I'm a single mother who's brakes just went. I don't have a lot of money and can't afford to take my car into a dealership. I'm VERY good with my hands and I don't mind getting dirty (please no smart comments). I've never dont any car repair but i have done a little research. My question is how hard will it be to change my brake pads and rotors by myself being that i've never done a car repair on my own. (I've built plenty of things around the house...) And, also any suggestions?Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
well ususally it is not too hard. depends on the vehicle. go to a local parts store and get yourelf a repair manual for your car. it will tell you step by step with pictures. usually its just a couple bolts you have to remove.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
those damn rusted nuts are hard to get off there... I've tried and I went to a garage 1 hour after. Can't take that damn top nut off.( the one holding the break pad cylinders casing ) Don't go to a dealership, any mexican can do that. Brakes would be easy to change if everything was like new... the rotors are the easy part.
try anyway, if all the nuts unscrew , you're good to go.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Changing the rotors can be a little difficult you may want someone for support but I can change break pads with my eyes closed, just find a good how to book or site.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Doing brakes is a little more difficult than say painting around the house. Your life as well as others is in jeapordy if done incorrectly. I would suggest not doing brake work if you've never worked on cars before. Try learning oil changes, airing your tires, changing your air filter etc.....I suggest if you have your own parts, find a shop that will install your parts and have them do the work. There wont be a warranty if you furnish the parts but the cost would be around 100 dollars. Either that or find a friend that has done some brake work and pay them.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
brakes are not difficult, at least I don't think so anyway, I just buy the parts and they have a repair manual at the auto parts store.
The name of the books you can get for your car is either Chilton, or Hayes, they are specific to your car, or similar models. Example; I have a Mercury Grand Marquis, and the book covers the Ford Crown Victoria which is the same thing.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Brakes are Very important, please only do them if you have a experienced friend, you'll need a friend to help you bleed the lines ( any air in the brake line will compress when you push the brake, instead of applying the pressure to the disk/drum)
Good LuckChanging brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
I certainly admire your determination and willingness to do your own brake work, but because you have admittedly never done any auto repairs - I would highly recommend that you don't start with a brake job. Perhaps a water pump or something similar - if you don't do it correctly, it still leaks - no big deal - but brakes? If you do this incorrectly, it could be a very big deal. Perhaps you know someone with a little experience and he or she could assist you? If not - bite the bullet and take it into a service shop.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
some tools and a c-clamp you can do it pretty quickly. Be careful it takes special tools to remove some calipers. AutoZone will tell you if you need specialty tools.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
youtube and expert village.com offer really good videos to tell you how to do these things . good luckChanging brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Although I would love to make some %26quot;smart%26quot; comments about your %26quot;getting dirty%26quot; remark, I'll refrain.
Changing brakepads and maybe rotors by yourself for the first time will be impossible. You will likely not do it right and cause an accident or wind up leaving your car in a condition where it cannot be brought to a mechanic.
What you need to do is have someone there with experience who has done this before.
Some cars have rotors that can be slapped on without even spinning a bolt, some require specialized tools.
You'll need the following for brake pads:
1. new brakepads
2. brake fluid - a bottle
3. a large C-clamp
4. appropriate drivers - philips head, flat head, sparx, etc
5. A good pair of pliers.
You will need to remember to collapse the caliper and bleed the brakes. Remember to loosen that nut looking thing on the caliper to allow brake fluid to seep before you colapse it.
Once you have done this a couple of times, this becomes old hat. It becomes easy and a great way to save money.
Best of luck with this, you can do it!
Finally, I'd also like to say that it is very, very sexy when a woman changes her own brakes. Especially if she's wearing blue denim overalls that are a couple of sizes too big and a skin tight white tank top.... so... what are you doing later? heheChanging brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
there are alot of little details that go into a good brake job as apposed to one that will shake after few weeks of driving,supporting vehicle safely ,tools and chemicals make the first time expensive after that its not to bad .as an ex mechanis i have all the stuff so it takes me about an hour and 1/2 to do it in the driveway with out air tools, if you do it wrong best case is the car is stuck in your driveway worst is you crash.find someone whos done it and buy them some beer to sit and watch/advise you.its easier to talk them into watching then kneeling on the concrete for a couple of hoursChanging brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Just as long as you dont mind getting dirty you didnt say what kind of car it is but about the best advice I can give you is go to the parts store where you got your pads and get a repair manual for your car it has step by step instructions with pictures as far as your rotors go you probably wont need them unless they have really deep grooves in them i mean almost through to the other side deep I have seen it happen before where the pads were past the rivits but anyhow 9 times out of 10 you can just have them turned but its not a requirement and while your out you might want to get some hand cleaner your going to need it if you need any help feel free to contact me directChanging brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
best solution. go to your local auto zone. and get some advice. you will need a big clamp, maybe about 12 - 16 inches. a Big one. for your brakes. then they will help you with the rotors. you may have to have them turned good idea to do that. auto zone guys will help you. or find a good friend to help you. its about 30 min a side for your brakes you can do it.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
EASY JOB. Get the wheels off, and unbolt the brake calipers from the spindle(if the bolts are tough get a can of PB blaster and spray'em up). you'll also wanna pick up a brake pad spreader(to push the pistons back in) then just replace the pads. once you get the calipers off the rotor will come right off, just put the new one on(make sure they're clean!) and slide the caliper w/new pads back over the rotor and bolt it back on. put the wheel back on and you're done!
BE SURE TO CHECK THE FLUID AND PUMP UP THE BRAKES BEFORE YOU TRY TO DRIVE. If they stay soft or spongy, you'll have to bleed them. you'll need help with that.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
it is a very easy job to do brake pads and rotors. all u have to do is pull the two slide bolts that hold that caliper on, and use a clamp to push the inside cylinder of the brake caliper in. then just pull of the rotor, put the new rotor on, slap the new pads in, put it back into place, and put the bolts back in. use the manual to verify the parts. it is a very very easy job and a good way to pick up mechanical knowledge.Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Some cars require a puller of press to remove the rotors. But if you don't need this, it's easy. Just read a repair manual before you start to make sure you can do all the required work and have the proper tools on hand. It's frustrating to need to drive to the parts store when you've already taken your car apart!Changing brake pads and maybe rotors by myself?
Just chipping in another word of encouragement to try doing it yourself.
The sites listed above will help. This one explains it too.
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/a
If you have Anti-Lock Brakes you need to bleed the brakes just a little. If you're not sure if you have them look for an ABS light when you start your car. Bleeding brakes is easy but it really helps to have someone step on the brakes for you, by the way. The other way I've done it myself is to prop a stick between the brake pedal and the driver's seat and scoot the seat up until it depresses the pedal. Then you go out, loosen the valve a little to release the fluid until it doesn't shoot out very much anymore then quickly retighten it so no air gets in. Then scoot the seat back and start over again one more time if you want or do it for the other side.
Also, if you're really looking to save money don't buy the brake cleaner. Maybe it helps but I don't and all the brakes I've done have worked fine.
Consider checking to see if your local parts store can turn (polish/clean up) your rotors instead of buying new ones. It's about $7.50 vs about $40 for new.
