Thursday, June 2, 2011

How much should it cost on a 2002 Toyota Camry LE (4c/2.4L) to get both sets of brakes & front rotors changed?

How much should it cost on my 2002 Toyota Camry LE (4 cylinder/2.4L) to get the front and back brakes and front rotors changed? Midas said around $750, my mechanic expects around $700, a friend at work said he could do it for $400... Not sure what to do...How much should it cost on a 2002 Toyota Camry LE (4c/2.4L) to get both sets of brakes %26amp; front rotors changed?
At Autozone the pads run from $20-$55. Rear shoes=$17. Front rotors=$27-$58. The ranges are based on warranties. Change them yourself.



You'll need a jack and a socket set and either a c-clamp, or a large pair of channel locks.



Remove the front wheels, remove the bolts holding the calipers to the steering knuckle and suspend them from the struts with a wire or hanger. Pull the lock springs out of the thru-pins and remove the pins. Turn the inner pad around and collapse the piston using the c-clamp or channel locks.. Remove the old rotor and install the new one. They are what is known as floating rotors, meaning nothing but the calipers and the lug nuts hold them on. Put the new pads on the calipers in the reverse process of removing the old ones and slide the calipers over the rotors. Put the wheels back on and run the lug nuts down. Lower the vehicle so the wheel just take a little weight and torque the lugnuts down. Use about 75 foot pounds of torque. The nuts shouldn't turn easily.



The rears take a little more doing. Jack up the rear end and remove the wheels. There might be two big philips screws holding the drums on. Remove them if so. Make sure the parking brake is off. If the drums do not come off easily, use a hammer to help. Just hit the flat outside part a few times. It is usually rust between the bottom of the lug stud and the drum.



There are two big return springs between the shoes and the upper stud. Remove those. Then remove the hold down clamp. Push down and turn a quarter turn either direction to line the key up with the hold. Remove the clamp spring and rod. Remove the parking brake expander. Remove the adjuster and spring from the bottom. Collapse the adjuster some. Remove the parking brake cable from the rearward shoe. Leave the other side assembled so you can use it for reference. I would recommend having the drums turned at this time. Now reassemble using the other side as a guide. Taking pictures will also help.How much should it cost on a 2002 Toyota Camry LE (4c/2.4L) to get both sets of brakes %26amp; front rotors changed?
First thing you should do, is call a local parts store and ask them for prices on each part *brake pads/shoes *rotors *calipers if you are changing them etc. and once you have a price on the parts then you should find out what the labor rates at different garages are and see where you can get the best deal. Alot of garages will try to make you spend more then you have to, so make sure to find an honest garage or get your friend to do it (as long as this friend has a fair amount of experieince) because you dont want your brakes failing.