearings. Could this be? The sound is like a consistent whurrring that I hear when I slow down. Should I go ahead and get my bearings repacked? I know I have never personally done this, in the 4-1/2 years I have had it.

be curious to hear opinions on this - I've only had my 05 edge for a little over a week now, so I haven't looked that closely...but from a quick glance it looks like a whole hub assembly on the front that would be replaced when bearings go, or can you still just repack the bearings? Mine has a little whurr to it to, mostly at the tail end of stopping from a moderate speed which I have been just attributing to how the breaking system operates. Doesn't seem to effect anything - new pads and good rotors with only 29K on the truck...so doesn't seem like it would be a bearing issue yet.

You have any kind of noise rolling around at low speeds? Seems odd that a bearing noise would only show up during stopping.

BTW how is Clemson these days? Used to head down that way for spring training in college...some beautiful sights to be seen on that campus, always looked forward tot he trip.

I'm not a big fan of ceramic pads because they wear on the rotors faster, it is a harder pad material so the rotor wears faster