Miata Mailing List: March 1997, Message #145
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   From: (none)

Subject: re: Brake Job for buggy going to run $800?...HELP!

   Date: (none)



> quotes included parts, labor, and tax:

> Front pads: $143.02

> Rear pads: $106.65

> Flush system: $57.00

> Front rotars: $221.00

> Rear rotars: $260.00

> $800 seems like a lot for brake work and I feel I could do most 





HELP! is right! Christ on a Bike! These people are trying to bone you so hard

your ears will bleed.



Easy to do yourself. I can do all 4 wheels including jacking the car up and

taking the wheels off and on in just under an hour. Add 15 minutes to change

all 4 'rotars'. I am not a very fast mechanic either, do software mostly.



It is very unlikely you need new 'rotars' at 62K miles but you are about due

for pads and you should change the fluid.



Pads are about $60 a set front or rear depending on what you get. I have even

tried the 'generic auto parts' pads which were just fine, (not quite as good as

the OEM) and were $28 the set.



You can get fancy drilled rotars for $100 a set or so, plain ones for less I

think.



To flush the system, you just suck almost all the old fluid out of the master

cylinder, top it up with new and the bleed the brakes watching for clean fluid

to come out at each wheel.  This takes a helper, some clear plastic hose,

a quart of Castrol LMA (you don't need a quart, but you _really_ don't want to

run out). It is best done while you have the car jacked up and the wheel off.

It will add 5 to ten minutes a wheel plus about 10 minutes to make nice to

the helper.



So I get:



 2 sets oem pads $100

 1 qt LMA          $8

                 ----

                 $108



Plus about 3 to 4 hours of your time if you haven't done it before.



-dg



David Gould                   dg@illustra.com                    510.869.6383

Informix Software (formerly Illustra)  1111 Broadway #2000  Oakland, CA 94607

 - A child of five could understand this!  Fetch me a child of five.