Guest jon61484 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 hey, new to this. I need new brake pads. Is this hard to change out? and rotors, how do i tell if their still good? I got napa in albany to quote me $44.99 per rotor and anywhere from $13.99 to $18.xx for a set of pads and carquest had $15 a set for pads. is all of this hard to do? anything to watch out for? any special tools needed? thanks PS: and HOW do I tell if the rotors are bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest syphon Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Most brake/tire shops do free inspections. They'll look over your car and tell you what all needs replacing or whatever for free. Keep in mind, they usually inflate the seriousness to try and make a sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 86 subaru Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 napa will charge 10 ea to turn roters , and drums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thealleyboy Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 The only special tool you really need is a caliper piston compressor. Flare type wrenches are not a bad idea either for your brake lines. What you should be more concerned about are the unanticipated things (like broken bolts, stripped nuts) that always seem to happen when you are in the middle of a major brake job. I'm kinda fanatical about brakes, so maybe I'm not the best person to give advice. I turn drums & rotors everytime I do pads/shoes, whether they need it or not. I replace any caliper or cylinder that is suspect (or just old). Of course, when you do this, you often discover brittle hoses and brake lines. My advice: Do a complete brake overhaul at least once on your Sube, and do it right!! Be prepared to be without a car for a few days if you run into problems. The shop that charges 39.99 an axle always seem to experience these "problems". Difference is, the brake shops are well equipped to deal with these things on the spot. Most of them have big parts inventories or wholesale sources on call, and even tube bending equipment right in thier shop. They will {correctly} reccommend that you do a thorough brake job - maybe costing hundreds of dollars in parts and labor. They will use your fear of being without wheels to jack you BIG TIME. Stay away from those shops!! Brake work is not hard, and if you take your time, and have access to ALL the parts you may possibly need, the job will go smoothly. good luck, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jon61484 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I paid $51.74 total for four semi-organic pads, and two new rotors. is that good? and I'll need a caliper piston compressor? might be another job for Andrew to help me on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thealleyboy Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Jon: That's a good start. I would pick up some bearing grease too if you don't have it already. A breaker bar and rust penetrant will help you with the larger bolts. If you don't have a breaker bar, a section of pipe (to slip onto your ratchet handle) will work just as well. You really need to start tearing into them before you know what you are dealing with. It may be as simple as worn out rotors & pads, but you want to make sure the calipers, lines and master cylinder are all solid while you are in there. Any fluid loss, however small, is unnaceptable. Brake jobs are all about labor, so don't skimp on parts, which are fairly cheap these days. If you have a helper, and are near a good parts store, you'll be ok. Just don't panic if you run into difficulties. good luck, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jon61484 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I've got a carquest (in my small town!) about two blocks down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hondasucks Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Jon, I have one of those tools. You don't compress the piston back in with a big C-clamp like on other cars, rather you have to "Screw" the piston back in, due to the parking brake actuator, which is little more than a large screw :-P I've got it if you need to borrow it, I paid like 12 bucks for it @ Hollywood (before it was Carquest) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jon61484 Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 ok... so, when ANYONE asks for 1988 Subaru GL hatch, they will get most of the time (99%) EA82 parts. so... ask for 84 hatch parts instead. it will always be EA81 and will always work. blah Andrew told me better and I didn't. goes to show who's dumb. (me) ~Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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