[scottvw]

Just finished changing the rear pads and rotors on my 02 Variant. I did the job start to finish right an hour. At 32,000 miles the pads were gone and the rotors had started to warp.

I used the brake tool from Harbor Freight and it worked like a charm. I saved quite a few bucks doing it myself and gained a lot of satisfaction. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined. I recommend that you try the job yourself.

 

[slimebucket]

Thanks for the insight and also the little push some of us who are novice at doing work ourselves on our cars!

:bow: :thumbup:

Rich

 

[mrlvdub]

Agreed.

Scottvw, I too did my first rear brake job this weekend and couldn't believe how easy it was. Definitely rent or buy the piston retraction tool.

The few bucks saved from the dealership or indy is always great, but the satisfaction of doing your own work is awesome. It took me about 1 - 1/2 hours, but I really took my time. This can definitely be done in 30 minutes now that I know what to do.

The Haynes manual is right on the money for this job.

After doing this, you will swear to never pay for another brake job.

Mike

 

[schmove]

I called a dealer once just to inquire about the labor on a brake job (not that I'd ever go to one, I was just wondering how much I save per brake job).

Dealer Prices:

Labor Rear = $140
Labor Front = $90
All 4 Rotors and pads = $548
Total = $778 + any other tax


DIY (Prices from ECS):
OEM Front Rotors (Pair) = $79.95
OEM Rear Rotors (Pair) = $49.94
Front Brake Pads (Pair) = $69.95
Rear Brake Pads (Pair) = $39.95
Shipping =$44.21
Sub Total = $284.00
Labor = FREEBIE
Grand Total = $284.00

 

[I<3myW8]

Plus... (added to schmove's list...)


Satisfaction of DIY'ing = priceless.

 

[crash893]

I called a dealer once just to inquire about the labor on a brake job (not that I'd ever go to one, I was just wondering how much I save per brake job).

Dealer Prices:

Labor Rear = $140
Labor Front = $90
All 4 Rotors and pads = $548
Total = $778 + any other tax


DIY (Prices from ECS):
OEM Front Rotors (Pair) = $79.95
OEM Rear Rotors (Pair) = $49.94
Front Brake Pads (Pair) = $69.95
Rear Brake Pads (Pair) = $39.95
Shipping =$44.21
Sub Total = $284.00
Labor = FREEBIE
Grand Total = $284.00

what pads did you get?

 

[schmove]

Those are the prices for PBR Ultimates

 

[Anthracite]

Did you jack one wheel up at a time? What are all the tools you needed? Where did you get the exact right rotors and pads for your mobel?

 

[crash893]

i just did my pads and they were liek 30 a pair

i forget what type but they didnt have the sensor in them ( kinda of pissed off about that but what are you going to do)

 

[e_andree]

What Harbor Freight tool are you referrng to?

 

[Ooinn99]

scottvw & mrlvdub,

When you did the rear brakes, did you guys perform the emergency brake loosen and readjustment? Or, did you perform the minimum caliper piston retraction (without the e-brake adjustment)?

I’ll be replacing mine as soon as my rotor shipment arrives.
Thanks

 

[mrlvdub]

Ooinn99,

I did not loosen the emergency brake cable. You can work around it. However, the problem you encounter is that you won't be able to accurately torque the top caliper mounting bolts because you can't get a socket on there with the emergency brake cable in the way. Not a major problem. The torque for these bolts is 22 ft lbs and you'll be able to tell that the bolt is on pretty tight.

I retracted my pistons almost all the way. How much you retract will vary depending on how worn your pads are. Mine were scraping metal on one side and very thin on the other, so I had major retraction to do. This was my first time doing brakes, so I may have over retracted, but everything worked out fine. The Haynes recommends that you open the bleed valve so that excess fluid can escape while you're retracting the piston. I decided to remove the reservoir cap and place a rag around the reservoir lip to catch any overflow. I barely had any fluid back up, but yours may be different.

HTH

Mike

 

[D.Passat00]

What Harbor Freight tool are you referrng to?

http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=69749&highlight=harbor+harbour+freight

 

[D.Passat00]

Did you jack one wheel up at a time? What are all the tools you needed? Where did you get the exact right rotors and pads for your mobel?

you can jack up all 4 at the same time. you'll need a 17mm (or stock tool) to remove wheel. the front caliper guide pins require 7mm hex. i can't remember the others, but they were somewhere between 13-17mm.

 

[Ooinn99]

Ooinn99,

I did not loosen the emergency brake cable. You can work around it. However, the problem you encounter is that you won't be able to accurately torque the top caliper mounting bolts because you can't get a socket on there with the emergency brake cable in the way. Not a major problem. The torque for these bolts is 22 ft lbs and you'll be able to tell that the bolt is on pretty tight.

I retracted my pistons almost all the way. How much you retract will vary depending on how worn your pads are. Mine were scraping metal on one side and very thin on the other, so I had major retraction to do. This was my first time doing brakes, so I may have over retracted, but everything worked out fine. The Haynes recommends that you open the bleed valve so that excess fluid can escape while you're retracting the piston. I decided to remove the reservoir cap and place a rag around the reservoir lip to catch any overflow. I barely had any fluid back up, but yours may be different.

HTH

Mike

Congratulations on getting the job done. Thank you for the information.

 

[D.Passat00]

you shouldn't really have any fluid come out after retracting the caliper unless you added brake fluid after the rotors/pads were installed.

 

[scottvw]

I jacked up one wheel at at a time. Below is a link to the tool that I bought from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40732

I used the #5 tool in the set.

Also, I used the stock luck wrench to place over the allen wrench to get some leverage to loosen the caliper bolts. It is amazing that the whole job can be done with one allen wrench loosening 2 bolts.

 

[PNWdriver]

For the Harbor Freight tool set, did you pay $39.99 or ~ $20?

I saw somewhere on CB5 a way to enter a 'code' on this set to get the discount.

Anybody remember this??

 

[Ooinn99]

For the Harbor Freight tool set, did you pay $39.99 or ~ $20?

I saw somewhere on CB5 a way to enter a 'code' on this set to get the discount.

Anybody remember this??

I believe that this is the thread you are thinking about: http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=69749&highlight=harbor+harbour+freight

Based on the post, the deal has expired (but may be worth a try).

 

[PNWdriver]

Thanks Ooinn99 - I'll give a try.

If it works on their site, maybe the local H-F store will honor the discount too. It never hurts to ask.